the quiet list #8: a library of lists to help you pause and think
for my list lovers, winter edition: comforting lists to get you through the last leg of winter (with a few new additions)
hello quiet readers,
welcome to another instalment of the quiet list, a library of lists to help you pause and think, winter edition.
is the darkness getting to you a little too much? does the weight of those moody grey clouds feel like they’re pressing right on your shoulders? do you need something to bring you back to the present and help you find the beauty in winter again? i think this will help.
stroll through this library of lists slowly, preferably on a laptop or tablet, and get in a comfy seat (or bed) with a hot drink and a pen and paper (you’ll need it). these rooms invite you to give yourself some much-needed time to simply be present in the moment and help you get through this last leg of darkness. there’s a lot to get through so take your time, come back to some rooms later, go at your own pace.
in the library, you’ll find the bookshelves, the hobby table, the writing room, the chair by the window and the research room. but if you feel like staying home, you’ll find a comfort list, a sensory list, permission slips and postcards from my home to yours.
also, the quiet list will now have a new companion, a handmade zine! if you’d like one, click here. if you’re a paid subscriber, you’ll receive a separate email with a code to get yours 100% off. wait for it to arrive in the post, feel the pages turn in your hands, leave it on your desk (or altar) as a reminder to be a little kinder to yourself this season. i hope you like it.
the quiet list is a series for paid subscribers, but i’m leaving this issue free for a short period of time to allow you to see behind the curtain a little. consider upgrading your subscription to receive a free zine every season and more posts on how to find quiet all year round <3
okay, let’s get into the lists.
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the bookshelves
what i’m reading, what’s on the tbr shelf, new words i’ve learned, notes from my commonplace book.
currently reading: the safekeep by yael van der wouden. this is a great book, one of the books i wish i owned instead of borrowing from the library. i am so intrigued by isabel’s character; i’m interested in the idea of reservation and in her extremely austere nature. i don’t want to spoil it but i am loving watching everything unravel. the prose is a breath of fresh air, but sometimes it is too fresh, like taking in a quick breath on an extra frosty day. there are a lot of sentences that get cut off, and this isn’t just reserved for dialogue. it can feel a little disjointed at times. i like the technique, but personally i feel like it’s a little overused. definitely looking like a 4+ star read however.
vicissitude: an unpleasant change in circumstances
diaphanous: allowing light to pass through, transparent
“loving someone, if you think about it, is dangerous. i mean, how well can we know anyone? how well can we know even ourselves?” – the third love by hiromi kawakami
pleonastic: using more words than necessary
also rereading: welcome to the hyunam-dong bookshop for an essay i’m working on on why we feel guilty about liking a simple life. minjun, the character i’m most interested in, asks himself one day, “can i really live like this?” after he experiences a few good days taking a break from work and just going to yoga classes, eating well and watching movies in the evening. i’m finding myself more passionate about the idea of work and my changing perspectives on it.
“hobbies give you chances to manage and know yourself. which is another way of saying that they give you freedom.” – do we need hobbies? by joshua rothman for the new yorker
on the tbr shelf: (lots of books i’ve started and need to finish, really) white teeth by zadie smith, little women by louisa may alcott, all about love by bell hooks, novelist as a vocation by haruki murakmai
best books to cosy up with this season: japanese translation about cats, including she and her cat by makoto shinkai and naruki nagakawa (one of my all-time faves), we’ll prescribe you a cat by syou ishida, the full moon coffee shop by mai mochizuki, the travelling cat chronicles by hiro arikawa. for more like this, click here.
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the hobby table
some things i’ve been doing to pass the time, some inspiration for you.
