It’s what I’d call mindfulness adjacent...
Podcasts, publications, and new indie bookstores for 2023.
Eight great things worth sharing this week:
I don’t set year-long goals anymore (it started to feel pointless when, for 15 years, the goal was “finish this draft”), but I have started choosing a word for each incoming year. This year I cheated and chose two words: level up. That’s right, I’m gamifying life. Cheers to more challenges and more fun in 2023.
A coaching client of mine, Charlotte Maya, had an essay she wrote published in Modern Love on Christmas Eve. It’s a beautiful piece and if you scroll all the way to the bottom you’ll see in her by-line that she has a memoir coming out in February. You can pre-order it here. (I’m so proud.)
The Nerd Word of the Week comes from my Twitter friend @DVKeet who suggested Niveous ~ snowy or resembling snow. As in: Niveous conditions in the mountains of California this week will build up the snowpack that feeds our streams and rivers over the summer. #silverlining
I recently discovered a podcast called The One You Feed: Practical Wisdom For A Better Life. It’s what I’d call mindfulness adjacent, which is to say, it’s buddhist in its themes, but secular in its delivery. Definitely worth checking out - especially the most recent episode with Michelle Segar.
A new independent bookstore is opening up in Pasadena in February. It’s going to be called Octavia’s Bookshelf (after Pasadena-born, science-fiction author and MacArthur fellow Octavia Butler) and focus on promoting BIPOC authors. You can support them before they even open by contributing a few bucks to their GoFundMe page. #becausebooks
In other news, I’m trying to decide if I’m willing to go see A Man Called Otto. I loved the book (A Man Called Ove, written by Fredrik Backman) and then it was made into a Swedish film in 2015 (which I didn’t see), and now Tom Hanks is playing the Americanized version of Ove and I’m skeptical because I just really loved the book. Has anyone seen it? Should I? Help a reader out.
I recently had the honor of joining Melissa Leon on her podcast, The Efficiency Bitch. You can listen to the episode here and check out her new book on how to get yourself organized. I particularly love her take on using technology to help us automate regular tasks.
And finally, a few words of wisdom from Ruth Ozeki: “[Meditation] helps train the mind to settle and focus and be more perceptive, more aware, which is of course very helpful for the writing practice.” Yes it is.
Happy writing my friends,
April
P.S. It’s been a while since we checked in with Gurdeep. Not surprised to find him dancing on a hilltop in the Yukon to welcome in the new year.