A cooling peppermint-inspired playlist and yikes – a colouring book about domestic violence
Fancy scoring a copy of Holly Ringland’s novel The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding? There's one to give away this week.
I was having morning tea with a fab writer friend earlier today. I mentioned to her that a lovely lady in a writing feedback course I was doing last year had submitted the most ego-crushingly perfect short story I’ve ever read. I’d felt bad – I had no feedback to offer other than ‘write more of these, please’ and ‘submit it to the biggest outlets – competitions, literary journals, etc – you can think of without delay’. When I looked up this lady’s website afterwards, I realised the exact story she’d submitted for our opinions had been runner-up in one of the biggest short story competitions in the country. While an attitude of continuous-improvement-and-all-that-jazz is admirable, my question had been, why the heck was she submitting it to us plebs for our two cents’ worth? If it’d placed in such a major competition, I felt that any further tinkering she’d try on it would likely do more harm than good. How could someone who was so supremely talented still think she needed others’ advice on that story? On a new story, maybe, but that piece had proven it was up to scratch by being a faint breeze away from taking out the top prize.
But this is the writerly way – even with indisputable proof to the contrary, we will still, with at least 35% of our being at all times, suspect our work is garbage. And we’ve gotta push through that feeling and submit our work rather than waiting for others to tell us it’s okay. Polish your pieces, sure, but to ever get them out in the world, you’ve got to say ‘bugger it, this is close enough for now’ at some point. You must – sorry for the cringe phrase – put the ‘do’ in self-doubt. I’m thinking about this now, and how I can be more like this in the coming months.
Adios, enjoy the week, do all the doing!
News
1. Extremely here for Jamie Lee Curtis’s unbridled joy when her costar Michelle Yeoh won a Golden Globe for her performance as a total badass in Everything Everywhere All at Once (which I haven’t yet seen, but I’m really thinking I must). This Guardian article by Zoe Williams sums it up brilliantly. For too long, and still, women have been pitted against each other on the red carpet, in films, in interviews, on the news – everywhere. And yes, there are those women who harbour ill-will towards their female peers. But sometimes, they just love and respect them? Support them? Want them to do well? Scream when they win accolades? Surely that can’t be right. But it is.
2. Why Does Big Tech Make It So Hard to Fix Your Devices – this is an excellent question. Well, actually, the answer is obvious – these companies want to sell more devices. If they make you jump through enough hoops to get your phone or tablet or other tech product repaired, many folks will give up and buy a new one. Happy days, more sales! Seeking warranty repairs, a replacement or a refund can be a frustrating, time-consuming, energy-sapping experience. And that’s even when you are a savvy, well-educated, consumer without too many barriers such as speaking English as a second language potentially making the process even trickier. A better question to ask is: ‘Why are we still allowing tech companies to fob off customers?’. I’d venture to say the sitch here in Australia would be better than in the US, but I’ve certainly had some experiences where I was left pulling hair out when trying to negotiate warranty claims on computers and phones. A collaborative site like iFixit where users share manuals and advice might not be the ideal solution (holding corporations accountable!), but it’s a neat workaround for now.
3. Jiminy Cricket, who thought this was a good idea? Colleen Hoover has apologised and nixed production of a colouring book based on her domestic violence-themed novel, It Ends With Us. It sounds like once Booktokers criticized the concept as ill-advised and disrespectful to survivors of abuse, Hoover listened and acted swiftly and appropriately in cancelled the colouring book. Full points for the ‘no excuses’ tone of her apology, but how did her marketing team think this was going to end well at the outset?
Reviews
1. When it comes to cooking, I’m obsessive about minimum effort for maximum impact. Ain’t nobody got time for slaving over a hot stove (unless food is your passion, in which case: carry on). Anyway, on the weekend I was beyond thrilled to revisit and refine a previously-tried dessert combo to test it out for an upcoming ‘bring a plate’ event. It went smashingly for a hot day and could hardly be simpler (praise be!): a refreshing ginger fruit salad (I used blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries in mine) with ginger ice cream (I just did the basic bitch version with two ingredients – my type of recipe!). Highly recommended. For next Christmas, the ice cream would go swimmingly in brandy snap baskets, too. One to file away.
2. In October, I reviewed the exy-but-sexy Tatcha Water Cream, which retails for $104 for 50ml (ouch!). At half-ish the price ($66 for 50ml at Sephora) Saturday Skin’s Waterfall Glacier Water Cream feels a touch less spesh (it’s pretty much fragrance-free and has a less-impressive list of ingredients), but is delightfully lightweight (you don’t wake up with pimples the next day) and feels packed with moisture. Great for a hot day or when you want something very gentle on your skin.
Giveaway
The winner of Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You from last week’s giveaway is Alicia Petrollini. Congrats! I’ve emailed you, Alicia!
This week a copy of The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland is up for grabs. Can I just say: the reflective accents on the cover are lowkey mesmerising. Pop your name and email address in here to enter the draw.
Playlist of the Week
Like a peppermint-scented bath when you’ve been out in the 40-degree sun:
1. Easy Lover – Solo Version - Ellie Goulding
2. Little Bit - Lykke Li
3. Peppermint - lavender
4. 2 Oceans - Trevor Hall, Marieme
5. Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac
6. October Sky - Yebba
7. Home - Hrishikesh Hirway, Jay Som
8. Moonlight - Future Islands
9. Settle - Vera Blue
10. Californian Soil - London Grammar
11. Sunrise - Kevitch
12. Ophelia - The Lumineers
13. Clearest Blue - Chvrches
14. Equal (feat Lapsley) - ODEZSA, Lapsley
15. Easy To Love - The Jezabels