It finally happened – this gal got covid. Never hang around with sexy, filthy theatre people. They’re riddled. Thank God* covid is all I got.

The good news is I’m almost totally asymptomatic. A bit tired, but I got the diagnosis during a real week, if you know what I mean, and so the fatigue could just be a cumulative, burnout thing.

Anyway, pray for me*, light a candle and, if you have some spare cents, donate them to the MS Readathon!

Remember the Readathon, pals? The competitive literary event of the Irish primary school calendar. Well, this year adults are allowed to take part, and as every day is a Readathon in Sian’s house, I thought it would be negligent for me NOT to shake down my associates for MS money.

I haven’t publicised my fundraising page much because the start of November, being full of officially certified ‘a real week‘ weeks, meant that I was distracted, over-worked and reading less than usual. Then, covid came a-knocking, and I was gifted with ten days of unlimited reading time. Every cloud had a silver lining, folks. Let’s get this fundraiser on track.

Here’s what I’m attempting on my reading list…

I always read a selection of fiction, non-fiction, and kids books (being a writer for children, I have every excuse) and usually something in Irish as well. In this batch, Richie Conroy’s awesome sequel to Dialann Emily Porter is the Irish candidate, and the stand out favourite, so far. Thíos Seal, Thuas Seal is already laugh out loud greannmhar and I’m only about a third of the way in. Maith thú, Richie! It also contains illustrations from Richie’s Dad, Don Conroy (THIS POST IS BACK TO BACK NINETIES NOSTALGIA, PEOPLE) that includes a drawing of David Bowie in The Labyrinth on VHS. Foirfe!

Aside from these ten volumes, I’m also going to put two audiobooks on the list – Cixin Liu’s science fiction classic The Three Body Problem (already finished – it was awesome) and The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. The later was a strong inspiration for Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, which I’m a big fan of, so I thought I’d give that an audio-go, too.

Wish me luck, kiddos! And donate if you can!

S x

*God is not real, so I usually thank/pray to Dolly Parton. Who also happens to be a literacy activist. She’s seasonal, and effective.