Jenn D’s January Recommendations
It’s the new year!
I always try to be positive about the new year, even though a) I’m never going to forgive the Southern Hemisphere for having the wrong weather for this time of year, according to my North American upbringing, and b) I always spend the entire month of January trying to remember what day it is, so remembering that it’s also a whole new year is right out. Like I’m aware of it, but it’s not really until February that I have to write any dates down. You know?
So let’s pretend I have it together (next month, guys, for reals) and let’s get to some recommendations!
Firstly, I’ve started my Wheel of Time reread project. So far, I’ve read the first two, and they’re still good! The women run everything, which is said explicitly and implicitly, which is part of why I loved the series as a kid. Women just did stuff and it wasn’t like… a big deal. I’m holding off on starting the third one, because they tend to eat up my entire day once I get into it. Which is awesome, but also, I gotta do things like “parent” and “eat meals”. Anyway, all of the books are available at Booktopia.
Second—I want to get better at dressmaking this year, but I’ve always really struggled with fitting myself. I’m keen to do a pattern making class, but since there’s another covid variant making the rounds, it’s not really safe to do an in-person class. Luckily, I stumbled across a website called Pattern Lab. What you do is put in all your measurements (you will need help for this, as you often need another person to measure your back side), and upload them to a profile, and choose what you want to make, and it spits out a sloper (a basic pattern) that is made for you. You then buy it, print it out, and start sewing. It is good value, as there are lots of options for what to make. I stitched up a princess seam bodice and it was nearly perfect. I could have cried. It’s the first time I’ve sewed something for my own body and not wanted to fling it out a window in frustration in about two decades. So I can highly, highly recommend PatternLab.
Third: I went on vacation by myself. Just for two nights. I drove up to the mountains, rented a cabin, took my manuscripts, and got to work. I spent two days dressed in a fog of no obligations but the ones I created. There was nobody but me (and the pied currawong that seemed to like hanging out in the tree outside the deck). It was glorious. It’s been a rough couple of years, and while I love and adore my family (and I like hanging out with them), I needed some time to not be needed. To just exist. To actually sit down and stick 5,298 post-it notes to the big paper and make sense of a five-book series I just need to finish writing, dang it. Anyway, the cabin was amazing and tiny and perfect. A+ would retreat again.
Media things:
TV watching has been light for me, but I’ve been catching up on episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks whenever I need a giggle. It’s always funny, and manages to be both completely irreverent and also completely Star Trek. (And as someone who grew up in the TNG/Voyager era, my formative years were steeped in Star Trek. STEEPED.) So I highly recommend it.
Music:
We’re all just waiting on the new Mitski album, right? Yeah. Same.
Podcasts:
Nothing new to report, but when I get out in my garden later this week, I fully intend to catch up on all of the Strong Songs episodes I’ve been saving up. (For some reason, it’s my yardwork pod.) But if you love music, and love people being unabashedly excited about the things they love, then Strong Songs is tailor-made for you.
Other things:
Forever Young Adult is back and better than ever! Hooray for a much improved mobile viewing experience, and boo for my wallet—they make it so hard to say no to ANY new book.
I read this interview with Anne Carson that knocked me flat, but in like, a good way.
DIY Bayeux Tapestry meme maker - a joy to play around with.
I hadn’t heard of a “morgue file” before but I found this one online curated by Ward Jenkins. It’s rare I find someone with my exact taste in art & illustration, but Ward is onto something here. Check his morgue file out here, or his artwork at his website, or read up on what a morgue file is! (Mostly it’s used for reference. Imagine if Pinterest was called MorgueFiles!)
Have you watched Song of the Sea yet? No? You really should. I think about it like three times a week. Read this article about the making of it and then go watch it. You’re welcome.
Well, that’s it for me! I hope your January is a good one. A decent one. A cozy, soft, new day dawning one. A January that is not (as Kaveh Akbar writes) a January that has gone on for months in both directions.
See you next time!