It’s been some time since I wrote anything here, and it’s been some time since Words & Matter was little more than a fledgling idea to write about books.

The truth is I haven’t been much actively into books in the last two years, although that is slowly reverting (I won’t claim any great victory or revelation yet, habits being stubborn little things to break!). Little and often may be the way, but reading and writing anything at all seems best.

There’s a sunglasses manufacturer called William Painter, and in a promo vid on YouTube, there’s a line in which William Painter himself (supposedly) says:

The only way to do a thing is to do it.

Whether he did or not is irrelevant, but because I pontificate and can fall foul of indecision, I’ve co-opted this into: ‘The best way to do a thing is to do it’. Because action and decisions not taken are worse than the occasional mistake or error. In any case, the best thing to do about not reading is reading; and for not writing…writing. And holy heck there’s tonnes to write about.

If the UK political scene doesn’t throw up some incredible readng and writing in the new decade - revelations or reflections - it would be somewhat shocking. Then there’s the climate, and I’m doing my own little bit of fictional writing inspired by the ecological trouble we seem to be getting ourselves into.

What else is there we can do? Those little changes, I’m doing those too.

But my mind is rusty to this habit still, and my thoughts a little muddled. Like puppies in a pen all bumbling soft and energetic, a mass of lovable fur….now I am writing my brain is firing off all sorts of beacons. I’ll leave this here without getting too long; except to say that I got a new book for Christrmas.

My brother bought me The Book of Human Emotions by Tiffany Watt Smith. It’s a lovely book, and shows how well he knows me. I love learning, growing deeper and broader, as a human. And I love - once upon a time, demonstrably - such delightful titles. It’s about time that habit returns.

Oh! One quick thing before I forget, if you’ve not heard about it, Strong Words magazine is excellent, the sort of book magazine I wish existed when I was a boy with a rather well-stocked local library. If you’ve not yet heard of it, do check it out.

No doubt I’ll mention that again.

Happy reading, and Happy New Year, Decade, Bizareness.