Reading list: a sense of place and time
dispatches of lives lived elsewhere; a hodgepodge of lives and places I enjoy dipping into
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Always forget to share a song even though I’m the one who wanted to keep up the practice of sharing songs I’ve been discovering/rediscovering; always have to go back in and add post-publishing. I used to love Villagers, and this song, so much - saw him live in Galway 2016 ! A wordsmith !
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Following on from my well-documented (and embarrassing because I’m always embarrassed about going through moments of not being able to cope with things that are, objectively, not a big deal in life) ‘feeling overwhelmed by the volume of things to read here’ phase, I’m into my ‘being glad about all the lovely things to read here’ phase.
I often have to freak out for a period of time about things before I can settle into accepting them and engaging with them in an enjoyable manner. I am very glad I am into the next phase. For now. Who knows what will take hold when.
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So, back on the theme of: so many newsletters! - but in a fun rather than distressed manner - I’ve made another list.
A sense of place and time is so important as the root of any story. To create a strong sense of both is what helps us, as readers, feel invested and connected and interested.
The list I’ve made includes the newsletters I’m come across here that invoke a true sense of place and time; they are ones I dip into to feel like I’m elsewhere for a while; I feel as if I’m moving through the seasons and the streets alongside the writer. In true wanderlust fashion, they remind me of other worlds and lives and possibilities. They remind me of potential, and that there are so many lives we could cycle through within this one life. They excite me and soothe me and interest me and delight me.
They also remind me that life is happening to everyone everywhere, and is tough lots of the time, and holidays are different to living, and romanticising is something to be aware and cautious of (but is fun to do also because sometimes it’s nice to allow ourselves to live in idealism and fantasy for a while, as long as we know that’s what we’re doing and are capable of pulling ourselves out of it).
Also, please note that my instinct is always to ‘categorise’ things because it superficially soothes a part of my brain that wants to bring order to chaos. BUT, I also am always fighting a losing battle because things can’t be categorised, because things are all sorts at once, and even, often, contradictory things all at once. Take these categories with a pinch of salt, really - they could fall under any number of headings. I’ve just chosen country names for now for ease of getting started.
Theme: Dispatches from other places / snapshots into how people are living their lives elsewhere
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Ireland
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Italy
Italicus: a writer’s life in Italy
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UK
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France
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New Zealand
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US
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Various
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As always, there are of course more to add and I’ll be periodically updating, but I wanted to get the ball rolling for now.
Please feel free to recommend and suggest more! Any along these lines that you love, that remind you of the big wide world, and the possibilities, and lives lived elsewhere than our own corners. Or, share your corner, because that is always an elsewhere to someone.
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Other lists I’ve cobbled together in a fruitless bid to impose order on the chaos:
Nature writing + other ‘personal writing’ (I really don’t like that phrase).
The second half of this post is just one long list that I keep intending to separate out in some pleasing way.
And, this is a list in its own way: a playlist I’ve been updating for over a year each time I include songs in published pieces etc.
Thank you for reading 🌼
If you feel the urge to comment (or write to me personally) and share any thoughts/words of your own; if someone came to mind as you read and you’d like to share this with them - please follow that instinct. It’s very welcome. While exposing yourself into the ether brings its own strange enjoyment, it’s always important and lovely to hear words ping back at you at some stage.
(The best way to follow along, if you’d like to, is to subscribe- here’s a little note about subscriptions, if you’d like to understand more).
(Also, I suggest reading in browser rather than email, if possible. Try to take a minute to navigate there if you can - it’s a just nicer experience.)