Making Time
Currently reading:
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
’Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Part of the currently-reading stack, featuring A Swim in a Pond in the Rain for my workshop.
Books finished this week: 1
Penny with Penny!
★★★★★
Where this book came from: P&T Knitwear, during last week’s Lower East Side Book Crawl
Why this book: I came across one of the artist’s comics on Instagram and shared it to my story because I thought it was hilarious and brilliant. He thanked me and then asked if I knew he had a book. I didn’t know, but I was glad to find out——and here we are!
Thoughts: I loved this, full stop. Penny’s thoughts feel so perfectly real and catlike. 10/10 and highly recommended for everyone, but especially for cat owners and lovers.
Library updates:
I rounded out October with a few more scary movies and cozy nights, and I’m endlessly grateful for them. In past years, I’ve watched dozens of horror movies in October, because ’tis the damn season. Though my list was shorter this year, there were some gems:
Torso, dumb, but fun in the way only a ’70s Italian movie can be
Ringu, not as scary as I was worried it would be
Monolith, Podcast: The Horror Movie (it was fine)
Where the Devil Roams, no
Halloween (1978), a classic and my favorite
The Descent, legitimately scary!!
Nosferatu, a first-time viewing
The House on Sorority Row, surprisingly good!
The Faculty<333
Halloween H2O, introducing Josh Hartnett
I had a lazy/semi-sick day last Sunday and ended up watching all of The Fall of the House of Usher. I know I didn’t move from my couch for eight hours, but I actually really didn’t like the show so much. I honestly started to feel like everyone has been gaslighting me, going on and on about how amazing and genius Mike Flanagan is. I loved The Haunting of Hill House and the movie Hush, but Midnight Mass drove me up a wall and I found Usher underwhelming.
And then I watched The Haunting of Bly Manor. The period details, the fascinating and fully developed characters. Some of the supernatural mechanics don’t totally add up, but every character is so flawed and real and wonderful to know. Flanagan isn’t a genius, but he’s damn creative, and sometimes he hits the nail on the head.
Unrelated, but I’ve also been listening to folklore and evermore on repeat. I didn’t understand it when the albums first dropped, but I get it now. I get it.
This week, I think I found the importance of making time: for music, for stories, for quiet, for activity, for meetings, for plans. There is so much time between the obligations, time that can be filled with ways to nourish yourself and enjoy yourself. I’m not perfect at it, but I’m keeping an eye out for those moments from now on.
Closing thoughts:
Make the time. Take the time.
