This would be a very different pandemic without my laptop and all the great streaming opportunities. 

My husband and I started watching Station Eleven which I have to say was not the best idea. We both read Emily St. John Mandel’s dystopian novel about a post-pandemic world when it was published a few years ago. It felt so far-fetched at the time. “A global pandemic?” I thought back then. “Well, that’s a bit far-fetched.” 

Anyway, the nightmares it has caused at least take my mind off just how bad And Just Like That, (the Sex and the City sequel) is. I had high hopes because I loved Carrie Bradshaw and her thirty-something friends a couple decades ago. The sequel is poorly written, the scenes predictable, and the three remaining girlfriends (you already know Samantha is no longer part of the original quartet) do little to paint older-ish women (like me) in a good light. My friends are way more interesting to drink Cosmopolitans with. I mean if drinking Cosmos with girlfriends is ever even a possibility again. 

I wished I’d kept a list of what books I loved in 2021. My memory is a sieve so I am hopeless at making recommendations even though I always have a pile of books on the go. The one I won’t forget is Yellow Star, Red Star, a book by Dr. Agnes Kaposi, an old university friend of my deceased dad. I stumbled upon this while doing some research and was delighted to find she mentioned my dad. Her story filled many gaps about my parents’ experience during the Holocaust and Communism. 

I have been thinking more about my Jewish identity and wrote about it for Tablet. Here is my personal essay: Latkes Filled With Meaning.

Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday, with lots of N95s in your Christmas stockings.  

Previous: A Story about Jessie (and the other dog)
Next: A Pandemic Filled With Amazing Feminist Entrepreneurs

• Tweet