Hey there!
For many of you this will be coming very late in the day (again!)—that's on me! It's been a busy, busy couple of weeks (not for fun reasons—just work and life stuff), so writing the newsletter has gotten bumped down my list of priorities once or twice (or several times). I promise it won't become a habit!
Anyhow: In this edition of the newsletter you'll find a couple links to a blog post for Coffee Chats Wrapped 2024—finally! As with last year, I hope that it's interesting to you to get a 10,000-foot view of my writing stats from the past year, and that some of my top book recommendations might resonate with you. But before you read it, I want to put out a bit of a disclaimer: In the post I mention that I read 56 books last year—and that's not necessarily a good thing.
We all have a friend (or follow a content creator) who consumes art and media in a way we can only aspire to—that person who can hold a conversation about every new show that comes out, or who tastefully curates their film collection with the year's best pictures, or who plays all of the top games of the year...or who reads more books than us. I may be that person, to some of you; I also have those people in my life—people who read dozens more books than I'd ever be able to in a year. That makes me feel bad, sometimes. It shouldn't.
My point is this: consuming more isn't virtuous. If you read 100 books in a year and watch 100 films and keep up to date on all the best shows, that's great—as long as you're enjoying it and getting something out of the experience. If you read 1 book in a year and watch 1 film and rewatch that show you really love for the tenth time, that's also great—as long as you're enjoying it and getting something out of the experience. In either case, it's the latter part that matters.
I don't know. I guess I just worry, sometimes, that people (i.e., me) get into a mode where we treat the consumption of art like a contest, or as a way of performing a particular identity—but that's missing the point. Art is something to be experienced and enjoyed, at whatever pace feels best to the individual. Doing so faster or slower isn't good or bad. It just is.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, one of my goals this year is to slow down. To try to appreciate things more in the moment, and to take some of the pressure to do more, faster, off of myself. Changing my relationship to consuming stories is a great case study for this: I want to be intentional, going forward, about savoring the books I read, engaging with the content, enjoying the story, and experiencing them more fully, without a thought as to my "pace" or if I'm reading "enough". I might still read a book really fast. That's a particular pleasure. Another book might take a long time to soak in, drop by drop, page by page. That's just as good, just as valid.
My thoughts on this topic are still forming, clearly. I'm learning as I go; I hope it's helpful, or at least interesting, for you to read along. If you have thoughts, ideas, advice or reactions you'd like to share on any of this, don't hesitate to hit reply—I love hearing from you! Otherwise, I look forward to being back in your inbox in February. Talk soon!
