Monday Miscellany: A hype track for your next self-care moment

Notes from October 14 - 20

Oct 21, 2024

Hello, hello! I hope your week is off to a good start. Life is simultaneously exciting and heavy over here and my head is aswirl with all of it: the leaves are turning beautiful colors; big employment changes are imminent in my little family; I’m missing a friend who is currently helping with relief efforts in western NC; the election is coming up; there are a thousand art and home improvement projects I want to start; I can feel seasonal depression peeking out from behind the trees; we just put the cozy flannel sheets on our bed; I’m reconnecting with other favorite friends whom I haven’t seen nearly enough lately; and I finally decorated the mantel for spooky season. Oh, and I’ve been looping the hell out of some Tchaikovsky (more on that below). What a whirlwind.

Currently reading

Ever since it was released back in February, I’ve been seeing Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly floating around the internet, reviewed favorably by some of my favorite book people. Since I knew I wanted to get to it before the end of the year (and since one of the surest ways to get me to do something is to give me a box to check off), I added it to my autumn list. Well, folks, I finally got my hands on a library copy, and I loved it.

In the most general terms, it’s about a Māori and Russian sister and brother, the titular Greta and Valdin, just living their lives in New Zealand. Greta is a comparative literature graduate student with a crush on one of her cohort, Holly, who actually turns out to be kind of a self-absorbed asshole. And Valdin is throwing himself into his work, trying to get over a breakup that he definitely is not over. It’s all very immersive and slice-of-life. I didn’t care so much about the plot as I did about just being able to spend time with these characters; Greta and Valdin’s family and friends are a truly diverse and compelling bunch.

I’ve seen this book compared to the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums, which I can see in some ways. We’re following a cast of interesting and exceptional people, all of whom are witty and cultured and smart. But the tone of Greta & Valdin feels different somehow. Warmer. If you’re looking for a funny and comforting reading experience to snuggle up with this fall or winter, this might be the one.

Currently listening

I don’t know why, but Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture popped into my head recently and it hasn’t left. I’ve been blasting this recording by the Berlin Philharmonic quite a bit this past week, including on my shower speaker while filling the tub and getting ready for a bath (it’s about fifteen minutes long, which, incidentally, is the perfect length for said task). Let me tell you about it, in case you too need a hype track for your next self-care moment.

There are no lyrics, of course, so I can’t share any favorite lines with you. I’m also not totally sure how to explain in words the particular melodies that stand out to me and end up on repeat in my brain. If you’ve seen the film V for Vendetta, you might know the finale from the scene where Parliament blows up in an impressive display of explosives and fireworks (if not, scroll down). So, that’s part of it—one of my top fanfares of all time, easily. The timpani! The outrageous volume! The pomp! The circumstance!

But before all that, there’s a lovely, almost pastoral beginning, with strings that sound like a vast field dappled in sunlight, sheep calmly grazing and maybe a stream trickling along nearby. At 1:45, a change, a signal that all is not well—the sun suddenly disappearing behind a cloud, casting the grass in shadow—followed by an increase in urgency, the sheep starting to scatter as an army appears cresting a nearby hill (think Mulan). You might have different imaginings, of course. This is just one woman’s mental Fantasia.

The iconic leitmotif from the finale appears for the first time around 3:20, sounding all jaunty and innocent, with sweeping strings layered on top, before giving way to a more frantic sense of industriousness and hurry. And then, a section that feels like flying, like wind blowing your hair back as you soar over the city, far from worry, the people as small as ants below. We alternate between these two moods several times before the timpani and cymbals return right around the 12-minute mark and the energy reaches a fever pitch. This part always cracks me up a little, because the drum is intentionally not exactly on beat, and I always picture the timpanist being so amped up for their moment that they go a little nuts and get their part wrong. “Oh shit, yes, it’s finale time” BOOM… BOOM, BOOMBOOM, “dude, I am completely killing this, I wonder if Aunt Sharon is in the audience, I hope she sees me right now” BOOM!

Around 12:50, here comes the tolling of the clock tower (for whomst? FOR THEE), and the feeling that the end is near, the camera now panning across a sea of people wearing Guy Fawkes masks, faces pointed toward the sky, before finally (13:38)… we’re off! The bombs have ignited! Fireworks scream and explode! The government building is going up in a spectacular display as Evey and Finch watch from a nearby rooftop! That timpanist is seriously feeling themself! AND! SCENE!

Man, remember remember the 5th of November, am I right??

(Also, I have a correction to my last newsletter. Apparently the upcoming Regina Spektor album, Songs, is not new tracks, but very old ones! This collection was recorded on Christmas Day in 2001 and self-released—she used to sell it at her early live shows, and you can still find old YouTube videos. Next month’s “release” just marks the first time it will be available on Spotify and other streaming platforms. A huge thank-you to Athena for filling me in about this!)

Aforementioned spooky mantel, a crucial part of every fall season in our house

And another thing

I came across some books this week that I was really excited to add to my to-read list, and thought you might like to hear about them too:

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden: Rosamond enthusiastically recommended this one in her newsletter, saying “this novel is extremely gay, and if A24 doesn’t turn this into a dark, broody, sapphic drama, well that is very much our loss.” I don’t need any more than that!
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister: Mallory O’Meara mentioned this one on a recent episode of Reading Glasses podcast about her most anticipated books of fall, and the premise sounded amazing—the publisher describes it as an “atmospheric Appalachian gothic.” Again, say less, I’m in.
Two-Step Devil by Jamie Quatro: Sara published a fascinating interview with Jamie on her substack (FictionMatters) and this book just sounded SO interesting. The characters, one of whom is based on a real person that Jamie met long ago and still keeps in touch with, the plot, the vibes, the structure, all of it.