Things I Loved in May and Looking Ahead

Monthly Digest | May 2024

Hello and welcome to Notes from the Town Hermit, a haven for the overthinkers and deep-feelers who search for reasons why life should be worth living. Subscribe to join our growing Fellowship of kindred spirits, or if you have the means and want to support my writing, upgrade to unlock all my content.

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A special thank you to Diana and

Kana Chan

for upgrading to paid! Your support is a huge encouragement to me. I’m grateful for you.

Dear Inklings,

It’s been a month. We got through it. And wouldn’t you know it, I’m still sick.

For those who are new here, every month I share what I posted, both here and elsewhere. I also share seven things I liked, which, in May, includes a lovely new journal, a reread of a beautiful but brutal book, and a horror movie I actually screamed my way through (which, if you know me, is a big deal because I’m quite stoic).

Table of Contents

1. In Case You Missed It

2. Seven Things I Liked

3. Life Lately

4. Inklings Corner

5. Coming Up

In Case You Missed It…

For Everyone

From the Archives | When the Orphan Crisis Has a Name

An Excerpt from Renley Chu's Cryptic Clockwork

Not Everyone Should Foster or Adopt a Child

For Paid Members

What They Don't Tell You About the Third Year After Losing Someone

I had the privilege of writing a guest post for

John Halbrooks

’s Lord of the Rings challenge about the misunderstood character of Éowyn:

Éowyn

I was also honoured to be featured by

Matthew Long

for his publication. Read my interview with him here, where I discuss my writing and reading life, what set me down this path, and why you, my reader, know my real name and face:

Meet the Town Hermit - An Interview with Tiffany Chu

Seven Things I Liked

(* indicates a reread/rewatch)

1. 📺 Infested (Sébastien Vanicek, 2023). It is so wrong to put this on a list of things I liked, because if you know anything about me, it’s that I’m absurdly terrified of spiders. And yes, this spider horror film is made of my worst arachnid nightmares and I hid behind a blanket for a lot of it and screamed way too much, but it also had characters and a story I got way too invested in, so I’d say that’s quite a feat.

2. 🎧 The Midlist Author with T. Thorn Coyle (The Creative Penn Podcast for Writers, 2024). I enjoyed this interview with T. Thorn, who talks about building a slow and sustainable author business while balancing chronic illness, and making connections with their readers through “tapping into their weirdness.” This might be one of my favourite interviews so far. Thorn is such a down-to-earth person and focuses on figuring out marketing options that work for them.

3. 🛒 Gilded Tree of Life Journal (Barnes and Noble). I’ve used a lot of journals over the years, having been a chronic diarist since fourth grade. What I’ve found is, a nice journal can make me quit before I fill it up, or keep me motivated to write in it every day. Nowadays, my go-to brands are Paperblanks embellished manuscripts and I just discovered these Peter Pauper journals, which are just as beautiful but more affordable.

4. 📖 Ruby (Cynthia Bond, 2014)*. With exquisite and heart-wrenching prose, Cynthia Bond weaves a story about a woman’s madness, the town that destroyed her then turned a blind eye to its effects, and the man who mustered up the courage to stand up and fight to protect her. It’s a brutal and horrific story—not for the faint of heart—but with redemption and a glimmer of hope at the end (I know, spoiler alert, but considering how dark this book is, it’s warranted).

5. 📺 Your Name (Makoto Shinkai, 2016)*. Ren’s favourite movie, and also one of mine and my husband’s. A tiny mountain town girl and huge city boy inexplicably swap bodies and find themselves connected through time and space. This film is a beautiful story of yearning, soul connections, and losing, and finding again. I’ve seen it a few times, and I have still get the feels.

6. 🛒 Folio Society Edition of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2024). I had to. It was so beautiful and I’m forbidden from buying any more books for basically forever, but I have no regrets. It was worth it. According to the website, this sold out in ten days and they’re reprinting for August. If you love this book like I do, don’t miss it!!

7. 🎵 Reminiscence (Ólafur Arnalds, Alice Sara Ott, 2015). This discovery is thanks to

   Matthew Long
   ’s writing playlist. This song was one of those that made me freeze in the middle of what I was doing when I heard it, and revel in its beauty.

Life Lately