🍫 Snacks and a review of Bittersweet by Susan Cain

Hiyayalright?

I’m in the UK practicing my British greeting (see above), reminding myself not to ask people ‘how’s it going’, eating my favourite snacks (mostly bourbon biscuits and proper Dairy Milk), and generally soaking up some wholesome and overdue friend and family time. (Time which still includes, even after almost eight years, comments about my hybrid accent 🙄.)

Holidays are either ALL THE READING or none of the reading. This trip is definitely turning into the latter, which is ok, this isn’t a reading holiday. That said, I have plodded through a couple of books, one of which I will tell you about shortly.

Here’s some things I’ve have had time to enjoy since we last spoke:

• Documentary - This Much I Know to be True by Nick Cave: I cannot quite describe the experience of watching this. I saw it in London at the cinema as part of the global launch event on 11/12 May and it was mind-blowing. The performances are rousing and goosebump-making, and the interviews are funny and fascinating. So many insights into what makes a successful long-term creative relationship and the creative process more broadly. (I also talked about it more in this post). Urgh, just go and watch it already.

• Podcast - Diary of a CEO: I know, I know I’m very late to the Diary of a CEO party. I loved the episode with Craig David (not just because he’s also from Southampton), it was a deep and rich conversation and felt like Steven and Craig had a genuine connection. Interviewer goals.

• App - Insight Timer: I caught up with a friend who’s been living with a chronic illness for a number of years now and has found Yoga Nidra very helpful for their recovery. It’s a fascinating form of meditation, and I am very interested in its potential for creativity. I’ve been practicing every day for a week and I haven’t yet made it through a recording without falling asleep (apparently that’s very normal for beginners). I’m seeing this practice as a longer-term experiment.

• Music - Joy as an Act of Resistance by Idles: I liked this album when it came out in 2018, but have recently got back into it, a lot. If you need to start your day with a massive kick in the bum, need something to spur you on in the gym, or need to mosh some frustration away at the end of the day, this is the soundtrack for it. (Turn it up loud)

• Learning - I’ve finally signed up to improv classes! It’s been on my ‘to learn’ list since early 2020, but something got in the way. So now’s the time. Looking at the course outline it made me a little uncomfortable, which made me hit ‘book’ even quicker (thanks to my pal Viren for giving me the nudge I needed to get this booked). I start in a couple of weeks… wish me luck!

What have you been reading/listening/watching/enjoying recently? Pop a comment to this post, hit reply, or just tap the little heart button if you liked something you read.

Doing my best Queen wave 👑,

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 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!

Thanks to the good human that is tron87 who left this kind review on Apple earlier this month:

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Review: Bittersweet by Susan Cain

Quick blurb
Susan Cain describes her exploration to “understand how love, loss and sorrow make us whole - revealing the power of a bittersweet outlook on life.”

What I liked
Susan is a great writer, and similarly to Quiet, she nicely weaves her honest and personal stories into the wider research and ideas on the feeling and personality type of Bittersweet. It’s also not a subject I’ve ever really considered before; why some people are drawn to sad music (👋🏻) and seem to appreciate the lows along with the highs of life a little more. There were some interesting points around leaders who show sadness about a negative situation being more effective than those who show anger, the research behind intergenerational pain, and how to overcome forced positivity, which were worth a read of.

What I didn’t
I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and I came out of it feeling the same. It was a pleasant read, but to be honest I just didn’t really get anything from it. If I didn’t do this newsletter and the podcast, I almost certainly would have put it on the DNF (did not finish) pile.

Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁠
Look, I didn’t hate it. But I can’t see myself recommending it either. The three stars are for writing and structure as it is a well written book and has some interesting points, it just didn’t move me. I wondered if this was the book that Susan has really wanted to write, so this was more of a ‘scratch my own itch’ project (which is an excellent reason to create something).

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Meanwhile on the podcast…

How We Read: An interview with Madeleine Dore

Killer Thinking by Tim Duggan