January scraps #1

Some fragments from my summer reading to kick off the year.

What Writers Read: 35 Writers on their Favourite Book by Pandora Sykes

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Happy new year! I’m back, sort of. I’ll be writing a few choppy summer-style newsletters for the next few weeks before getting completely back into the swing of things.

These next few posts will just be for paid subscribers. I’ll release my regular freebies again by the end of the month, I promise!

As for the content in these newsletters, I’m going to include some vignettes from my summer of reading. (That sounds fancier than the reality … which is why I’m calling this series January scraps). There will also be some other bookish bits and bobs that may be of interest to you.

I’d like to keep experimenting with the types of things I write for I Read A Lot. It keeps me motivated and excited about putting my work out there when it’s hard not to be increasingly frustrated by the overwhelming amount of content that already exists online. It’s all just too much sometimes. I’m actually considering taking a bit of a social media break this year.

All the same, I hope these posts are useful or interesting to you, even if you don’t get to them for a couple of weeks when you’re back at your desk, or on email. If that’s the case, I hope you’re currently lying in the sunshine somewhere glorious, reading the best book you’ve ever read. Enjoy it!

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A log of my gifted/received books this Christmas

Some books I gave this Christmas:

Motherhood by Jamila Rizvi for my sister who has just had a baby and is still in those blurry first newborn weeks. Juice by Tim Winton for my dad who went down a Tim Winton rabbit hole in 2024, diving deep into the back catalogue. Arcadian Days: Gods, Women, and Men from Greek Myths by John Spurling for my grandfather, who likes the most boring books about ancient history that I can track down. The Readings bargain table is an absolute goldmine for this. Play with Your Plate! by Judith Rossell for my toddler, which was a godsend on the four hour plane trip we had to endure together. (We survived! Thanks Judith!)

The books I got this Christmas:

My sister bought me two essay collections which I have been dipping in and out of when the mood strikes. They are Make it Make Sense by Lucy Blakiston and Bel Hawkins and What Writers Read: 35 Writers on their Favourite Book by Pandora Sykes. I find these kinds of books perfect for summer reading.

All my other gifts were not book-related! Sad! But I did go ahead and buy myself a couple of things. Things Will Calm Down Soon by Zoë Foster Blake which was a good guilty pleasure read for the holidays. Are you judging me for reading it? I was kind of judging myself and hiding away in my room to read but then I thought … everyone should just read whatever the heck they like, including me. No more guilt. (More on this right at the end of the newsletter.)

Honestly, I didn’t love it, in the end. It was very #girlboss and slangy, and maybe a bit too business-heavy for my liking. But did I finish it? Yes. Would I recommend it? To the right person, absolutely. I honestly think that if you hate Zoë Foster Blake, you’re probably just jealous of her.

I also bought myself The Wedding People by Alison Espach and Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, both of which are very hyped books from 2024 that I am a bit behind the times on. I’ll get stuck into them before the month is over!

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An apology to Herman Melville

I just finished reading Follow the White Whale in Your Dreams by Elif Shafak, a writer whose Substack (Unmapped Storylands) I love and look forward to, and am greatly in awe of. The writing style is so unique and transportive. It’s a treat in my inbox whenever it appears.