I want to write more. I don’t think I’m the world’s greatest writer – but I love to share in this way. There is a magic to writing (versus conversing) that allows the refinement of an idea. Space to think, then write. Research, then write and revise. Reread, then edit. I love that process.
Both the casualness of extemporaneous speech and the structure of writing have their place in my life, but I feel even more called to writing lately with the rise of the bots branded as AI (which is a stretch as they are actually LLM’s, not actually intelligent). We’re training computers to write – presumably so humans don’t have to, but I’m feeling like it’s just another form of art we’re taking away.
I recently read The Correspondent by Virginia Adams and I loved that it is told exclusively through letters. In researching for this little blog post, I learned the term for that is “epistolary”. In the literary form it means it is told in the form of letters, in general it means anything that relates to the writing of letters. Now you know too. Anyway, I loved how the story unfolded only through letters and it made me want to write more letters.
So that’s my second goal for the year, I want to write more. I already write daily thanks to my gratitude practice, and since goals (in the way I define them here) are measurable , here are my measures:
- Write weekly for the blog. I may not post weekly, but I will dedicate at least an hour to writing for the blog (for reference, I’ve been writing on this one for exactly 15 minutes so far).
- Write 4 personal letters a month.
- Write something just for pleasure once a month. This could be a journal entry, a letter to myself, or something I haven’t yet imagined but I want to have a space for something that is inward instead of outward. This world has a pull to productivity (call it hustle, monetizing your hobbies, etc.) that I am going to keep a little space for me.
An update on Goal #1 plus Six Mini Book Reviews follow, but for those who want to stay focused on the writing…
Journal Prompt: What is my relationship with writing? Are there places along my life where MY writing was devalued or forced? How do I think that impacted my desire to write?
Physical Prompt: Set a five-minute timer and doodle. Find two or three pens and a piece of paper and start with swirling lines. Let them overlap. Notice if you like one of the pens better – ball point? Felt tip? Writing has a feel we can’t mimic with typing – lean into that for a bit and see how it feels to just let your hand move and ink flow.
Updates on goal #1. I’m not actually proud of this, but I read 16 books in January. At this level I want to acknowledge that a chunk of it (8 books) was pure escapism. I wrapped myself up in a lovely series of romances set in small town Canada with absolutely zero politics (alas until the last one that had my least favorite trope – the forced marriage – and the plot point that required it was an immigration issue – deep sigh).
I say over the top because I had things to do in January that didn’t get done because of how much I was reading. That said, while I’m not proud of it – I have no regrets. There are far worse coping methods for stress and sorrow than reading.
More specifically for Goal #1, I read 4 of those listed books plus two others worth noting so of the 16 books, six mini reviews are below. I’ll be writing my newsletter soon, but if you happen to read this post and not my 2/2026 newsletter, I’m adding hosting a book club to my schedule and our first book is my favorite from 2025: Theo of Golden. Book club is free and the first gathering is March 10th at 7:15pm at the Korsi Juice Bar in Roswell.
Now for my favorite books from January:
The Correspondent (not on the list) – Loved it. While it’s officially an Epistolary novel (look at me using my fancy new word twice!) I’d put it into a genre I just became aware of called “friendship fiction” which might be my new favorite genre – move over romantasy. Connection and adult friendship are so critical to a long happy life, and books like this and Frederik Backman’s My Friends are lovely stories of enduring and new friendships. Anyway, the hero is a 73-year-old retired attorney with many opinions. I adored her and wanted to be her pen pal.
Once Upon a Tome (not on the list) – Loved it. Hilarious and deep at the same time. Told in little vignettes, it’s true stories of the author’s time working in an antiquarian book shop in London. It had so many little gems in it that if you follow me out on social media you’ve probably seen that I featured a bunch of quotes from it there. As someone who once worked in a library (true story) I loved some of the reminders of that time working with books and many the author’s exploits and observations had me chuckling.
Gulp (on the list) – Loved it. I love Mary Roach, well everything but having to type her last name, and this book was amazing. I’m on a learning path this year about nutrition and this felt like a perfect entry as it covers all kinds of serious (and some wacky) science and cool things about the entire digestive tract (which it turns out is a tract and not a track, go figure). She writes with so much humor that if you ever read any of her books DO NOT skip the foot notes. I read hard copies of her books, so I’m not sure how the foot notes are handled in the audio versions, but don’t skip them – they are generally hilarious.
Caesar’s Last Breath (on the list) – Liked it. It’s a science history on gases. If science has not been your favorite subject, science history might change your mind. The back stories of the early scientists and how we (humankind) came to understand and isolate gases is amazing. We’ve come a long way since thinking the 4 elements (air, water, fire, and earth – 5 elements in China where they added metal) made up everything and I love knowing a little more about oxygen and all it’s gaseous friends. Side note, everything is a gas if you get it to the right temperature. If you think you aren’t interested in gas, it covers everything from Alfred Nobel (of the peace prize) to hot air balloons, gas warfare to colonizing other planets.
Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly (on the list) – Loved it. Of the books I own (much of my reading is from the library), this is the only one I am keeping from the month, and I’m keeping it close at hand. It’s not so much a book meant to be read in a few sittings, but I did it anyway (no plot or characters). It’s a list of simple good advice that I need to be reminded of sometimes. I’m keeping it nearby to just pick up and flip to a random page when I need a little lift. I did it just now and got this: “Being curious about another person’s views is the most powerful way to change their view.”
The Little Book of Gratitude (on the list) – Liked it. I’m on day 2,255 of my daily gratitude practice and so this one was a lovely little (truly small) book of reminders of both the ‘feel goods’ of living with gratitude and the research that supports that those good feelings are more than my (your) imagination. The book wasn’t a keeper for me, but I enjoyed it and was happy to share it at a book swap I went to in the hope that gratitude as a practice finds its way to another person. If you’ve wanted to have a daily gratitude practice but the daily journal hasn’t proven to be your access point, this book offers a good variety of “on ramps” that might help gratitude find a way into your daily life.
And for my friends who are still reading with the hopes that I will tell you where to find those small town Canadian romances, check out Elsie Silver. I have now read everything but her most recent, and they are a delightful escape when you need one. And for those just curious, I estimate that writing and posting this took about 3 hours from start to finish. That 15 minute mark I mentioned above is about where I usually stop and why I have so many ‘not quite done’ blog posts waiting to reach you.
All content I share here, elsewhere on my websites and in social media is created by me, Alison Gurevich – and not AI or other sources unless otherwise specifically attributed. This includes all photographs, writing, and ideas. All rights reserved by Alison Gurevich. “2026 – Goal #2” was originally published to www.breathtomotion.com on February 2, 2026. When you find typos or grammar errors, celebrate humanity and enjoy a little song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wKzyIN1yk (Human by Rag N Bone Man).