#83 A Slow Sunday Scroll ☕️
An online course I took. Hotels I love. Books I read. Stuff I bought.
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Hello! So lovely to be back in your inboxes after a little break, with an extra-colourful refreshed image above, too, designed by illustrator Bregje Sophie. It’s giving Elmer and I love it.
My August was deliciously August-y. I took the month off to fill up the tank (and I think I will do this every year!). It’s usually a slower month in the books industry—lots of OOOs—and so I just leant into it. The weather in London has been great and so I’ve been mostly soaking up the last remnants of the British summer.
“August is the month before harvest; a time when our ideas grow ripe on the vine. A certain impatience sets in as we await harvest.” — Julia Cameron
I took Julia Cameron’s new course “The Essential Tools” one cosy evening on the sofa—it features new online videos from her home in Santa Fe. It’s mostly going over the same tools that are in her seminal book The Artist’s Way, but it felt like a personal reminder to go back to the basics. Morning pages, coffee, walks, notepads and a good pen.
I put my work shoes back on briefly for the Edinburgh International Book Festival to promote my novel Table For One on a romance fiction panel—it was hosted by friend and fellow author
who made it all feel super easy and effortless.Mostly, August was about allowing myself the time and space to understand and digest the craziness of the past few months/years.
I have some plans for my next creative project, but my daily Tarot cards have been telling me to wait. I keep getting the reversed Chariot. (I wrote about the Chariot card before, here.) So, I listened, and I slowed all the way down. “There is no need to race ahead.” As I get older, I’m learning to move more easily with life’s rhythms and seasons.
I spent time in my garden. I hung the laundry outside and found it oddly satisfying to watch it dry in the breeze. Two butterflies danced around me, chasing and circling each other like two children playing. A garden spider wove a massive web and waited patiently for dinner.
I went for lunch dates and swims with friends. I went to Ottolenghi and forgot how good the salads were! I celebrated my nephew’s 1st birthday in a garden full of loved ones, and I babysat one weekend and made him healthy blueberry muffins which he loved. I went on long walks through the Hackney Marshes, listening to the birds, and also listening to podcasts.
I took myself to Bath for a solo trip; wandered the streets and had breakfast alone on a sunny rooftop. I saw lots of stand-up comedy at the Fringe festival in Edinburgh. By the end of the week my face and belly ached from laughter. It felt needed.
I read a proof copy of Sue Monk Kidd’s new book, Creativity, Writing, and Soul. It’s full of heartfelt reflections on her writing life: her insecurities, and experiences as a female writer in the 1970s. She generously shares with readers numerous sources of inspiration: books, authors, and passages that have fuelled decades of creativity and shaped many of her successful novels.
I watched things that were easy on the brain: the new David Attenborough doc Parenthood, some favourite wholesome YouTubers taking part in “vlogust” and the finale of It’s Just Like That. I invested in a really good coffee machine for the first time, and made iced lattes for myself and my guests. I cleared out my book shelves. I spent time writing for pleasure while overlooking my garden.
Okay August, you win. It was lovely to slow down with you.
September, there’s lots to do, and I’m ready.
I stayed in some lovely hotels during August too:
Horts Townhouse, Bristol: A boutique hotel above a pub. Our top room had a remote-controlled skylight (very The Holiday), a huge swivelling TV for movie nights in bed, plush robes, a freestanding bath, and the comfiest bed linen.
The Yard, Bath: Perfect for a solo staycay, with a pretty courtyard, cheese boards and breakfast hampers, just 10 mins from Toppings & Company bookstore and next door to Sydney’s rooftop café.
The Hoxton, Edinburgh: Stayed 3 nights during the Fringe. About a 30-min walk to the Royal Mile, but I always love wandering the city and getting the steps in! Brand-new, with a stylish lobby café for coffee/laptop time and sleek, modern rooms.
Kimpton Charlotte Square, Edinburgh: I was kindly put up here for the night during the book festival and loved its character: Little libraries dotted around, lots of places to sit and relax, a spa, pool and delicious breakfast buffet.
Cromlix (three miles from Dunblane): A Victorian estate owned by Kim & Andy Murray, complete with a Wimbledon-themed tennis court. Kindly hosted by Visit Scotland for a post-Fringe wind down (full review coming soon a separate “Edinburgh Postcard” post) <3
Slow Sunday Scroll Picks
The best things I’m reading, listening to, watching…..
— Tracee Ellis Ross on the Joy and Loneliness of Solo Travel
— Death of a publishing dream
— How creative retreats became the new girls' trip
— Do celebrities need the media anymore?
— The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Published
— Who Is Marc Maron Without Podcasting?
— Explaining Publishing to Non-Author Friends
— Why should women be expected to shrink and shut up?
— How Substack is upending media
— How to thrive as a highly sensitive person
— Who Is Watching All These Podcasts?
— 27 Notes On Growing Old(er)
— Does the Internet make you a people pleaser?
— Big podcasts don’t sell books
— The economics of writing a book
— Happy Half Hours by A.A. Milne. A selection of Milne’s articles, spanning over four decades from 1910 to 1952, have been put together in a collection for the first time.
— Loved One by Aisha Muharrar is a novel I’m currently really enjoying! I love writing that feels energetic and alive.
— Turning by Jessica J. Lee: a memoir about swimming in Berlin's lakes.
My author copies arrived for the American version of Table For One! THRILLING. You can pre-order via Bookshop.org here or Barnes & Noble here.
— A tour of this ‘micro-apartment’ in Paris.
— The trailer for Hamnet.
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— A lovely conversation between Ava Durvernay and Sari Botton.
— My friend did a Ted Talk.
— Seth Godin in conversation with the head of publishing at Kickstarter.
— I went on
’s brilliant new podcast as a guest! We talked about life on the other side of burnout. You can listen here.— Cariad Lloyd and Sara Pascoe on their books, writing and writing processes.
— Emily Maitlis on Semafor on why she left the BBC to do her own podcast.
— I want this Dachshund jumper.
— And this scrunchie set.
— And these yellow stripey pyjamas from a brand called It’s 9pm.
— My new coffee machine!!!! Obsessed.
— Some woodland tarot cards.
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY:
Sept 3, 5pm BST – Join
and me for a free chat on podcasting, creator burnout, pivoting, and community vs broadcasting. (Paid subscribers get the replay!) Link HERE.
NEW YORK DATES FOR YOUR DIARY! 🇺🇸
THE STRAND, Thursday October 23rd: Join
and I to discuss Table For One, solo dining & more! 🎇 Tickets HERE 🎇BOOKS ARE MAGIC, Friday October 24th: Join
and I to discuss my new novel, Millennial life, writing and everything in between! 🎇 Tickets HERE 🎇
Happy weekend! Do hit the ❤️ if you enjoyed this post :)
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As a mummy of two doxies I couldn’t resist the urge to buy this beautiful dachshund sweater 🤩🤩🤩
Great Sunday Scroll. Devoured all the content on the publishing industry. And ordered a sweater with a rainbow version of my dog Bean on it. Thanks, Emma!