little joys and little sorrows #5

going to book talks, vintage birkenstocks and my love for this platform

Hello all!

In our last instalment of little joys/sorrows, I was screaming about 60 subscribers and now we’re at 380+ ??? I am still screaming but only dogs can hear me now.

Welcome to quiet reflections if you’re new! Every Tuesday is mostly reserved for the Main essay but I also like to drop in with some quiet reflections too.

How has July been treating you? The weather has been awful but are we surprised here in the UK, no. I just hope it improves before my birthday at the end of the month. It is summer, right?

Anyway, enjoy my little list of joys and sorrows and as always, feel free to add your own in the comments as part of your ‘quiet reflection’ for the month <3

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little joys

• Recommendation posts on Substack have expanded my reading so much and I’m so grateful for all the rec girlies

• Finishing a book during this year of very little book reading (Notes on a Murder by B.P. Walter)

• Finding another book that has gripped me during this year of very little reading (Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley)

• They were right about 26/27 – I’m feeling like I'm becoming more me every day (if that makes sense?)

• My mum passing down her Birkenstocks to me - I grew up watching her collect essentially every style under the sun and now her giving (some of) them to me feels like some sort of rite of passage—I am now a woman (who wears Birkenstocks)

• Staying consistent running once a week

• Realising that even though I haven’t read a lot of books this year I have read a lot of articles, longreads, interviews etc. reminder: I’m still a reader

• Attending an interview with Pandora Sykes (of Books + Bits) and Jonathan Haidt (of After Babel) two of my favourite people!!

• Becoming an etsy shop girlie again and finding the balance between girlboss and lazy girl

• brat by Charli XCX

• No huge hayfever symptoms!!

little sorrows

• pmdd

• The rain is cute but save it for autumn pls i want sunshine

• I know this was a little joy but not reading many books this year feels strange

• Only seeing Pandora Sykes and Jonathan Haidt through tiny gaps between people’s heads in front of me (note to self: always go for the front row!!)

• Bookshops taking half my paycheck every month and I’m not even reading like that

• Clothing sizes! Gun to my head I don’t know what size I am anymore every shop plays by their own rules. I bought two tops at the same size and one is too small and the other is too big I can’t do this anymore

the sky that brings you this substack

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In case you missed it…

carrying books in the sunshine

a summery saturday

coping with ugly feelings

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