#9 – On five things I'm enjoying in Dec 2023
What I'm reading, listening and watching & my Word of The Year for 2024
Hello Friends,
Season’s greetings! This time of the year always puts me in a reflective state of mind, and these days, I am reflecting on all the ways art brings joy, knowledge and a sense of connection to our lives.
In a spirit of gratitude, I’d like to share with you five things I have been reading, listening and watching this month.
At the end of this letter, you will also find my Word of the Year for 2024. If you also have a word/theme for the new year and if you feel moved to share, I’d be so delighted to hear from you! You can reply directly to this email (if you are a subscriber), or you can leave a comment below to let me know. It’d totally make my day!
Book
A book I’m reading and loving these days is “Smarter by Sunday: 52 Weekends of Essential Knowledge for the Curious Mind” by The New York Times.
This book has 52 chapters–one for each week of the year–and each chapter covers a topic from history, literature, science, art, religion, philosophy and music.
I usually read books that are specifically about one or just a few major subjects/topics, so it’s fun to read this book and learn about a variety of things every weekend. It’s written for a general audience, and I’m finding it quite insightful. Sample topics include: The Big Bang, stars, and galaxies; Rome; philosophy; American popular music; and the Internet. If you are a curious reader who wants to learn about everything and anything, I’d highly recommend this.
Here is the book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/7652709
Poem
I love Mary Oliver’s poetry, and I’m especially enjoying this one:
Wild Geese
By: Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Song
As much as I love listening to my favourite artists on repeat, I also love discovering new artists and new songs.
One of the artists I started listening to this year is Priya Ragu, a Tamil-Swiss singer-songwriter. I love the vibrancy of her music. In particular, I love her song “Chicken Lemon Rice.”
Article
An article I enjoyed reading this month is Taylor Swift’s profile by Sam Lansky for her selection as Time’s Person of the Year. Lansky did such an incredible job on this one! As a Swifty and as a writer, I thoroughly relished every bit of this 6600-word magic!
Here is the link to the article: https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/
Movie
I adore Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and a movie I’m enjoying this month is the book’s 2019 movie adaptation by Greta Gerwig. It’s one of those movies I already watched like 32 times, and I’m still planning on watching it again!
If you’re still here, thank you so much for reading this. I’m so grateful to have you with me on this Substack adventure!
I wish you a safe, smooth and wonderful new year!
With lots of saran wrapped love,
Saran
PS: Since 2024 is just around the corner, I recently decided on my Word of The Year for this new year! And it is: Abundance. I love this word and the mindset shift it generates. It also pleases me to no end to notice that ‘dance’ is part of ‘Abundance’! I’m excited to see all the ways this word is going to guide my life in 2024.
Do you also choose a word or a phrase for your year? or do you have a recommendation for reading/watching/listening? If you feel inclined, I’d love it if you share :)
Thank you for being here!
