October Recap
Happy end of October everyone. I hope you've got cozy/fun plans for Halloween. I can hardly believe that's already the day after tomorrow...
For this post, I have decided to archive what I put up on my "recently" page, as a way of keeping track of what I'm into throughout the year. I'm interested in seeing what will strike my fancy each month, and if there will be any patterns or threads I'll notice in the media I consume or recommend.
Books or Audiobooks:
日本語総まとめN2 series、新完全マスター日本語能力試験N2 series
I'm studying harder than ever for the JLPT N2, and have been hammering away at both of these book series, especially the reading （読解）books. I think what really gets my goat though is that I had both full sets in my possession at the beginning of this year, but sensibly told myself that I didn't need to go dragging all of these books back to the country they came from, just so they could continue to sit on my shelf and look pretty (but not be studied). So I gave them away to friends. Little did I know that I'd join a couple of online classes that call for bits of both series to be used... so onto Amazon we went.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
I picked up the actual book in Narita airport, then left it in my suitcase for two weeks while I instead listened to the audiobook on Spotify. (_);; I honestly just enjoyed listening to the author's cool British accent telling me that it's okay to be human and NOT worry so much about time. (Spoiler: it's more a book about how to stop trying to manage the unmanageable.)
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
I tried listening to the audio book version of The Year of Less. Read by the author, Cait describes her process and struggle with giving up impulse buying and shopping for fun. But, it's really a lot less about the challenge she undertook that year, and much more about her inner reflections on her past, present, and future. I enjoyed it for a little while, but honestly struggled to get through chapter three, and finally gave it up around chapter four. Simply put - it just wasn't what I was expecting. I think if you're looking for a memoir, it's a good read - but I do recommend you read the book, and skip the audio book.
Podcasts:
Reaching Out
I recently enjoyed listening to a few episodes of this podcast. I happened upon it thanks to a feature in This American Life where Ira Glass prefaced the piece very well - basically there's a unique narration style to this podcast, and the host (Sayre Quevedo) has a kind of dry tone that diverges from usual podcaster enthusiasm. But thanks to Ira encouraging listeners to "stay with it," I did, and found myself hooked. I related well to his intellectualism and the "daddy issues" aspect that the show kind of centers around. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Music:
When October rolls around, I'm always reminded of my pagan/wiccan roots, and start playing my "Witchy Wonderful" playlist. Some songs are actually meant more for the spring, but I play them all nonetheless, because they make me feel nostalgic for my spell-casting days. Curious? I'll write about that eventually.
Movies/TV Shows:
Harry Potter Series
Recently Eric and I finished re-watching the entire Harry Potter series. I have never been a fan of the first two movies - in fact, as an avid reader of the books at that time, I fumed for days after watching the first movie in theaters, outraged at how much the directors left out, and how bad the acting was... I still feel the same, haha. But pushing through, it gets way better at the fifth through sixth movies. Maybe it's because I'm older now, and have higher expectations out of my fantasy movies.
I have to say though, rewatching the movies gave me a newfound appreciation for Daniel Radcliffe, who has aged stunningly.
Adventure Time
We finished our fourth or fifth re-watch of Adventure Time. That's right. Fourth, maybe fifth... we've lost count. Basically we put something on before bed every night, and while I don't think it's the healthiest habit, it is a reliable way to relax. We have a rotation of a few reliable shows that we know like the back of our hand, so it's easy to tune out and wind down. This is definitely my favorite show to re-watch though, because it's just so wholesome and silly, but also sometimes really deep and mind-blowing. We always catch something new, and just enjoy the crap out of this show.
Other
Gabriel Loppé and French Glaciers
So I recently spent two weeks doing a deep dive into the life and art of a 19th century painter named Gabriel Loppé. His great great granddaughter, Anne Friang, was coming to my town for a visit, and promoting her new book about him. I lost count of how many times I watched this video, and translated it into Japanese so that some local artists could get at least 25% as informed as I was becoming.
I have to say, I had pretty much 0 interest in French glaciers or 19th century oil painting a month ago, but now it's kind of infused into me, along with a boatload of Japanese vocabulary I'm not sure when I'll use again. I learned a lot and enjoyed getting to know the author (Anne Friang). I hope you get a little interested too. The book we heard all about, by the way, is here. Note, it's currently only available directly from the French publisher.