Read, watch, listen, do: August

This month's recommendations brought to you by hours pavement pounding with the pram, non-violent TV, and crafting for adults

Here we are again, another installment and this time I’ve included a ‘do’ section. Don’t worry, it’s not ‘change 57 nappies in a week’ or ‘sing The Grand Old Duke of York in a comical German accent to keep yourself from going insane,’ although both of those things have featured highly. I am, as it happens, in the Sahara Desert of audio recommendations. Ordinarily, I listen to Radio 6 all day and when I’m not near the kitchen, I’m listening to audiobooks (more on that later). For the past year, I’ve basically had Self Esteem on repeat (top 0.5% of listeners on Spotify, thank you very much) and didn’t feel the need to listen to any other band, much to my discredit. Therefore, you’ve got a ‘do’ section.

This post is going to be succint and brief, mainly because by GOD I need to teach myself some lessons in brevity, but also because the hours have hip-hop jumped around this week and I’m treaddddding those deep waters of time with heavy boots on. I dedicated some time this week to launching my first Pay What You Can Workshop (details here) and of course, that ate into novel writing time, which is finite now that the baby needs watching 2/7 due to a determination to fling herself into six or seven head injury-inducing incidents every day.

Anyway, less about my endless quest for time, more about what you can fill your eyes and ears with (and to a lesser extent, hands??).

Read

The List

You’ll have seen this book everywhere, and quite rightly so. It’s always a dangerous game to market ant one novel as ‘THE book of the summer’ but I really do think this is it. It’s about Ola and Michael, who are low-key famous on socials as the #CouplesGoals of their generation, and due to marry in a few weeks time. That’s until Michael’s name comes up on a list of abusive men in the media industry. It’s sharp, the dialogue is on fire, which is—maybe—the biggest factor for me when it comes to loving a book, and the plot is so pacey I’m surprised it didn’t win gold in the World Athletics Championships this week.

The Rachel Incident

Okay, I’m calling it. This has been my favourite audiobook this year, which is saying something because I’ve listened to a whole bunch. I love Irish writers. The way characters converse, flitting between the hilarious and downright harrowing in the same breath, is compelling and gorgeously rich. This is the ‘coming of age’ story of Rachel and James, who are friends and housemates desperately trying to save up enough money to move away from Cork. The story is told in reflection and flits back to a very specific moment in the present, which I’ll keep quiet about because it’s the point around which the rest of the plot revolves. O’Donoghue makes the grotty, cold flatshares of your twenties feel warm with nostalgia and I loved Rachel and
James, who felt real and endearing. Plus, this novel has a bunch of literary jokes in it that made me happy that I still have thousands left unpaid in my English Literature student loan.

This isn’t what I thought I’d be doing

Lindsey has a way of writing that cuts to the quick of what it means to feel deeply and snatch moments of intensity in the everyday. This essay on running into her old acting teacher whilst waiting for son to finish ballet practice is gorgeous writing, plain and simple, and communicates a sense of bittersweet nostalgia for the many lives we could have lived.

Written

You know I love a book on writing. Well, this is about writing AND productivity, so you can bet I’ve been trying to discover whether there’s a way I can write an entire novel whilst also sleeping. The solution to that problem isn’t covered, but instead we get a number of actionable, practical—and most importantly—realistic things you can do to create a sustainable writing habit. If you’ve ever wondered ‘am I unproductive or lazy?’ or beaten yourself with statements like ‘I’d have done it already if I cared enough,’ you should read this book. You aren’t the problem, but your very clever brain is, and it turns out that brains are very good at keeping us from over-exerting wherever possible.

Watch

Detectorists

I don’t know why I avoided watching this comedy for so long. Actually. I do know why. It’s because it’s a show about two people metal detecting and I thought it sounded as funny as a brass button convention, but it absolutely works. It’s quiet comedy, and I don’t say that in a bad way. It’s like eavesdropping, with witty dialogue full of sardonic humour and the most delectable bunch of outcast characters. I love all of them fiercly. At one point, I actually cried when they found something good in the middle of a farmer’s field. Let me repeat that. I cried because they detected some good metal. Also, the theme tune is by my first husband*, Johnny Flynn, which says everything.

To get a flavour of the show, watch this clip.

*not my first husband.

Dreaming Whilst Black

Another comedy (do I watch anything else) and possibly my favourite of the past couple of years. Kwabena is stuck in a dead-end recruitment job and nurtures dreams of becoming a film maker at night. With mentoring schemes, a new girlfriend, and rent worries on the horizon, it sounds like a show you might have seen before, but it feels incredibly fresh and new. The family dynamics are tender and there are some heavy issues tackled deftly with ascerbic comedy angles. Christ, I’m starting to sound like a Guardian reviewer. Basically, it’s excellent and I think you should watch it. If there’s no second series, I’m storming the BBC.

Listen

Say She She

Music! Cool, sexy, French music. I haven’t bothered to Google anything about this band, so I’ll keep the facts minimal. It’s seventies disco vibes mixed with cool hooks and female-led harmonies. I can imagine them playing at a cocktail party in an episode of Mad Men where everyone is wearing various shades of brown and drinking out of impractiaclly shaped glasses. The song C’est si bon! is, unsurprisingly, very bon. I sing along. I can’t speak French. I just make sort-of-French sounds.

White noise (!)

I’m back on the writing routine (a heavily scaled down version of before) and my favourite storm noises have been removed from Spotify. This might not seem like a big deal, but it is. It had the perfect balance of light rain and distant thunder rumbles that didn’t interrupt my thoughts but also provided a balance of cosy autumn vibes. Anyway, I’ve given up on the storm and have found the perfect frequency of white noise instead (somewhere between airplane cabin and TV static). Perfect for writing and/or napping.

Do

The Big Sister Swap

I haven’t bought anything new in the clothes department for months and months BUT I also like changing up my wardrobe frequently. Thus, overspill is an issue. Big Sister Swap take your old clothes, you fill out a style questionnaire, and they send you back a curated collection of new/old things. I am so excited to get my new mini wardrobe in the post. I might make a montage, like that iconic scene from 00s classic, Wild Child.

This video from Hannah Witton got me on to them. As a fellow human responsible for another small human, I was like ‘YES’ because the thought of going in and out of shops to try on clothes that I probably won’t buy sounds like the ninth circle of hell.

Riso Printing at Paper Stories

I went to an arts and crafts workshop! There was wine and scissors and glue! I would say that now I’m in my thirties, spending an evening crafting is preferable to going to a club, but to be honest I think I would always have chosen collages and nibbles over sticky dancefloors and groping hands. Riso printing uses a risograph printer (who knew) and contrast images to overlay colours and the effect is v. cool. I came home with ten copies of my lil’ piece, so I hope my family like clunky artwork because they’re all getting a print for Christmas.

A wee reminder that I’m holding a 'Pay What You Can’ workshop in a few week’s time, all about getting ready to submit to an agent. I’ve pulled together as much current information as possible and thrown in super practical roadmaps that I really hope will help writers who are curious or imminently preparing for querying.

I’ll be covering:

• The practical steps behind putting a submission package together

• Comparison titles and why you need them

• How to compile a list of 'dream agents' to submit to

• Whether you can capitalise on trends in the publishing world

• When things go well: etiquette and next steps

• When things go wrong: taking stock and reassessing

This will be followed by a Q&A, where I'll answer pre-submitted questions and hopefully leave attendees with plenty to go away and work on!

Like I said, it’s PWYC, so if you’ve been waiting for something like this but haven’t been in a position to pay for it, now is the time to sign up! After thirty days, I’ll make the recording purchasable from my website, but for a fixed price.

Now I have a question for you! Last night, we started and abandoned three different TV shows because they just weren’t tickling our interest well enough. Please, send your recommendations back my way!