I write long sentences. I write sentences that meander into strategic zones of interest. I write long sentences, that meander, that connect, and ignite both a reader’s and my own discoveries. I write sentences that are both immersive and self-aware. I write sentences that invite the opportunity for further thinking; sentences that intersect with bits and bobs of knowledge and experience perhaps floating in your brain that become useful launchpads for your own ideas. I also write sentences that express my value for a written work, its strengths, weaknesses, thematic and literary considerations, time, space and cultural differentiation. I write sentences with the pure intention of doing all/most of above. My agenda is to encourage you to read or not read, research a book/author/topic/culture more fully so you can make a good book choice for yourself and get something useful or enjoyable in return for your time investment. Alternatively, if you made a bad book choice, I hope for you to feel a sense of completeness in stating why it didn’t work for you.

Marcel Proust writes beautiful, languid, philosophical, sensate, poetic, psychologically immersive sentences that are so relaxing and slow and redeliver time in the very same moment. Make no mistake—I have not read all or most of Proust, but I have been hypnotized by Proust’s work and take to it when I feel stressed or overstimulated. It works for me and so I savor and do not devour Proust because the endorphins released and sustained while dancing with my love for words and ideas carries me through the grief of losing a loved one, a horrible cold, or a social calendar replete with empty days. This said, I haven’t read Proust in a month because my mind is wandering into more futuristic and/or international topics, tropes and narratives (no not fantasy btw). I wonder who will be the Marcel Proust of Gen Alpha or the generation after them? It will not be an AI as they are too inorganic, anodyne, and lack the spontaneity that our desperate human bodies enjoy as we decline and slow down.

So why am I writing this essay and NOT featuring a single written work? Because my reader friend, I want you to know that I’m aware of the Betsy Effect, and I’m grateful for this space to deposit and store real, lived, individual experience of books that I’ve read and how my reading evolves over time as I square dance with time and change. Thank you for spending time with me in this space and look for me doing different things in 2025 on Substack and Spotify. Have a cozy holiday season, stack up a few books for mood, contemplation and learning and please do Enjoy!