Welcome to the January edition of my Monthly Fun Stuff format! You might or might not have noticed that I somehow missed the New Year one… That would have been easy though: December fun stuff includes mostly Christmas spirit, Chrismas food, Christmas gifts and guiltfree trashy champagne on New Year’s Eve. Actually, it was organic prosecco for us this year, because this is what you get when you attempt to buy champagne last minute 😉
Anyway, here are some things which caught my attention in the month of January!
On the Web.
— In a mood for being inspired? Read the amazing story of Jill Bolte Taylor, a raising star of neuroscience who, at the age of 37, suffered a stroke. Spoiler alert: she did recover, wrote a bestselling memoir and her TED talk is one of the most-watched of all time. A must-read!
— If you’re a parent and you’ve ever felt completely exhausted, both physically, emotionally and mentally – know you’re not alone! The parental burnout is real, unfortunately. This article from Scarymommy gives you a good overview of what it is and how to deal with it.
— And finally, on a lighter note: Are You Emotionally Stable Enough to Get Bangs? A Questionnaire. Because this is something you really need to know. 😉
Music discoveries.
Go big or go home, they say. In line with this piece of wisdom, I’d like to recommend to you not one song, but a whole YouTube channel! It’s called Good Music Everyday and you can find it HERE. It is exactly what it claims to be – a place full of music (various genres!) worth listening to. 🙂
Book of the month.
I’ve already mentioned it briefly in one of my previous posts (read here). It’s The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes. Marian Keyes is one of my all-time favorite authors. Granted, her books are not particularly thought-provoking or ambitious, but they are definitely not as tacky and obvious as most books in its genre.
The Other Side of the Story is a tale of three women, Gemma, Lily and Jojo. And even though they don’t have much in common, their lives intersect throughout. Gemma is an event planner whose boyfriend supposedly got “stolen” by Lily. They’re not in touch anymore and Gemma’s plate is full of other misfortunes: her Dad unexpectedly walked out on her Mom, her new haircut sucks and her work is as stressful as it can get. Lily lives with Gemma’s ex-boyfriend and has managed to publish a surprisingly successful book. Unfortunately, she is terrible with money and quickly finds herself on the edge of poverty, about to lose everything she loves. Lily’s hotshot literary agent, Jojo, is striving to become a partner in her agency while at the same time involving herself in a steamy affair with her married boss.
I like the mix of drama, romance, humor and plot twists that Marian Keyes managed to include in her book. The only downside for me is that a couple of characters annoyed me so much that I wished I could jump inside the book and slap them in the face. Cough… Gemma’s Mom, cough cough… Lily Wright. And even though you might feel that the plot is a bit slow in the first half of the book, the second half easily makes up for it. A must-read for all genre enthusiasts!
TED talk of the month.
“My identity is my superpower.” – America Ferrera’s take on the reality of today’s movie industry and the ability to stand up for who you really are. Prepare to feel inspired. 🙂