At the Moment: February

Emily Wilde, The Wild Robot, Breath of the Wild, and other "wild" current favorites

Note: As of April (yes, already!), I’ve slightly reframed, reformatted, and retitled this series. I kept these first posts untouched but merely renamed them “At the Moment.”

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Hey, my friends! In my earliest Substack-ing days, I posted a monthly newsletter called “the extraordinary ordinary” which was a list of things I enjoyed or especially noticed from the previous thirty-or-so days—mostly favorite books, songs I had on repeat, and little memorable moments.

Emily Freemans’s idea of naming the good things as a spiritual practice and Kristen LaValley’s eleven volumes of “wintering” amongst fellow writers posting lists of favorite things inspired me to start my own back up ASAP.

On top of missing what had been a calming writing practice for me, I’ve realized that I’ve discovered some of my very favorite things through the recommendations of others in forms like this! Why not take the chance on sharing again, if it might lead someone to a new favorite story or song in the same way?

(While I won’t be surprised if these posts end up being as sporadic as my presence on Substack has been, I do hope to consistently publish a “currently” post on a Saturday of each month—even if I find that its form shifts over time.)

So, here we are in the small space of currently. I hope this feels less like a list and more like a conversation to swap favorite stories, songs, and more—please leave a comment if there’s anything you’re currently loving that you’d like to share!

Reading

Fiction

Thanks to a dear friend introducing me to the genre, I’ve entered my cozy fantasy era. Stories of this kind have brought me such joy through a wonderful dose of healthy escapism that I’m finding myself starting work on writing a cozy fantasy story (Novella? Novel? Time will tell!) of my own.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett kicked off a new favorite series—and that favorite genre—for me. There’s so much to love about this story’s world (for which I’m so glad, as I start the next two books in the trilogy!). It’s full of folklore, the wintery setting is incredibly atmospheric, and the characters are clever and unforgettable.

Every so often, I find myself in the mood for a fun, “fluffy” story, and Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree is just that. I mean, how can a retired-warrior orc woman starting a coffee shop in a town that’s never heard of coffee not be a fun time? I’m having a blast buddy-reading this with the same friend who introduced me to cozy fantasy in the first place.

A Mist Sprite’s Study of Being Human by Kyra Hinton—a fantasy novella equal parts history and fairytale—was the perfect book to start the year with. To me, this story is a reminder that, despite the brokenness of our world and the overwhelming evil and darkness that surrounds it, there is still beauty and wonder.

Emily Wilde illustration by hisharonhello, latte illustration uncredited on Pinterest, and mist illustration by Sara Willia.

Poetry/Nonfiction

Under the Terebinth by Anna A. Friedrich is a new favorite poetry collection of mine. I hope to review these poems so full of both uncertainty and beauty in depth in an upcoming post!

I read Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren at a time I needed it most. Based around the ancient compline nighttime prayer, this book is about the power of prayer even in the midst of suffering, loss, doubt, and the silence of God.

Of course, Mary Oliver is my favorite poet, so the fact that her collection Why I Wake Early resonated with me was nowhere near a surprise. Devotions and Dream Work remain my favorite collections of hers, but this year I hope to finally read them all.

Scripture

I use the Book of Common Prayer for morning (and sometimes—which I hope will soon be always—evening) prayer which is completely saturated by scripture. Through this, I read psalms and passages from both the Old and New Testaments every day.

In the Old Testament, I’m reading Exodus, and in the New Testament, I’m reading Matthew. I read multiple chapters of Psalms and tend to find that they’re what I dwell on during the day and return to over and over again—today, I read Psalms 122-123.

If you’re curious about Anglican worship practices, The Book of Common Prayer is a perfect place to start. Its daily office (structured morning, midday, evening, and nighttime prayer) has been my favorite way to worship, especially during a time of “church homelessness” after having to move away from what became my church last year—I know that even in what feels like isolation, thousands of fellow believers are worshiping with me around the world in the same way with the same prayers and passages.

This website is a fantastic resource for an easy layout of the daily office that updates each day. I also often use and recommend Andrew Russell’s podcast version of this!

Watching

The Wild Robot made me cry. Reminiscent of something in between Pixar’s golden era and Studio Ghibli’s classic works (the main character immediately brought the world of Castle in the Sky to mind), this film is surprisingly thoughtful and unique. It tackles an abundance of issues that aren’t necessarily common themes in children’s animated films—the intersection of nature and technology, parenthood, climate change, etc—and it does so in a beautiful, careful way.

The Wild Robot illustration by nuknuk771 and Castle in the Sky illustration uncredited on Pinterest.

Listening To

In December and January, I shuffled to my six-hour-long playlist of shoegaze and alternative pop-rock almost exclusively; while those sounds are definitely still the bulk of my rotation, the albums I’ve been listening to now are lighter.

The Sundays’ debut album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic released in 1990, but I spin it on my record player over and over again here thirty-five years later. There’s too much I love about this favorite band of mine to speak to in just a few lines.

Divine Discontent by Sixpence None the Richer is my current most-listened of theirs—while it’s not self-titled, which is Sixpence’s classic, this album holds “Breathe Your Name” and their cover of “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” which I especially love.

In a much different realm, A Little Fable by aspidistrafly matches my current adoration of cozy fantasy, whimsical worlds, and longing for spring. I especially love “Landscape With a Fairy.”

Playing

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been a wild, wonderful ride. Though I’m very late to the party (it released in 2017), this game has become my favorite way to unwind. Along with the beautiful story and characters, the game’s world is absolutely stunning, filled with gorgeous landscapes and atmospheric soundtracks. I love that I can enjoy it with my brothers. We’re very excited to start Tears of the Kingdom once we’ve finished Breath of the Wild!

Breath of the Wild landscape illustration by intindra, silent princess flower illustration by LibbyFrame, and Breath of the Wild landscape illustration uncredited on Pinterest.

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What’ve you been reading, watching, listening to, and loving?

peace,
Ryan