This is the third iteration of the monthly ‘Favourites’ series, with five bits and pieces I particularly enjoyed over the month. Here’s my favourite book, noise generator, video, item of clothing and quote over June, 2020.

Favourite book: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. This novel tells a surreal story of Toru Okada, an unemployed lawyer’s assistant, who’s tasked by his wife, Kumiko, to find their missing cat. The story then quickly gets very strange – fascinating characters, background stories and plot twists come on one after another, making it an incredible roller coaster experience. Murakami writes in a way which takes you from your reality and throws you into his own so potently that I found it difficult to put the book down. When the end finally came, I sat on the sofa and stared into space for a good 10 minutes, very much intoxicated by what I’d just experienced. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a crazy time.

Favourite noise generator: The Ultimate Café Restaurant Background Noise Generator. This website generates coffee-shop-like sounds that I find helpful for getting me into the flow state when working. There are customisable sound settings for different layers of noise but I find the default settings work really well.

Favourite video: BOOKSTORES: How To Read More Books in the Golden Age of Content. This video is perhaps the best one I’ve watched this year and dives into the beauty of bookshops, how to read more books, speed-reading and why reading is important. Also, the editing quality of this is so good, I feel bad that it’s free.

Favourite item of clothing: A beanie. If a beanie cult exists out there, I’d like to become a member – the ability for a beanie to warm your head and the rest of your body up is simply awesome. My grey beanie has been an absolute necessity for cold Melbourne nights and if you ever wondered why beanies feel so warm, here’s why. Massive thanks to my sister, Lana for this amazing present.  

Favourite quote: It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. – JK Rowling