The Commonplace Book

I’ve heard distant rumors that summer can be a lovely season. It’s been said that some people enjoy being outdoors, going for swims, visiting the farmers market, and eating lovely picnics. That seems barely imaginable in my neck of the woods. It’s been a hot, humid, miserable summer where I live—heat advisories, tornados, flash flood warnings. A sense of listlessness has overtaken me, and I’ve been hiding out inside. Despite not venturing out much, here are my favorite things from July. 

Light Years by James Salter

Light Years is the story of a marriage, a family, a life—first in all its beauty, and then in its quiet unraveling. It’s about the slow drift of time. It’s about the ache for purpose and a self that always feels just out of reach. Salter captures it all with astonishingly beautiful prose. One of the most satisfying reading experiences of my life. Light Years is sophisticated, intimate, and languid. This is a novel to savor and return to again and again. I wish I could only read books exactly like this for the rest of my life.

Waking Up Slowly

I’ve been waking up 1–2 hours earlier than usual. Not in productivity-obsessed kind of way, but in a lounge lazily in bed drinking my coffee kind of way. I used to scroll through TikTok or Instagram all morning until it was time to get up. Now, I listen to classical music, read poetry, and flip through art books until I finish my coffee. After my languid hour in bed, I go outside and water my garden while the world wakes up. Then I make myself a little breakfast and read a bit of my novel while I eat.

The goal has been to relax and wake up slowly without touching my phone. I’m still perfecting this morning routine, but so far, it’s been a peaceful and luxurious way to start the day—and it puts me in the right mindset to face whatever the day throws at me. These slow mornings have become my favorite part of the day.

Adagio for Strings

An nine minute masterpiece composed by Samuel Barber in 1936, originally part of his String Quartet, Op. 11, this is the piece of music I’ve been listening to while I drink my coffee in the morning.

I’m new to listening to classical music. I don’t always know how to express myself about what I’m hearing. But I know that this piece stops me in my tracks. It interrupts the noise of my thoughts, silencing the planning and overthinking, and demands that I just pause and listen.

The music evokes an almost overwhelming sense of loss and nostalgia: for another time, for youth, for another person. Yet, at the same time, it carries a feeling of transcendence and the possibility of new beginnings. It’s the perfect piece to put on as summer starts winding down, when the days feel a little shorter and I find myself looking ahead to the fresh start of autumn.

I’ve been listening to the recording by Thomas Schippers. You can listen here.