Jenn D’s November Recs
It’s almost the end of the year! Which means there’s a bunch of stuff on my to-do list, which is a terrifying and strangely exhilarating feeling. I have lots of Christmas things to organize, but I’m trying not to go overboard (I say this every year) so I plan to make a list and stick to it.
I guess that means my first recommendation is… a to-do list! I’m overly fond of kikki.K, as I used to work there, and I love their A5 to-do lists a lot. The essentials is a good one — the two column layout is such a nice way of either doubling your space or separating your tasks into chunks — but the single list with bubbles is a great way of making a very pretty, long-term checklist.
Since my daughter is doing an Egyptology unit in school, I found myself appealing to the “Egyptology side of Tumblr” for some good resources. They came in clutch with some great recommendations. So far my daughter hadn’t stopped carrying The Pocket Museum: Ancient Egypt (by Campbell Price) to and from school every day. It’s a surprisingly portable book, and has gotten lots of use. I managed to find it secondhand (more about that a little further down) and then, coincidentally, Campbell Price turned up as the guest expert on an episode of You’re Dead to Me! Of course, that podcast is not kid-appropriate, so my daughter missed out, but I still enjoyed learning about Ramesses the Great.
It’s been a slow month for reading, unfortunately, but I did read and enjoy Gilded by Marissa Meyer. It’s a very interesting spin (ha!) on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. I am also in the middle of the VE Schwab Shades of Magic series Jen V recommended to me, but I was flying through it so I slowed myself down so I could properly appreciate it. They’re very good!
As a writer (who also just likes learning stuff), sometimes I end up searching for books on really niche subjects (like fire lookouts in the Pacific Northwest, for example). Often a lot of research books I want are out of print, or hard to find, so I’ve been relying on a few different sources to get these hard-to-find texts. I’ve been a fan of Better World Books for a long time, and have found their shipping and pricing super reasonable. The offer a lot of library discards too, which I always get a kick out of! I have had nothing but good experiences with World of Books, too. And recently we’ve found a bunch of stuff on Thriftbooks, too, and though the shipping took longer, it all did arrive safely in the end. This is also useful when you have a paperback collection and they changed the mass-market packaging before you could complete the set on your own time—usually someone will have the older, matching ones up for sale!
I haven’t had much time to watch TV lately, though my son and I have been cuddling up at bedtime to watch Life That Glows. It’s only an hour and it’s really wonderful. (Currently on iView, if you’re local to Australia!) I’m also keen to watch more Foundation. (We watched the first episode and Lee Pace can get it, is all I’m saying.)
I grew up reading the Wheel of Time series (I started when I was ten, and no, I haven’t finished it yet… MAYBE 2022 IS MY YEAR). So of course I’m excited about the new TV show. There’s a neat little primer here and the trailer is even in the article! I’ll report back.
As for podcasts, I’ve been sticking to a few of my old favorites. SciShow Tangents is always a good time, and I always learn something; and Stuff the British Stole has finished up their second season, and I never thought I’d cry about a dodo skull, but there you go; and I’ve been catching up on Strong Songs, which is like a love letter to songwriting and composition.
Well, I’m off to make dinner for my kids—“cheesy triangles” (what my daughter dubbed quesadillas back in her capricious youth; it was so cute, we kept the name) and then on to the aforementioned Christmas listing. Enjoy the springtime if you’re here in the Antipodes and if not, then I hope you’re cosy and warm. Take care!