🌯 February wrapped (featuring books, music, podcasts, and a German heiresses)
Oh hello
I don’t want to be ‘that’ person, but every time I write one of these monthly wraps I want to write ‘how is it the end of [month] already?!’. But I realise that I’d very quickly start to sound very boring, so from now on, you can imagine me thinking that every time you read one of these.
So keep scrolling for the February reading wrap, including some mini reviews of what I liked, and what I didn’t, from last month’s book choices.
Other things I’ve been enjoying in February include:
StoryGraph: I’ve moved to StoryGraphy for cataloguing and rating the books I’m reading, moving away from GoodReads. You can read my write up of what I like about StoryGraphy here.
New music: Clearly the lack of touring for the last couple of years has lead to more writing and recording for bands. I particularly love the new albums from Frank Turner and Alt-J.
Boody: Ok, I’ve loved Boody for a lot longer than just last month, and I have a lot of their sustainable bamboo clothes, but they’ve just been certified as a B-Corp. They’re the first underwear brand in Australia and NZ to do so. If you want to treat yourself, you can get a whole $15 off your first $30+ order here^.
Inventing Anna: This Netflix mini-series blew my mind. If you haven’t heard the hype, it’s based on the true story of Anna Delvey (Anna Sorokin) who cons her way around New York on the pretence of being a German heiress, worth tens of millions of dollars. Her accent is wild and like most people, I am enjoying mimicking it around the house.
Leanne Hughes’ Work and Live Large podcast: my good friend Leanne Hughes has launched her new podcast, after First Time Facilitator went into ‘semi-retirement’ late last year. She was spurred into action after taking an impromptu trip to Vegas last month, you can hear about that trip on the first episode of the podcast here.
Booking travel!! I’ve got a couple of work trips around Australia happening soon, and I’ve just booked my first international trip since March 2020! ✈️
What have you been reading or listening to in February? Pop a comment to this post to share more, or just tap the little heart button if you liked something you read.
In not being boring,
Steph
PS. To borrow from Austin Kleon (and everyone else who borrows this from Austin Kleon), this newsletter and the podcast are 'free but not cheap'. You can support their ongoing creation by becoming a member on Patreon, buying me a coffee as a one off 'thank you', purchasing a card from the Good Press card store, or leaving giving the podcast a (five 😉) star rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Thanks!
What I read in February (the month with a bit more woowoo than usual)
Each month on Instagram, I summarise the books I’ve read that month with their star rating and a short, 1 sentence review. You get the longer-form;
👀BOOKS I READ WITH MY EYES 👀
The Power of Regret by Dan Pink ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Reading some of the regrets submitted as part of the book’s study were very thought-provoking. It’s almost worth reading for those alone, and to be honest it’s probably worth reading some of them every day. The first 30% of the book started slow, I was quite disappointed as I loved Dan’s previous book When, which had me hooked from the start. It did improve though, and had me thinking differently about regret, and how to categorise, and avoid different regrets. That said, it’s probably still one to listen to a podcast with the author (and my summary episode next week!) rather than invest in reading the book.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion ⭐️⭐️💫
Unpopular opinion but I really didn’t enjoy this book. It went around in circles and I found it quite confusing to follow the timeline and people. I also wasn’t sure where it was really ‘going’ as a book. I realise it’s a memoir, so it doesn’t have a plot per se, but it wasn’t for me. Subsequent to sharing this feeling on Instagram, a couple of people have said that this isn’t the best Joan Didion work to start with.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ok, I thought I was going to hate it, so maybe I was pleasantly surprised because I didn’t. It is over-dramatic, a bit woowoo (more what I deem ‘ignorable woowoo’), and parts absolutely fall into the American tendency of pathologising every difference in a person, which makes my eyes roll back in my head. BUT, as a memoir-of-sorts, it does give a few nuggets of food for thought and reminders on why sacrificing your own happiness and identity is not the answer to a healthy life for either yourself, or the people around you.
A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters by Dan Nelken ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I’ve seen lots of copywriters spruiking this book on LinkedIn over the last year, so thought it was time to read it. Whilst it’s specifically written about writing headlines, the practical advice could be used to elevate your thinking when writing other copy too, and how to think more like an advertiser.
👂🏻BOOKS I READ WITH MY EARS👂🏻
Will by Will Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Love love loved; deep, funny, reflective, and hard to listen to in places, such an interesting look into the level of work, decision making, and sacrifice it can take to get to the top of Hollywood. (I reviewed this one last month, ICYMI you can read it here).
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Brutal, funny, and pretty awful, it's a gruesome look at working in kitchens (especially in the 70s/80s). The level of detail he shares is unbelievable, and it gave me a new appreciation of the level of complexity and stress of working in a commercial kitchen. I was hoping it would share more about Anthony’s life, and of course there are elements of that as it’s his experiences, but this is very much book about the reality of life in the restaurant business.