A Book to Get You Through the Longest Night
First Published December 16, 2018 [Adapted for 2023]
Photo: Stonehenge at dawn on winter solstice by Mike Peel via WikiMedia Commons.
December 16, 2023 Note
I originally wrote the short post that follows on my longstanding blog to promote a giveaway of my book of short fiction, Tiny Shoes Dancing and Other Stories.
I’m re-sharing now because it’s appropriate for the season. Winter Solstice arrives this week. And I’m feeling the slower rhythm of the season. Like the friends I wrote about a few days ago for the Birth Your Truest Story Substack, I also feel a desire to curl up, rest, and receive. So I’m taking the easy way out by repurposing the 2016 post—which surprised me by its similarity to the more recent one!
Yours in hibernation,
December 16, 2018 Original Post
Desire for soup
Recently I’ve been feeling sluggish and unfocused. My greatest desires seem to be curling up under a warm blanket and cooking a hearty soup. Everything else seems like too much trouble.
Then, a few days ago, I remembered.
We’re approaching the solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. The longest night. The date that often, though not always, marks the beginning of winter.
Winter is a season of rest, of hibernation, of slowing down. It makes sense that I would not be brimming with energy for new projects. There will be time enough for those when spring arrives.
In the meantime, I’ll sleep, dream, cook, stoke the metaphorical home fires, and commune with friends and family. And, as always, read.
Stoke your reading fires with a book giveaway
If you’re looking for reading material during this season of rest, consider getting a free copy of Tiny Shoes Dancing and Other Stories. I think short fiction makes for great winter reading. You have two options.
Enter for a chance towin one of 100 Kindle copies on Goodreads,through December 22.If you don’t win, head over to the“Quickies for a Quick Read” bundleon BookFunnel, where my book and other short fiction collections will be featured fromDecember 19 to December 31. Unlike thechanceto win, this is an outright giveaway. No strings attached, although the authors—including me—would certainly appreciate a review.
You can join my list or follow me on Goodreads for regular updates on what I’m reading.
December 16, 2016 Postscript
The stricken text from 2016, above, doesn’t currently apply. So I’ve replaced it with the following:
Yes! Exactly how I’m feeling lately. It’s funny how every year we have to remind ourselves it’s how we felt last year and the year before that as well. Time to start making some soup. I always feel a little better when we start the upward swing after solstice—even though it’s just as dark for a long while.
I'm so aware of the ticking of the clock. I'm enjoying old age since I'm fortunate to have good health. Still, I wonder every day about how death will approach me. Aging out and not putting any effort into writing about it. Maybe 2024. My best to you, Audrey!