Monthly Musings: On August

To Be Read · Quotes to Ponder · Currently Loving · Things I’ve Learned

To Be Read

A few books I’m hoping to spend some time with this month — including one old favourite I’m returning to.

Agua Viva, Clarice Lispector

My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante (reread)

Was man von hier aus sehen kann, Mariana Lekys

Play It as It lays, Joan Didion

Quotes to Ponder

A few words that have stayed with me this month.

“No life is ordinary. No life is without hope, without light, even during the unimaginable.”

- I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman

“Whether you think of it as heavenly or as earthly, if you love life immortality is no consolation for death.”

- A Very Easy Death, Simone de Beauvoir

“I am rooted, but I flow..”

- The Waves, Virginia Woolf

Currently Loving

Going outside only for the purpose of journaling and reading has been very calming. When I do this, I try not to do anything else — no endless scrolling, checking my phone, or getting distracted elsewhere — just reading and journaling. I like to pick a quote from the book I’m reading and journal about it, but sometimes I also just journal to get rid of my thoughts (although this is mostly a late-night activity :)).

I have been loving my new Paper Republic Pocket Journal :)

The Mulberry Bayswater has really caught my eye lately.

Pictures from Pinterest

And lastly, these pictures of the inside of a fridge and tea drawers. I don’t know why, but I find them so satisfying to look at. They really make me want to organize everything myself.

Pictures from Pinterest

Things I’ve Learned

I’ve been doing a course on OpenLearn called Writing What You Know, which has been really interesting. One thing I’ve enjoyed about it is how it encourages you to look at ordinary experiences differently and turn them into something “worth” writing about.

I also started creating a personal curriculum for myself, where I review different topics in physics and mathematics. It’s been surprisingly fun to revisit them, especially since they were some of my favourite subjects at school. Calculus will forever be my favourite maths topic :)

August mood board (Pics from Pinterest)

What are your monthly highlights of August so far? Let me know in the comments.

With love

Emma 🌸