I ended 2025 as a War History Buff, having listened to every episode on the World Wars and the leadup to those wars and interesting one-offs like the Christmas truce of 1914 on the podcast The Rest is History. I learned so much! And now, here we are, fully into January 2026, and I have become obsessed with a podcast about Sweet Valley High, Double Love, in which two Irish women around my age deep dive into each book in the 180 book series.
Hopefully this isn’t having a negative impact on my brain. I hope all my World War knowledge won’t be nudged out by dramatic 80s teen antics, but I don’t see how it won’t be. I mean, Elizabeth gets kidnapped by an orderly while candy striping at the hospital, the very same hospital that Annie is recovering in after an intentional overdose following her failure to make the cheerleading squad, due to Jessica’s bullying and rumour-spreading. How can reality compete with THAT?
There is SO much drama. There are so many dances, and dates, and tragic events! It’s making my daily drudgery so much more enjoyable. Never have I been so entertained while folding the laundry. On the topic of drudgery, in a recent discussion about social media, a friend expressed astonishment that I follow a number of authors on Instagram. What could authors possibly be posting on Instagram? she wondered. Wouldn’t their lives just be boring, sitting in front of a laptop all day?
Well. I was quite perplexed by this question because really, what does anyone post on Instagram? Most, if not all of us lead very ordinary lives filled with many dull and monotonous tasks every single day, and what is Instagram for if not to highlight little glimmers that add sparkle to those lives? It feels like the social media equivalent of Mary Oliver-ing, of paying attention and being astonished. Yes, we might spend hours in front of a laptop screen, or folding laundry, or chopping vegetables, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate our blooming amaryllis, or a sunset that knocks our socks off.
We might also appreciate how unhinged and weird Duolingo is these days.
Eddy! I am scandalized.
Not every moment is a flower or a sunset or even a weirdly sexual language app. But the truth is I actually DO love seeing the very mundane aspects of other people’s lives, and I probably WOULD enjoy seeing a whole scroll of photos of people typing busily away on laptops or folding laundry. And if a person posts a photo of their hair or outfit? I am HERE for it. I am nosy, is what I’m saying.
I have had a number of meetings lately with promotions and social media specialists, in advance of the release of Inhale Exhale, which is coming out next month, if you can believe it.
I’m very excited, of course, but am also practicing non-attachment. Sending creative work out into the world to be examined and critiqued and possibly loathed is a very vulnerable thing. This week I read The Ten Year Affair, which is one of the best books I have ever read, and guess what: it’s largely panned on Goodreads. I did what I never do, which was to read reviews, and I was absolutely shocked by them. Everyone has different tastes, of course, but I felt like so many of these reviewers completely missed the point of the book. I started to wonder if we had even read the same book, at which point I put my phone down and slowly backed away.
I was looking at my Ask Me Anything form and typing away at my laptop over the holiday break, when I looked up at my older son, who was milling around. My blog readers want me to talk about parenting adult children, I told him. But the thing is, I don’t really do anything. He shrugged. Maybe that’s the point, he said.
Putting a book out into the world feels a little bit like that. It feels like letting go and seeing what happens. I had so much fun writing it, and it turned out the way I wanted it to, and that feels like the whole point. It was pure joy to write, and I hope it brings joy to readers.
And if that doesn’t, maybe my next project will be Sweet Valley: The Midlife Years. A Botoxed Jessica gets lip fillers and they are way too overdone! The mole on Elizabeth’s shoulder has changed, and it turns out all those years of tanning on the beach were unwise! Lila’s getting her third divorce after having an affair with the guy who cleans her pool! Everyone’s skin has turned to leather! Todd’s depressed because his dreams of being a basketball star amounted to nothing and now he spends his days watching General Hospital and eating onion dip! Bruce Patman gets drunk and drives his Porsche off a bridge! Can Roger, who against all odds did make it to medical school and is now a renowned emergency medicine doctor, save him? Tune in!
Weekly Reading
Of course, anyone who follows my Instagram knows that my feed is largely made up of books that I’ve read, but one thing I don’t do is talk about my DNFs. This is mostly because, in the past, I rarely DNF a book, but that is going to CHANGE in 2026, people. I am going to DNF whenever I feel like it! And I had one this week, but I will say I hesitated greatly before putting it aside, and that is because this is a book that actually lives on my shelves. I bought a copy of The Dud Avocado after a friend recommended it, because the library didn’t have a copy. Maybe it’s because I started it after The Ten Year Affair, and I was adrift not knowing what to read after a masterpiece, but it just seemed stupid to me. But I didn’t want to abandon it because I spent money on it. This is very silly. It’s a sunk cost and if the worst comes to the worst and I never pick it up again, I can give it to a Little Free Library, where hopefully it will be loved, or at least tolerated, by someone else.
Best Laid Plans. From Childhood Reread Week to Important Adult Behaviour! Some of you may already know this author as Sarah from The Shu Box– she is part of the blogging community and also a podcaster (HI SHU). It was great to “hear” her voice on these pages. There are a lot of takeaways here for planning and organizing one’s life to achieve goals. The book has templates for annual, seasonal, monthly, weekly, and daily planning, but my favourite part was seeing quotes and anecdotes about my friends in the blogging community, shoutout to Jenny, Lisa, Elisabeth, and Kae. I felt starstruck! I KNOW THEM! (HI JENNY LISA ELISABETH KAE).
The Ten Year Affair. As noted above! Wow wow WOW. Friends, this book blew me away. Absolutely blew me away. It follows a woman who escapes the drudgery and disappointment in her life by having an affair…but only in her mind. This mental affair with a man she meets at baby playgroup lasts for years, and then the lines blur from fantasy to reality. At the end of the day this book is about the sublime and also the mediocre, the little boring ordinary details that make up a life and also the striving to make something extraordinary. The characters are complete and nuanced, and there is a lot of subtext and unwritten backstory that makes this a literary gem. It is also really, really funny. I cannot say enough about this book except that it is truly an exceptional read about a non-exceptional world. A perfect book!
Games and Rituals. After I finished The Ten Year Affair, I was in a bit of a slump, a bit bereft, a bit “what now.” So I stared at my bookshelves and saw my Katherine Heiny books and thought YES. YES, that was exactly what I needed, to reread a collection of pure delight. Friends, I cannot say enough about this author and her ability to convey deep emotion and build worlds in only a few sentences – her writing is so tight, so smart, so evocative, and so incredibly funny. This collection of short stories is just one wonderful read after another. Every single one is perfect and absolutely delightful and made me both laugh out loud and stare at the wall thoughtfully.
Happy Monday, friends. I hope you are all taking care of yourselves in these very distressing days. May I suggest listening to Sweet Valley High recaps to dissociate from the news? It works like a charm. Take care, friends. xo
I can’t wait to get my hands on your book!! Gah!! When is the exact pub date? It’s so pretty!! And I plan to read The 10 Year Affair even though infidelity can be a trigger for me. I can handle infidelity if it’s not romanticized. But if you think this is something I should avoid, I will, as you know me well!
I read Dud Avocado many years ago and hated it. I read it for a book club and just loathed the heck out of it. This was before I DNF’d books. I know it’s loved by many, but it was not for me.
I don’t know why an author’s life would be any less interesting than any other person’s life… they aren’t like a special subset of people who aren’t doing interesting things? That is a puzzling comment. Maybe that person holds them in such esteem that she can’t believe they are ordinary people taking photos of avocado toast? That is how I used to feel about professors. I held them in such esteem. But then I met a few and realized they are ordinary people.
Ahhhhh no no, I don’t think you should read The Ten Year Affair. I should have marked it NSFL!
I expected to really enjoy the Dud Avocado but wow, maybe it was just my existential despair after finishing Affair, but it was an immediate ugh for me.
And thank you! I love the cover too!!
There is just something about listening to podcast recaps that is so fun. I’m obsessed with Danny Pelligrino’s Everything Iconic podcast, where he recaps reality TV shows and right now, it’s Traitors, which I LOVE! So hilarious to hear what he says after I watch an episode.
Okay, now I’m curious about this Dud Avocado book, just because the title is so weird?!
I’m starting the year off right with some good reads . . . I’ve only ever read Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, so I’m remedying that. I just finished Persuasion and am now deep into Sense & Sensibility. And I’m enjoying them thoroughly! Next up is Emma. If only her oeuvre was larger.
Ooooooh I am so excited for you! I love Sense and Sensibility. And Emma. AND ALL OF AUSTEN’S OEUVRE!
I agree, podcast recaps are so fun, especially if the hosts are particularly charming. During the pandemic I listened to a Little House on the Prairie recap podcast and it was amazing. It was by two sisters and the sisterly banter was very fun to listen to (says the woman who has no sisters)
Buckle in for a long comment! As soon as I read the first few sentences, I took a pause to download all of the WWI episodes + the Christmas one. This is a good time b/c my podcast queue is low right now. I was gobsmacked by some of the other episodes, so if this catches my attention I’m going to be busy for a good long while…so many names that I’ve heard buy just never got around to googling and getting the scoop…Emma Hamilton, Grover Cleveland, yada yada yada.
Team Nosy 4 Life! I’ve kind of stepped away from Insta, but if there was more laundry folding content then I would be back in a heartbeat! Sometimes little barbs like that tell you everything about the person who said it and nothing about the people that they are talking about. And hello! It looks like I have something to look forward to in Spanish!
INHALE EXHALE NEXT MONTH!!!! YES PLEASE!!!! But pro tip, if you can stay away from the reviews. You don’t have time to wallow with the trolls.
Great minds think alike b/c I have Heiny’s Early Morning Riser cued up for my next read. Taking notes on The 10 Year Affair!
You are going to love it! I just downloaded their new series on Iran and the Shah this morning. It came on while I was walking, directly after Sweet Valley High: Head Over Heels. So, you know. Kind of a switch in theme.
Thank you!!! I will definitely stay away from the reviews. I don’t need to bathe in sadness.
I can’t believe it is time for Inhale Exhale to be released. Eeks. Nicole, this is so exciting.
I love reading about the mundane portion of people’s lives because… most of life IS mundane. We all eat and shower and cook and clean and spend time in our cars driving from Point A to Point B. And it’s comforting and fascinating to pull back the curtain on how other people do those same things.
Elisabeth, that’s exactly it. It’s so nice to feel like we are all in it together, different and apart, but together. *starts vacuuming*
The way you describe social media is exactly how I try to use it.
So exciting to see the book cover…
I had no idea DuoLingo was so spicy.
We are definitely parenting one of our adult kids this week, hanging out with them in Oberlin while they recover from gallbladder surgery. We were planning to leave this morning, but they asked us to stay, so we’re staying.
Oh poor North, I hope the recovery goes well. Good luck with it all.
DuoLingo!!! I was quite startled, really.
I love what you said about your book- you had fun writing it, and it turned out the way you wanted it. I mean… that’s all there really is. If people like it, fantastic. If not, oh well. Obviously most people will love it (wait- am I biased?) but you know there will be negative reviews. Don’t read them! Like you said, some people just completely miss the point of a book and there’s nothing you can do about that.
The Ten Year Affair sounds really good. I’m putting it on my TBR but am not sure when I’ll get to it… I’m drowning in books right now, between my Christmas Book Flood and recent buying spree with Stephany. I wish I didn’t have to go to work and could just read all day.
I don’t know why, but hearing the mundane details about other people’s lives is so interesting!!! I guess that’s why we’re so into blogging, right?
Thank you Jenny, that’s so kind! I did have so much fun writing it. It was a great process and experience for me, and I do plan on sharing that process and experience! Soon! I will definitely NOT read the reviews, even the good ones! (god I hope there are good ones!)
I too get upset if I read negative reviews about a book I loved. Sometimes those reviews leave me making mental personal attacks against the intelligence and reading comprehension levels of the review-writers. What I do now is, I only read the reviews if I DON’T like a book—especially if it was a widely-loved book and I am having that bad feeling of being left out. THEN I read the reviews, but I sort for the 2-star ones.
SWISTLE SAME. I often get that left-out feeling like “wait, what did I miss” when it’s a much-loved book. I also had exactly what you say – mental personal attacks against the commenters’ reading comprehension and intelligence!
That is quite the switch from war history to sweet valley high. Interesting brain you’ve got there Nicole haha! I am also pretty nosy about the workings of other peoples lives so I get you. So excited for your book to be released!
“Interesting” is one way to put it, anyway!
Thank you! I love that we are both nosy 🙂
Cannot wait for your book, Nicole! So exciting that you have a promotions and social media team…. more excitement!
We have an amaryllis match! (Check today’s post 🙂
Katherine Heiny, your author pal! I really do think you could ask her for a blurb–she thinks so highly of you!
Too late for blurbs – but I do like that she is my author pal!
Going to go look at your amaryllis! By the way, your holiday card arrived today and what a beam of sunshine it was!
Inhale – Exhale out already next month?! That is huge, well done, Nicole!!
Negative reviews will happen, but the positive ones will massively outweigh them, and the negative ones will not hurt you. I always read the bad reviews first for books, hotels, air fryers, massages, ANYTHING, and they are often the most informative and sometimes wildly entertaining.
Most of the time, it will not stop me from buying the book or reserving the restaurant.
This is such an exciting step, enjoy every bit of it!
Thank you so much Catrina! I should take your attitude and adopt it for my own!
I have a very hard time DNF-ng a book but yes, I am getting better at it. I can’t wait for your book to be released, and yes, I agree, writing can be a very vulnerable thing. Don’t read the reviews! But a book is not for everybody, nor should it be, and I think you already know your intended audience. As for Insta – yes, I like getting a peek into people’s lives, their reading, their recommendations or what didn’t work for them. There are some regulars whose recommendations I trust. I look forward to having your book in my hands!
Thank you so much Pearl! I agree, there are some regulars I know who have similar tastes – or sometimes, there are friends who really know my taste and who read different books from me but warn me off ones I won’t like. I really appreciate that kind of thing!
EXCITING about your book! YAY! I am hoping it will come to a bookstore near me, I’d love to find it in the wild.
I’m sad that you didn’t like _The Dud Avocado_, I really enjoyed it when I read it back in 2012. Just goes to show that there’s something for everyone!
I’m enjoying my amaryllis, though my blossoms are almost spent at this point.
Thank you for sharing that Duolingo, hilarious.
Can’t wait to read your book! I liked just fine but did not love 10 Year Affair. It was funny, yes, and I liked the main character a lot. But there was no sublime for me and now I wondered what I missed.
Oh I wonder if I got the recommendation from you! I should really keep better track.
Thank you J I hope so too! If not it will be available on Barnes and Noble and Bookshop.org as well.
My aunt told me that I should cut back my amaryllis as soon as the blossoms are spent and it might bloom more. There is another stalk (I don’t know if you can tell from the photo) so that is exciting too.
For some reason I am only being offered the ability to reply to this comment, not to leave my own. Sorry!!!
I’m so excited about your book! The cover is so beautiful! How can I buy an autographed copy from you? I agree that you shouldn’t read the reviews. But if you do, just know that so much of it is about the reviewer and their lives and ideals and situations, and not about the book. And everyone has different tastes. Thank goodness, too!
I think you’re onto something with the Sweet Valley midlife years idea! That would be entertaining!
Oh Michelle, you are so sweet! I will have autographed copies and I would be happy to sell you one that way! My copies are on their way so I’ll keep you posted 🙂 And thank you – I love the cover so much, the designer did a great job!
Congratulations on your new book, Nicole! I can’t wait to read it. I still remember the day I saw your post on Instagram and I can’t believe it’s almost here! And yes to what others say about not reading the reviews, I’d do the same after pouring my whole heart into something. I’m sure it’ll be great and as your readers, we’ll be able to perceive on the page that same love you put into your words on the blog.
And the Sweet Valley: Midlife Years is brilliant. Hell- I’d even read your grocery list at this point!
I haven’t had the best reading month but just like you, I’m not afraid to DNF books this year. Life is too short to not DNF!
Oh thank you so much Alondra! That means so much to me!!
You are SO right, life IS too short to not DNF! There are so many good books to read – and reread! No time to waste on books that just aren’t doing it for me.
Eddy has whips in his closet? EDDY? He’s like the most milquetoast of characters. I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover. When I was doing Duolingo every day, Junior and Eddy were like members of the family. My husband and I would talk about them and their exploits as if they were real.
I am currently adding Double Love to my podcast list. I obviously have to listen!
Engie, I know. I KNOW. I was shocked too by Eddy. I mean if it was Lily, that would make sense. But Eddy??? You’re right though, it is a lesson to us all: we never really know what goes on behind closed doors.
Eddy contains multitudes.
hahaha he seems so mild mannered!
Your book cover is gorgeous! I cannot wait till it comes out. And that Sweet Valley High podcast-I’m all over that.
Thank you so much!
OMG you must listen to this podcast. I may be addicted.
I’m so excited for your book. You must be over the moon. I’m intrigued by the Sweet Valley podcast, it sounds like fun. The duolingo—are you sure you haven’t allowed tracking across apps **wink**
Lolololol oh no I DID allow tracking!!!
And yes – I AM over the moon! It’s all very exciting!
I am also nosy and love seeing mundane things on other people’s instagram… and really, especially the mundane things of “more famous people”, like authors, which you are now too 🙂 I cannot wait to read your book!
Oh you are so sweet! Thank you San! *posts a photo of doing dishes on Instagram*
I think all my years of French in school would have been livened up considerably if I had learned things like Eddy’s story rather than “Étienne a perdu son livre.”
Exciting news about your book! How are you even managing to touch the ground at this point?
I mean, I’m not, I am basically floating along these days! Squee, it is a lifelong dream come true for me!!!
Lol – right? I am thinking of my school days French lessons and I wish there was something more exciting than “faire: to make or do”
I’m excited to read your book! I’m going to check out that sweet valley high recap podcast- that sounds right up my alley and exactly like the type of thing to self soothe while trying to ignore the news these days. The ten year affair also sounds like a book I would love- adding it to the list!
Oh thank you Leneigh!!
The SVH podcast – it is brilliant. I may actually be listening to it too much. I am now dreaming about the Wakefield twins. But it beats scrolling and reading the news and spiralling into despair and sadness.
As always, I come to read your posts with a cup of hot tea, and a notepad and pencil as you always have a ton of recs, or at the very least, stuff I’ve never heard of.
And talking books. How exciting the launch of yours is not that far off. Stay grounded and try to enjoy the best parts of the process.
Thanks Alex! It’s so exciting – I can hardly believe it!
I am a big fan of disassociating from the news. I mean, I like to know what’s going on but I definitely don’t want to get into the weeds about it! My guilty pleasure is watching travel related videos on YouTube for inspiration. I’m not sure if I want to commit to a long podcast about SVH but I did download The Rest is History when you told me about it the other day. I haven’t started yet, as I am actually getting back into reading after a bit of a funk so I’m rolling with that at the moment. I can’t wait for your book to come out and I am looking forward to reading it!
Ooooh I know of a travel related video on YouTube 🙂 But I won’t out you here (unless you want me to!)
K, this is exactly me – I know roughly what’s going on but I cannot deep dive into the weeds. It’s just a spiral into sadness! And despair! So I dissociate for sure. I cannot WAIT to listen to the next SVH episode!
Nicole, I am so excited for you and your book to make its debut! It’s a beautiful cover! That Sweet Valley podcast sounds so fun! Those books were published later when I was growing up so I never read them. I DO occasionally listen to Greg and Peter Brady’s podcast that dissect each Brady Bunch episode..lol I want to follow you on IG but I couldn’t find you?
Thank you Judy! My IG is nicmacpherson – I’ll follow you back!!
wait I’m already following you! Lol, come find me 🙂
I’ve been spending a lot of time in front of a computer the past few days and your post made me realize that on the outside it might be boring, but in my brain, trying to find the right words to say the right thing, trying to solve a problem… it’s not boring, really. I guess it goes back to the idea of zooming in to the minutiae, right? The big picture we are all robots going through motions, sun sets and sun rises, but the little things are different every every day.
Have you read Consider Yourself Kissed? It sort of remind me of your comment about The Ten Year Affair – the sublime and mediocre and every day life. How we can either let it slowly erode us, or we can savor it.
Diane, I have not read that but before I even finished reading your comment I zoomed over to the library page and put it on hold. I SHALL REPORT BACK!!!!
I really love how you put that – big picture, robots. Little things, all different.
I’m sorry, but I’m just thinking about Eddy’s closet and what ELSE he may have in there. If I saw someone had leather pants and whips in their closet, I don’t think my first assumption would be lion tamer, tbh.
I need to download that SVH podcast right away! Your recaps of the books are hysterical.
YOUR BOOK IS COMING OUT. I am so excited!!!
I mean, exactly. Lion tamer? Eddy is a dom. WHO KNEW???
OMG the SVH podcast is everything I want and more. It’s so much fun.
I’m so very excited for your upcoming book! SQUEAL!
How did I miss out on the Sweet Valley High saga series? In hindsight, that was a lot of drama, and I probably had enough of my own at that time. You’ve also brought Candy Strippers to mind. I mean, if that doesn’t scream The 80’s, I don’t know what does!
Eddy has quite a few secrets and I don’t know that all of them need to be shared!
Adding The Ten Year Affair to my wish list….
Suz, I WAS A CANDY STRIPER! And yet I was never kidnapped by an orderly. My life was so much less dramatic!
oh you announced it here! I haven’ opened Feedly for 2 weeks and I somehow didn’t understand how come that I missed your book launch! I’m sooo excited to read it tonight!!!
And yes, parenting is kind of scary thing, yet, it’s also similar to marriage, life. letting go the urge of control, trust the people and the “job” done well.
I’m so happy you read it Coco – and thank you for the lovely comments!