As we are speeding through the last month of 2023, I wanted to talk about some of the five-star things that have been absolute gifts this year, for body, mind, and soul.
I love these 5-star things! The makeup one really landed on me. I feel like I sometimes put no thought into what I look like on my work from home days to the detriment of sudden video calls that find me looking like the hot mess I woke up as. I have been wondering if some sort of morning ritual might not only solve for that, but also give me a boost of self care (and a legit “the day has started!” feeling) that might start my day in a different place!
I love that you’re generous with your stars, Nicole! I’m like that too – I easily give 5 star ratings to books, audiobooks, etc. When I like something, I really like it! I rarely give under a 3, and if I do, I seriously hated the thing!
You, Nicole, are a 5 star friend! 😊
Love this list, Nicole. It’s amazing how you manage to be so generous with praise and stringent with your standards at the same time <3. I think I'm going to start Nutrafol–is there a particular formulation that has been helpful?
When it comes to Goodreads reviews, you and I are on the same wavelength. We’ve talked about it before…I am an eager five-star giver of things that make me feel joy. I love that you are as well.
I love that you have good friends that take care of you. That is a reflection of you, my friend. 😘
I’m pretty generous with my 5-star ratings, too. I used to be super stingy and then I thought – why?? Giving 5 stars to a book is the best way to show that I really loved it. Our rating system is similar. 3 stars is on the spectrum of meh to ok. 2 stars is super meh. I don’t have many 2 stars reads because I usually abandon a book if it’s heading in the 2-star direction.
I’m tempted to check out the jeans you love so much!
I would enthusiastically give your blog 5 stars if I could!! You are a delight!!
I agree with Lisa, your blog is 5-stars (plus an entire package of gold star stickers on the side).
I started off on GR several years ago thinking 5-star books had to be life-changing, but I’ve gotten less stringent as I go on, partly because it’s really hard to tell what book is going to stay with you for decades until it’s been decades, so I was mostly giving 5s to re-reads, and that didn’t seem fair.
I am one of those people who never wears make up. North uses it occasionally and they’ve had to learn from internet what to wear and how to apply it because neither of their mothers has a clue.
My five star review of this post is that you were the reason that I revisited I Feel Bad About My Neck and listened to Wilder.
I don’t wear makeup but that’s largely due to eye allergies. I didn’t choose the natural look, the natural look chose me. But there was a time when I could not have imagined leaving the house without eye makeup. On the one hand I have hours back in my day from the time that I don’t spend on hair and makeup…but on the other hand having those hours back in my day is overrated.
Here’s to five star friends! I know that its times like your move where it really shows who is there for you for real. I was reading a book and it had a quote that I will probably butcher, but it was something like “loneliness is not being without anybody, it is being without anyone who really gets you.” I think that having people around who get you and who are there for you is so priceless.
I am starting to relax my GR ratings, as I used to never give 5 stars, as I felt that would be a perfect book that just could not be beat. However, now I would say 5 means loved it, 4 is really liked and 3 is like it was good but not great. I am like Lisa in that I rarely give 2 and basically never give 1 because I am WAY better at DNFing books now if they are that bad!
I am your opposite when it comes to beauty… I rarely do my hair or makeup and my idea of getting gussied up is pretty much showering and putting on mascara! 🙂 Can we still be friends?
Yay! I feel similar about five-star books. They’re books that resonate with me and I will actively recommend widely, and will reread. I am relatively stingy with five stars, but I hand out 4 and 4.5 stars willy nilly if I like a book. I do not understand Goodreads reviewers at all and just chalk it up to the fact that my brain is different from the collective brain.
Do you ever see those people doing challenges like 30 days without makeup? Why would they do that to themselves? I mean, sure, there are people who never wear makeup and that’s awesome and I love that they have embraced the natural look. But this lady needs makeup to look awake and non-vampiric!!
I need to get me some Falsies Surreal! If you love it, it’s a must buy.
And YES, these reads were also five stars for me: Nora Goes Off Script, The Marriage Portrait, The Glass Hotel. Five star twinsies!!!!
Wearing makeup is self care for you, and not wearing it is self care for me! And neither of us is right or wrong except for ourself. Do what works!
I don’t rate books but I wonder if I would like to do it? I’ll have to think about that.
You know, I have a Goodreads account and don’t think I’ve ever utilized it!
As for makeup and hair? Yes, definitely. Every damn day. A friend dropped by when I was doing some yard work – and looked like it – and at one point, she interrupted our conversation to say “Are you wearing mascara?!”
I will definitely be checking out that mascara as I have been less than satisfied with mine lately.
I read my first Emily St. John Mandel books this fall (Station11 and Sea of Tranquility) and loved them. I actually watched Station 11 on HBO first, and was wowed by it. https://erinetheridge.substack.com/p/when-you-are-the-person
The Glass Hotel is on my list! I’m not sure how you’d feel about the others if you haven’t read them, since they have a hint of sci-fi sort of. But her writing is so beautiful, so human!
I always love a list of great recommendations! Thanks Nicole! I’ll be checking out the mascara and you know I have my eye on Nutrifol (sigh). I agree with your 5-star assessment for books. Unless there is a defined, offical rating system, I cannot trust other people’s ratings…
Oh yes, I am always so intrigued (and maybe jealous) of people who can wear NO makeup?! I apparently got a genetic short straw in that area because man, what I see when I look in the mirror in the morning with zero makeup of any kind of… ain’t too great. LOL. I at least need some concealer and maybe a little mascara to look human. I have always had terrible under eye circles since I was a kid.
I am sooo tempted to try Mott and Bow jeans. I actually think I ordered some several years ago and remember thinking the fabric was amazing. But for whatever reason they didn’t work- maybe the length was off? I can’t remember. And then I am not sure what happened, but I guess I never reordered the correct size or something. The ads stalk me on Facebook… haha. I have my eye on their plain grey/white/black t-shirts also. The V-neck ones. I need to replace some basic tees and those look nice. They have some kind of bundle where you can get like 2 t-shirts + jeans for a “special” price I think. I should look at that again today!!
if you hate Goodreads (I agree!), maybe you would like this website instead: https://shepherd.com/. Authors create lists of books they loved, so, if you like an author, you can see what books inspired them! Or, you can just browse the categories. Full disclosure: My book is on there, along with my list, but it still seems like a fun idea.
What I do instead of wearing makeup is get lost on the internet, apparently 😉
I have a Goodreads account that I put an hour or two into when I first started it, lo those many years ago, and now I ignore it completely. Of the books you and I have in common on your lists, I also LOVED the ones you mention, so I suspect we have similar taste in books. Which is definitely great!
I start work in my walking clothes, and then take a shower a couple of hours into my work day, and get dressed then. Most days I wear makeup, though lately I’m trying to be kinder to myself and not wear it sometimes. For me, I feel like NEEDING makeup is an insecurity of sorts, so testing that by going without is a good challenge. There have surely been MANY DECADES where I wore makeup every single day. Seeing my daughter not wear it when she doesn’t have to has actually given me a bit of confidence in this area, which is a joke because she is 27 and I am 57 and her skin is flawless and she is half Indian and has amazing natural eyelashes. So there’s that.
I never read a novel twice but I’ve read some of Sedaris’ books multiple times because they crack me up, like Holidays on Ice. Like you, I always wear makeup and fix up my hair. I’m super vain. I even put makeup on right after giving birth 🤣 When you look good, you feel good!!!
All my podcasts are about nutrition, music, and reality TV. I have weird passions!
Love the book recommendations. I usually like the ones that you highly recommend and I so appreciate that.
Good friends make all the difference. I’m glad you have such a great group. I wonder if those jeans are available in the US. I’ll have to google them.
Vanity as self care! Brilliant! I don’t think you are a book snob,– I love how you know what you love and you love it no matter the author, genre, etc.
I am busy noting down all your 5 star books and podcasts! I have read so many of your book mentions but only a couple of your faves. I have been listening to a podcast called Appearances. It’s quite good and very different. I heard about it on CBC -it’s kind of like a play; a 9 part series, a mix of fact and fiction about an Iranian American woman. As I said, it’s different but I’m really enjoying it.
Love these lists and while I’ve read most of your favourites I have some to catch up #booktwin! I feel like I wake up when I wear make up – if I don’t have it on I’m tired and unmotivated- it somehow puts me in more of a work mode – even if I’m not at work, so to speak!
I think we are similar in the way we review books. I am not very stingy about my 5-star ratings – if I loved a book, that’s good enough for me! Speaking of Goodreads, though, I do love it for reading scathing reviews of books I also didn’t like, especially if it’s popular and has a high star rating on Goodreads. It makes me feel so much better to find my people, haha.
Nicole, you are one of the brightest lights on the interwebs.
Thank you. <3
(Now can I confess that I never wear makeup, know that I look not-so-great, and generally shrug off the "maybe I should make some minimal effort" thoughts? *ducks*)