Jennifer Crusie's Blog, page 18

Happiness. Huh.

I’d feel like a fraud writing a happiness post this week because I’m American and half our population just elected a convicted felon and sexual predator with delusions of grandeur and dementia to the highest office in our country. You know, just in case you hadn’t heard about that. I am relentlessly optimistic–the entire time I was curled in the fetal position in bed with depression I kept telling myself I was fine, just napping–but this time, not even I can put a good spin on this. It doesn’t help that everybody I trust is saying “This is going to be very bad,” and I don’t have much to refute that. In two years, the midterms will come around, and maybe . . . yeah, in two years.

So I’ve retreated into Facebook video. My faves: the bee lady (Erika Thompson) who goes into places that are infested with bees and carefully transfers them into safe boxes and takes them home (she has an incredibly soothing voice) and watching Patrick Mahomes throw a football (that’s a beautiful thing). Tonight I realized I was watching a woman save living things so their future would be brighter and a man who is competence porn personified. That’s all I want: compassion for those who need help and competence from the people in charge. I still have low grade nausea if I think about reality too long, but at least the bees are being saved and the Kansas City Chiefs are still undefeated (I think).

So happiness. I honestly think what I’m going to do for awhile is live in the moment until I get a grip again. (There’s really nothing else I can do.) Yes, very bad things are going to happen, but I don’t know what or when, so if I dwell on them now, I’ll just experience them twice. I have to live in the present, not waste the present moment dreading the future. And there are things right now to celebrate, to go back to the original theme of these Sunday posts: appreciate the small moments of good in your world. I had lunch with my friend Pat and then we went to a thrift store and for that time, we didn’t think about the world on fire, we just discussed finding used stuff at remarkable prices and laughed. And we had chocolate croissants for dessert, too. The Honey Pot Plot is shaping up nicely, and all this trauma is giving me new insights into Rose. My rescue cat comes to me on his own now and lets me pet him. I got my Christmas trees out; it’s too early but I ordered a bunch of small clip-on cardinals and I want to clip them on. I’m going to make banana bread with chocolate chips. The weather is beautiful. I’m not dead yet.

What moments can you celebrate right now?

This is a Good Book Thursday, November 7, 2024

So I’ve been moving at top speed for awhile now, moving to another state, writing two or three books a year with Bob when it used to take me eighteen months for one, trying to sort through the too-much-stuff I moved with me, living without a dog for the first time in decades (that one is really big), and dealing with a host of medical problems, like trying to find a doctor here and this small depression problem I have. And then this past month, I tripped over a Reddit thread on self-help books which I generally avoid. I used to buy them and not read them, so I saved a lot of money when I stopped. Didn’t miss them. But the reddit thread made me think again because this wasn’t publishers telling me these books were good, these were readers who said, “Yeah, this one.” And there were a few in there that I’d actually read and thought were really good–Brene Brown, Julie Morganstern, The Body Keeps the Score (my therapist told me to read that one, and after I did, I had a t-shirt made that said, “Fuck You, Jamie” and wore it to my next therapy session, it was that mind-blowing), The Artist’s Way, and several more–so I paid attention, made some notes, didn’t do anything. Then I read an article in the newspaper (either the NYT or The Washington Post, can’t find it now) that listed some of the same, and I made more notes. Then I decided that the last two months of 2024 were going to be a tune-up: eating better, being more creative, getting the house in order, whatever. So I paid full price for books. (I never do that; BookBub and Kindle Unlimited are my friends.)

So for the rest of this year (and probably into the next unless I wander off again), you’re going to be hearing about self-help books. It’s either that or moaning about The Honey Pot Plot and the discussions we’re having about the Art Crimes books, which can’t even be read yet. The list of what I’m reading is after the break below but feel free to recommend others or strengthen or weaken the support for the ones that are on there. I may not get to all of them, but I have a plan, and you’re gonna hear about it for awhile.

So what did you read this week?

My list of self-help recommended by others, with the ones I’ve already read and thought were valuable in bold. Yeah, looking at this now, it’s going to take me awhile.

Kondo, Tidying Up
Davis, How to Keep House while Drowning
Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks
Morgerstern, Shed Your Stuff
Morgenstern, Organizing from the Inside Out

Duhigg The Power of Habit
Clear, Atomic Habits

Rubin, Creative Act
Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Brene Brown, Daring Greatly
Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

Attia, Outlive
Greger, How Not to Die
Means, Good Energy

Van der Kolk The Body Keeps the Score
Sincero You are a Badass
Chodron, When Things Fall Apart
Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone

Working Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Got more of the house done, things hung, worked on my collage self-portrait, crocheted easy scarves (the circles scarf, tiny granny squares that might be a sweater instead, the always easy and useful double windowpane), and, oh yeah, moved full speed ahead on The Honey Pot Plot.

What did you work on this week?

Happiness is Good Outcomes in the Present and Great Plans for the New Year

Welp, I lived through publishing another book (and thank you ALL for your support) and it’s doing well, so that makes me happy. And we’re going full speed ahead on the next one and brainstorming/wargaming the next series for 2025, tentatively titled Arresting Anna, Stealing Nadine, and Dilly and Dali (obviously some of those will change) so now the only thing I have left to worry about is the election. Yeah, that’s a big one. But still contentment with the immediate preset and big hopes for the future is pretty good. Also remember today is the day we fall back and hour. Think of it as an extra hour to sleep. I do.

What made you happy this week?

This is a Good Book Thursday, October 31 (HALLOWEEN!), 2024

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so clearly I should read something spooky, but I’m not big on horror, so I reread Pratchett’s Going Postal. It has banshees and a really evil SOB as an antagonist, plus the protagonist is named Moist von Lipwig (“Hi, I’m Moist”) and the love interest is a chain-smoking man-hater named Adorabelle, so really, perfect for Halloween. Also one of the twistiest, funniest stories ever. (Those pin collectors have a dark side.)

What did you read this week?

Working Wednesday, October 30, 2024

This week it’s back to the house and The Honey Pot Plot. I handed the HPP master over to Bob and didn’t write today, and then I got this;

So I’ll be writing HPP . . .

What did you work on this week?

Happiness is Lunch with Friends

Pat Gaffney, Cathy Maxwell, and I had lunch together this week and laughed like loons the entire time. We’ve known each other for decades, survived writers conferences and publishing together, and just really like each other. It’s been rough here for a while, but lunch with Cathy and Pat cleared out the cobwebs and dusted off my happiness. Such good people, such a good time.

What made you happy this week?

Very Nice Funerals SPOILER PAGE

This is a spoiler page. That means don’t read the comments if you haven’t read the book and don’t want to know what happens before you read it.
Otherwise, comment on.

Sorry, this should have been up sooner but I didn’t think you’d read it in one day. Obviously, I forgot who I was posting for.

One in Vermillion is 99 Cents Today

So that was a surprise.

Exploiting You Again: New Book Out

Hey, Very Nice Funerals drops today. https://books2read.com/u/mBBl0M