Bonding

Currently reading:

• A Taste for Death by P. D. James

• F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing, edited by Larry W. Phillips

• The Poetry of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson [ongoing]

Books finished this week: 0

(Please let this not be a sign of things to come . . . )

Library updates:

This missive is going to be a little different, mostly because I spent most of the end of 2024 and the start of 2025 not reading, but watching a lot of Bond movies. I had a friend staying with me (hi, Bendy!) to celebrate and also to visit bookstores, and we do have a history with Bond——last time she visited, we went to Spyscape for their Bond exhibit and watched Quantum of Solace. So it felt right to roll into the New Year with a random selection of films, organized into a loose, impromptu Bond-A-Thon:

• Goldeneye

• Dr. No

• Die Another Day

• A View to a Kill

• No Time to Die

• Casino Royale

• Live and Let Die

• Tomorrow Never Dies

• Moonraker

• Licence to Kill

• The World Is Not Enough

(Please note that these are listed in order of watching, not in order of enjoyment. Because if it was, Moonraker would probably be at the bottom of the list——fight me!!)

(Is Pierce Brosnan now my favorite Bond?)

In some ways, this maraton felt like going back to my roots. And maybe that’s what I need in 2025. My interests and obsessions are subject to change, but I hold a certain nostalgia for certain fandoms and media consumption cycles that, in retrospect, feel a little simpler, a little brighter. I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that bring me joy and prioritizing those things, from small things like waking up early(ish) and taking walks to bigger considerations like making time to write and beginning the search for magazines and journals to which I’d like to submit some of my work. I didn’t realize I missed James Bond until I got to watch him be his absolutely unhinged self again over the course of four straight evenings.

I also realized that I miss reading comics. Not necessarily keeping up with series weekly or monthly and being able to join in the Discourse, but just sitting back with a trade paperback that collects what I need to know and lets me go wild. Comics and spies make up the majority of my personality (after books, of course), and I’d like to incorporate them into my life again. I also think finding solace (comma, a quantum of) in those old favorites will allow me to move forward into new joys and passions, and help bolster some of the work to come this year. Being well-read, across forms and genres, can only help you craft stronger worlds and more complex characters. Watching dumb action movies helps you relax and makes you realize that, wow, your plot twist wasn’t as stupid as you thought!

Here’s to past joys, new excitements, and a generous dose of self-confidence in 2025!

Closing thoughts:

“Never let them see you bleed, and always have an exit plan.” ——paraphrased from Q in The World Is Not Enough

Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 120

(Total books added to the Moratorium Library: 242)

Popped into Kew & Willow on New Year’s Eve and picked up a blind date book (Dark Space) and a new pal (VenCo).