well, that’s quite lovely

sometimes you've got to tally the good things

It’s rare for me to open a book and stop reading because the prose is so perfect, it demands to be savoured. This has been my experience with Rapture, the new novel by Australian author Emily Maguire (published in the UK in March). I purchased a signed copy in Sydney and read the first few pages in the hotel room and again at the airport and after both readings I just knew I couldn’t waste my ‘first read’ in transit.

Writing this beautiful - sweet, glorious, rapturous! - requires a quiet room, pen in hand, time to be languid with each sentence; underlining where possible, notes in the margin. This is a book that tells you how to read it. When life is overwhelming and you flip through the pages hoping (needing) to escape for some reprieve, being told how to read is welcomed because it’s one less decision to make (I’m calling it ‘book of the year’ and I think we’ll see it on all the prize lists).

We read to escape, but words can also prompt us to make change and adopt a more compassionate perspective. Reading can make us think and consider and care. There is solace in the pages of a novel and also galvanising mandates - to live better, to look deeper.

Right now, most of us move through the day very aware of our privilege and safety because how can we not when there is deep anguish in so many parts of the world? You may find yourself also wondering: how can I relish the frivolous when we are seeing the clear projection of the climate crisis? Of course, we can also acknowledge the daily challenge of normal, expensive, testing life because our small realities cannot be excused; they are as real as a hurricane.

In these topsy-turvy times as we brace ourselves for the inevitable demands that come with the end of the year (deep breaths), we need to lean on the reliable and the comforting to steady ourselves. This isn’t selfish or ignorant; it’s simply taking care. And one way to do that is to tally the good things; the tiny, sweet morsels that exist in and around all the hard stuff.

For me, these good things are so worth our time and attention. Can you notice them, be intentional with them, declare them rather wonderful even if the rest of your day has been a bit shit? You absolutely can.

But first you need to do one thing:

remind yourself that you’re worthy of lovely things in your life.

And after a while, you may notice the lovely things compound to create a deep and visceral sense of contentment.

It can actually be incredibly hard to notice contentment it in a distracted world, because it requires both stillness and reflection. Contentment is known to be more stable than happiness and I think that’s because it’s quiet and longer lasting. As I write in Practising Simplicity:

“After years of striving to attain happiness, I found it in a country field and the knowing that I am happy, truly happy, with the very simplest of things, in nature. This was contentment and it filled me like a warm kind of quiet, soft yet clear.”

My friend Pip Lincoln (who wrote When Life is Not Peachy which is just the book you need if you’re currently in a tough patch) posted a ‘taking stock’ list on her blog many, many years ago and I’ve been writing them ever since. It’s a quick way to sort through what you’re doing and also what’s really good in your life (that you may have glanced over). We can acknowledge the hard stuff but we all need to be bolstered by the wonder, too. And so, a list!

Getting: prepared for the start of term 4 tomorrow, which is always busy and inevitably tiresome. Cookies in the oven, uniforms ready, shoes by the door
Cooking: roast chicken so there’s enough for lunch over the next few days
Sipping: tea and lemon water
Reading: Rapture, Intermezzo, Uses for Obsession (if you’ve got a foodie in your life, consider it essential reading)
Thinking: about what’s happening today - just today - because too far ahead is a bit too much
Remembering: appointments that need to be made, work that needs to be done, jobs to finish and seedlings to plant
Looking: out the window at the fairy wrens in the hedge, collecting tiny splinter-like twigs for their nests
Listening: to siblings bicker while making a ‘cubby’ and knowing that their conflict negotiations without my interference are setting them up for life
Wishing: we could all experience the joy of not being sold anything more often than not
Enjoying: the creative comfort of chatting with wonderful writers every month (soul-filling, heartwarming stuff)
Appreciating: the spring sun which has been so abundant the past few days
Wanting: just a little more wriggle room in the budget
Eating: protein-rich meals which make such a difference to my energy levels
Finishing: a newsletter, a news feature, book edits
Liking: the joy of moving through the world and not feeling like I need to improve
Loving: that we no longer need to light the fire but it’s still cool enough for a hot water bottle at night
Buying: groceries (always), coffee beans and Japanese stationery
Watching: the sky (not enough) and the clock (too much)
Hoping: for a productive work week with plenty of time pottering in the garden
Wearing: an odd combination of winter/spring clothes because the days are warmer but an extra layer is always necessary
Walking: along the three inlets each day, usually at low tide so my dog can run and chase gulls and leap through the water, sometimes swimming so she returns home particularly salty
Following: my intuition because it’s such a good way to live
Noticing: self-seeded tomato plants popping up all over the garden
Saving: books for a summer reading list (I’m so looking forward to a few weeks screen-free)
Bookmarking: summer recipes (Salad for Days looks wonderful)
Coveting: the moments when I’m in creative flow and the words spill onto the page without force
Feeling: weary, actually, and hence very motivated to head into the next few months with a realistic perspective and a bit of planning (extra newsletter about this arriving on Tuesday!)
Hearing: whispers, dog barks, bird song, whistling, laughing

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other things

• the seed of an idea; how the Booker shortlist novels came to be

• it’s been a long wait but I am absolutely giddy for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new novel, out early 2025. If you want to read her backlist, start with Purple Hibiscus and then Half of a Yellow Sun.

• I just finished We Solve Murders which is proof that sometimes a simple, rollicking yarn is a good idea

• Over on Dear New Mum I’ve listed three things all new mums should know

• Every recipe I make from RecipeTinEats is amazing. No wonder everyone raves about Nagi!

Till next time, take care x