ATOMIC HABITS

Fall is almost over and you know what that means… time to share my fall 2020 favourites. So here’s a list of books, music and shows that I have been enjoying this past months. I also share what I’m currently working on personally in case it can help motivate you to do the same. 

Anywho, grab anything pumpkin spice and join me, will you?

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

A few years ago, Sufjan Stevens’ “Carrie and Lowell” was all I listened to while writing. I love that album. I kind of hadn’t been listening to him for a long time, so a couple of weeks ago I decided to catch up on his work. Let me just say I am on the Sufjan Stevens train again. “The Ascension” is just what I need to get my creative juices flowing. Then I jump to “The Decalogue”, his collaboration with Timo Andres. Finally, I top it off with “Aporia”, his collaboration with Lowell Brams. Chef’s kiss!

Ok, yes. I also have Taylor Swift’s fall album (aka “Red”) playing every single weekend. Ok, ok, and I also still have “folklore” on repeat every other day. Can you blame me? I’m still waiting for my cardigan and “folklore” vinyls I ordered in July to arrive. Apparently I won’t receive them until December. I have no idea why it’s taking so long, but honestly, I feel like it won’t be cardigan-weather where I live by the time I actually receive it.

WHAT I’M READING

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while and I finally did. James Clear doesn’t disappoint. The book is full of great information on how to start and maintain good habits as well as stuff you can do to stop bad ones. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read on the subject. If you’re struggling with your habits, I highly recommend it.

“Marketing to Moviegoers a Handbook of Strategies and Tactics” by Robert Marich

Ok, this one isn’t for fun as you can probably imagine. But I’ve been wanting to freshen up and expand on my knowledge on film marketing for a while, so this book has helped me to do just that. Again, this is quite a dense book, but if you’re looking to read up on the subject, it’s a great one.

WHAT I’M WATCHING

“The Haunting of Bly Manor” (Spoilers ahead of course!)

Although I didn’t find “The Haunting of Bly Manor” (Mike Flanagan, 2020) as perfectly splendid as I found “The Haunting of Hill House” (Mike Flanagan, 2018), I did quite enjoy it. Mind you, I consider “Hill House” to be a horror masterpiece, so it would be hard for “Bly” to reach that status. Nonetheless, I loved the characters, specially Owen’s “dad jokes”, Hannah’s amazing looks (give me all her earrings, please!) and all the romance.

“The Haunting of Bly Manor” is being sold as an adaptation of Henry James’ “The Turn of the screw”. I think the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as “Hill House” is that I found the storytelling of this second series not as clean-cut as the first. Some aspects of it felt like filler at first. Specifically, I’m talking about the whole ghosts jumping through memories bit. I loved this amazing concept (that kind of reminded me of David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story” ending). However, it felt a bit repetitive after a bit. This idea is introduced to us with Hannah’s episode, then we see Peter going through his version of this in the next episode and, finally, we also see it from Flora’s point of view when she gets “tucked in”.

Anyway, when I finished the show, I had mixed feelings. Some things I really loved, and others I was a bit more “meh” about. My opinion changed, however, when I read some articles that explained that the show was not only an adaptation of Henry James’ “Turn of the Screw”, it also included homages to other Henry James’ stories which I am not familiar with. Ah! Now everything made more sense. I really think the show becomes a lot more enjoyable if you read it as an homage to Henry James’s “world”. For example, the whole Viola episode is based on Henry James’ “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes”. On the other hand, the idea of Henry’s doppelgänger could be inspired by “The Jolly Corner”; while Dani’s ending draws from “The Beast in the Jungle”. This article talks about all the references if you’re interested. Mind you, it’s in Spanish, but you know, Google Translate is your friend.

Knowing all of this makes certain aspects of the show feel less like filler. I definitely appreciate it more seeing how hard it has to be to interlace all these stories and themes. I’ll have to catch up on my reading and revisit the show at some time for sure.

Down to Earth With Zac Efron

After finishing “The Home Edit” and “rainbowfying” (is that how you spell it?) my house, I needed another feel good show to watch. Don’t ask me why I decided to go with “Down to Earth with Zac Efron”, but I’ll tell you I’m glad I did. I enjoyed this show a lot more than I expected to. It’s informative and fun but mostly, it’s important.

Zac’s a great presenter. He’s up for adventure, open to learn and most importantly, open to change. Darin offers a great counterpart with the same eagerness for adventure and his great amount of knowledge (I even bought his book!). This show has reminded me how small changes can make the world better place. Definitely, a must watch!

WHAT I’M WORKING ON

We all know that journaling is good for you. It’s a journey to self-discovery, it’s a way to put your thoughts in order… it’s a life style. The thing is, I’m not very consistent with it, which doesn’t help. For a while now, I’ve been meaning to upgrade my journaling game.

So recently I’ve been following muchelleb on YouTube. If you’re looking on tips on how to improve your life by being a better version of you, please check her out. Her idea of having “admin days” has literally changed my life.

So what does muchelleb (her real name is Michelle Barnes) have to do with journaling? Well, I was feeling pretty down and unmotivated when I found out she had her own planner called The Life Map Daily*, so I decided to buy it and get my life in order. During 13 weeks, this journal helps you focus on your goals and dream life. I’m currently loving it. It helps me keep track of my goals and what I’m doing to achieve them. It’s a planner more than a journal, but it does have gratitude prompts and asks you every day what you can do to improve. This really helps me jot down a few things that prompt me to journal on them and thus, improve my journaling habit. If you’re interested, you can find it here. 

*I’m using the 13 week planner at this time but there’s a full year planner if you prefer.