EEDA Newsletter Vol 5, Quickie: This End of Year Liminal Space
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! I had thought I would have some 2025 thoughts for you by today but 1) a number of things this past week and a half went sideways and 2) I’m allowing myself a breather. We heard that some of our loved ones didn’t have plans on Christmas day so we invited people over (Covid-testing first, filters on high in every room) for our first annual(?) Misfit Toys Xmas. There ended up being 6 of us total and while we worked ourselves into the ground cooking and cleaning, it was worth it. My cup is overflowing and it has inspired us going into the new year.
I am off from my day job through the 1st but if you’ve been here a while, you know that New Year’s holds many traditions and superstitions in my household so that prep will start this weekend. In the meantime, I plan on finishing the 3 books that I’m currently reading and working on some to do list items that have been put off for far too long. Of course, I also plan to get in some rest and chill fun while working on goals and intentions for 2025.
Of course, we still had a short podcast episode come out this week, “Deck the Halls with Unwanted Fowl.” In this short episode of "Enthusiastic Encouragement and Dubious Advice," hosts Patricia and Nicole celebrate various winter holidays, discuss the absurdity of the "12 Days of Christmas" song, and offer ways for listeners to support the podcast through Patreon or by sharing it with others. They touch on the mixed feelings people may have about the holiday season and emphasize being gentle with oneself.
As always, you can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also support the show on Patreon.
Also: Many thanks to Jamie at Multitudes Contained for shouting out our Best Books of 2024 episode in THE BEST of The Best Of Lists issue!
Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year! See you next week!
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t necessarily be added to my Bookshop. Links are affiliate links.
Recently Read:
Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba
Currently Reading:
Relationality: How Moving from Transactional to Transformational Relationships Can Reshape Our Lonely World by David Jay
African American Folktales: Stories from Black Traditions in the New World by Roger D. Abrahams (sorry, can’t find it on Bookshop. My copy is from 1985. Found some on Thriftbooks, though not my exact copy)
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.