the quiet list #2

why you shouldn't touch your houseplants, the body keeps its own time & reading lists for the soul

Surprise!

I like to dedicate every Tuesday to my main posts and surprise you every now and then with something random on another day hehe.

I enjoyed wrapping up the previous month in my first edition of the quiet list so I thought I’d make it a regular thing. This is something akin to the #whatthisweek on bookstagram that I sort of miss now that I don’t really go on Instagram anymore.

Strap in people, there are a lot of links ahead!

I also have another surprise thing I’m sharing with you next week so keep your eyes peeled!

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a list of quiet reflections

• My body has its own sense of time. Like clockwork, I start to feel sad every month, a little more teary-eyed, a little more sensitive and realise my period is due in about a week. There are systems going on in there that I have no idea about which is fascinating and terrifying at the same time

• There is always a point in the year when the weather is amazing for about a week and then returns to bleak and grey skies, not knowing whether to wear a jumper or not—summer’s movie trailer, “this is what to come, get excited”

• The year is half over and I am okay

• How I really love reading discourse on the effects of this new age of technology and social media (After Babel is one of my favourite newsletters and Freya India is my favourite writer right now)

• Appreciating the ability to recognise the good days when it used to feel like nothing but bad days

• Taking myself out on artist dates has improved my quality of life tenfold

• I know other people shove things under the rug but why does it still feel like I’m the only one

• Anxiety anxiety anxiety anxiety

• Not seeing the moon much this month, wondering what it’s done to me internally

• The amount of strength it takes to pull yourself out of a sad mood and do the thing you wanted to do all day anyway

• The amount of fun and amazing things life has to offer and wondering how social media ever seemed fulfilling enough

• How much I love all my hobbies and interests and being happy being the person I am (until I’m forced into another bubble I’m unfamiliar with)

• Realising that I miss academia (to an extent) but also realising I don’t need to go into thousands of pounds of debt to relive that feeling (going to free lectures, research as leisure, writing mini essays)

a list of quiet recommendations

I have been trying to limit my use of YouTube lately as I realised most of what I consumed was a lot of crap if I’m being honest. I never used to watch vlogs but I do like these vibes. Cari’s videos are calming, like they transport me straight to South Korea and I can just hang out in cafés and cute shops with her for a while. I don’t feel like I’ve wasted time after watching one of her videos, you know?

Loved this talk by Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon. I’ve mentioned it like a thousand times recently but it’s really good! This opens your eyes to the path that social media and online communication are on right now and how social media companies really just do not have your best interests at heart, especially for artists.

Coming across videos like these is always a breath of fresh air. Bloody love a good filmy/arty video like this. This one was about having tangible things instead of everything being on a screen, how we don’t own any of our media anymore and what that means for media today.

These two workouts—the cardio one made me feel that “high” people talk about which I very, very rarely feel when I exercise so grab that one with two hands and a foot. And the pilates workout felt right. I like finding one person I can “work out with” so I don’t get overwhelmed and I think I’ve found my pilates gal. <3

a list of quiet reading

NewPhilosopher magazine

In my quest for less time online, I’ve wanted to get into the magazine space. I used to design my own and I can now understand the amount of work that goes into them! I found NewPhilosopher magazine while looking around in a Waterstones bookshop and was hooked. I’ve always liked philosophy but it can get easily overwhelming to study/explore so this mag might be a good portal into that world for now.

Don’t Believe What They’re Telling You About Misinformation

This was a really interesting article in the New Yorker about misinformation and how dangerously far it can go, especially how online interactions can leak into real life.

How social media makes us bad people

This article by Freya India for After Babel had me screaming “Yes!!” at my phone screen the whole time. I love this new angle of seeing how life online can have negative cultural impacts but also turn individuals into something rather unappetising as well.

A Reading List to Keep You Human

This is the type of thing I mentioned in my reflections above. Books about offline living, digital minimalism, the effects of a life consumed by social media, returning to being a grounded, spiritual being, the lot. If you’re interested in this topic, you’ll love this list. This is me spreading the seed of sanity.

You Can't See Me, But I Can Make You Rich

People will do anything for money.

Why is Wellness So Fucking Annoying?

The tone of this cracked me up but everything mentioned is completely on the nose. Please just drink water, eat some green things and move your body, that’s all you need.

Are Plants Intelligent? If So, What Does That Mean for Your Salad?

This interview with author and reporter Zoe Schlanger for the New York Times on the hidden lives of plants. (Sigh, another book I must buy.) Stop touching your houseplants! They can read your thoughts!

on a bank holiday stroll (2024)

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