I love Lena Dunham. I love her book 'Not That Kind of Girl'. She's not only far wiser than I was at her age, but she is wiser than I am now (and I'm half a decade older than her). I've already read it twice, and it's the sort of book I expect to dip in and out of for years still to come. She strikes me as a very kind person, as well as (obviously) very clever and talented.
It feels odd. Some passages in her book take me back to a time (not that long ago) when I was a lot surer about things. I know I've alluded quite a lot lately to some Big Changes in my life. Well, one of those (among many, actually) is that my boyfriend who I lived with for 11 years and I decided to separate.
When Lena (yep, I feel I can call her Lena, as if we are friends) talks about her boyfriend Jack, it is exactly how I used to talk about my now-ex-boyfriend. I was so sure. I thought I'd cracked it. I thought I was sensible. I thought I was right.
As Lena says in her book, like touching wood: 'I know life is long and people change'. That is exactly the sort of thing I used to say, maybe in those exact words, but only as a superstition. I didn't really mean them. I should have.
It makes me feel a little bit sad. Not for her, for me. Not for her because she doesn't need it - much as I like to think otherwise, we are not the same. She doesn't need me. Maybe she is right. I wasn't. Actually I kind of was. And that's the thing. It's OK.
If we can't believe in the triumph of hope over experience, then what have we left?
vendredi 24 avril 2015
jeudi 23 avril 2015
The perfect mixtape?!
Look what my brilliant publisher made! So cool.
(They are actually USB things, in a pleasingly retro/modern twist.)
Oh, and they are to promote my novel 'My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend' - out on 4th June!
(They are actually USB things, in a pleasingly retro/modern twist.)
Oh, and they are to promote my novel 'My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend' - out on 4th June!
dimanche 19 avril 2015
Not That Kind of Girl
Trying to channel the brilliance of Lena Dunham, I currently have 'Girls' DVDs on a continual loop while I sit on my sofa writing.
I have also got changed three times today because none of my clothes have felt right. We all know that feeling, yes? (Please say yes.)
I have red lipstick, red wine and more words to write. Happy Sunday!
I have also got changed three times today because none of my clothes have felt right. We all know that feeling, yes? (Please say yes.)
I have red lipstick, red wine and more words to write. Happy Sunday!
lundi 13 avril 2015
The First Bad Man
I have long loved Miranda July, ever since I went to see 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' by myself on a weekday afternoon in Soho after a job interview. I think she's brilliant, and love all of her multimedia adventures.
About this, her first novel, I have only two words. READ IT.
I have never read anything like it in my life, in the most disturbing and wonderful way possible. I didn't know it was possible for a book to stir up some of the feelings it did.
Although it seems to have been everywhere for a while, I actually knew very little about the story itself before starting, and I suggest you do the same if at all possible.
I have already given my copy to a friend (who has finished and loved it) and bought a copy for another friend. It's one of those books that I am desperate to discuss with other people. Please tell me your feelings on it!
About this, her first novel, I have only two words. READ IT.
I have never read anything like it in my life, in the most disturbing and wonderful way possible. I didn't know it was possible for a book to stir up some of the feelings it did.
Although it seems to have been everywhere for a while, I actually knew very little about the story itself before starting, and I suggest you do the same if at all possible.
I have already given my copy to a friend (who has finished and loved it) and bought a copy for another friend. It's one of those books that I am desperate to discuss with other people. Please tell me your feelings on it!