Choosing from the pile of unread books

Hey there,

Is there a word for when all of your library holds come in at once, and you want to read all of them but have to choose what to start with, and what to risk having to return before getting to? That’s me right now. Good thing it’s almost the end of the year and a good time for hiding from the heat inside with a good book.

Similarly the amount of things I want to do next year is piling up, and if I don’t consciously choose what to pull back on I know it’s going to shove out something that I probably would prefer not to sacrifice, like sleep. Unfortunately unlike the library books, some things you can’t just reserve again and hope it comes at a less busy time. But then again, having too many worthy options to choose from is a pretty lucky problem to have.

I’ve been making a lot o art since I last wrote, and even did a few one-on-one classes with a local artist. It’s a leap of faith to invest (more) real money into a hobby that I don’t expect to ever give any meaningful income, but it makes such a difference having someone believe in me and push me to go further. These classes are likely to be something I have to pull back on next year, but I’m hoping that sporadic sessions will be enough to keep the momentum going.

I spent a little time updating my page of Sketchbooks recently. 2024 seems to have been a year of experimenting with different sketchbooks - I’ve completed 5 and have another 2 in progress, all in a variety of different sizes, brands and paper types. I don’t love every page, and I don’t work in them every day anymore, but they’re still such an important outlet for me that I can’t see myself stopping. I’ll probably keep experimenting with buying and making sketchbooks to shift with the medium I’m interested in.

Will 2025 be the year I start actually writing more, or will it have to continue being something on the back burner with just some sporadic letters? I haven’t decided yet. But thank you for being here with me, reading my emails if you’ve gotten this far. I hope you have a wonderful end to the year, however you choose to honour it. Tell me if you have any good journaling prompts - Sandy has me considering doing Year Compass again, time consuming as it is.

Here’s a few interesting things I’ve come across lately:

I really enjoy Emily Hughes videos explaining how she creates her art, and her bold, visible paint strokes, especially in gouache.
After raving about Omnivore for reading newsletters and saved articles, it was acquired and sadly shut down. After trying a few alternatives I’ve landed back at Instapaper, which is not as fully featured but is free and has the ability to subscribe to email newsletters.
On a recommendation I listened to the 28ish Days Later podcast from BBC, all about periods and cycles. Really well put together and interesting information for anyone who menstruates or has someone in their life who does (so everyone pretty much).
Of the Books I've read in 2024, two of my favourites came from readers of this newsletter. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (thanks Meredith, Marcellus the octopus is probably one of my favourites characters ever as well), and Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (thanks Sandy, loved the twist and the writing in this space opera).

See you next year probably!

Teresa