A Softer Kind of Bookish Reset for the New Year

~ Kitty Danvers ~ 1 Comment

I don’t usually make loud New Year’s resolutions, especially when it comes to reading. Reading has always been one of the most natural, comforting parts of my life, and I’m very aware of how easily it can start to feel like work if I let it.

So this year, instead of goals and pressure, I’m choosing a small bookish reset — a few quiet intentions that bring me back to why I read in the first place.

Using the Library I Love

One thing I really want to be more mindful of is making proper use of my local library. It’s right there, full of stories waiting to be discovered, and I don’t want it to be an afterthought.

Borrowing books feels different to buying them — lighter somehow, less committal, more curious. This year I want to lean into that: more library visits, more spontaneous picks, more “let’s just try this and see.”

Making the Most of Kindle Unlimited

I’m also determined to get better value out of my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I tend to forget about it, then remember in bursts, then forget again — which feels like a waste when there’s so much available.

I’d love to explore more backlist titles, comfort reads, and maybe even a few genres I wouldn’t normally prioritise. Low pressure, no guilt if something doesn’t work — just reading for the sake of it.

Playing Along with StoryGraph Challenges

This is the year I finally want to lean into StoryGraph reading challenges properly. Not as rigid rules, but as gentle prompts — nudges toward books I might not otherwise pick up.

I like the idea of structure without force, and StoryGraph feels much more aligned with how I actually read: moods, themes, curiosity, and changeable energy levels all welcome.

Stepping Away from Social Media Reading Pressure

This is probably the biggest shift for me.

I’ve realised that content creation and social media have started to change how I approach reading — what I pick up, how fast I read, and even how I think about books while I’m still inside them. And I don’t like that feeling.

So this year, I’m letting that go.

I’ll still write — blog posts, reaction pieces, reviews — but only here, in long-form, where I can take my time and say what I actually mean. No chasing trends, no reading “for content,” no pressure to perform my reading life for an algorithm.

Just books. Just thoughts. Just me.

Reading, Reclaimed

If there’s a theme to all of this, it’s intention. Slower reading. Kinder choices. Letting reading be something that fills me up instead of something I manage.

That feels like a very good way to begin the year.

Book Review: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

📚 Quick Take:
Bleak, biting, and deliberately monotonous — a novel about opting out of life that sometimes just ends up shutting the reader out too.

✍️ My Thoughts:
I picked this up because I’d heard so much about it — the cult “sad girl lit” favourite, the book where a woman decides to sleep for an entire year. The premise is bold, and on paper it’s exactly the sort of offbeat character study I usually enjoy.

But here’s the thing: the narrator is thoroughly unlikeable (deliberately so), the tone is relentlessly cynical, and the pacing mirrors her sedation — slow, repetitive, and often disorientating. I can admire Moshfegh’s commitment to the idea, but I found myself switching off long before the narrator did.

There are glimmers of brilliance. Moshfegh skewers the emptiness of early 2000s Manhattan wealth culture with a razor-sharp eye, and the black humour occasionally landed for me. But the flashes of wit weren’t enough to make up for a reading experience that felt more exhausting than engrossing.

Would I recommend it? Only if you’re very much in the mood for something dark, bitter, and still. I understand why it resonates so strongly with some readers — the themes of grief, alienation, and the desperate urge to retreat from the world are powerful. But for me, the execution tipped too far into monotony.

📖 Vibe Check:
💊 Sedation chic
🖤 Cynical humour
📉 Nothing happens (by design)

💬 Favourite Quote:
“I was always angry that people couldn’t see into my head, that they were content to glimpse me only from the outside.”

⭐️ Final Rating:
2 stars. Conceptually sharp, but the reading experience left me cold — more numbing than illuminating.

Not every book lands the same way for everyone — this one simply wasn’t for me. But if you read it and loved it, I’d genuinely like to hear why it worked for you. Sometimes those different perspectives are just as fascinating as the books themselves.

stunned at myself

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

last night really got away from me. I should know better than to open up the anon box after dark, but somehow I let myself get pulled into it — and suddenly I was answering questions I had no business answering. 🙈

it started with me saying that “following the tour” doesn’t make me a groupie. (it doesn’t! …though, all right, maybe I did have my groupie-ish days back in the 80s. I regret nothing.) but then things escalated. long legs got mentioned, Darren got mentioned, and before I knew it, people were asking me about Indian Wells 1994.

and honestly? I’m not quite sure what anon was expecting. did they really think I was going to say “oh yes, I definitely had a moment with Darren in Indian Wells, February 1994” and then just… spill every detail? 😳 bless them. the only thing I gave away was his tournament result — lost in the quarter finals to Stefan Edberg 6-4 6-3. 😉 It was his best result in the last season of his playing career. 

I know I should turn anon off. I know I shouldn’t encourage this. but the cheek of the questions (and the even bigger cheek of me actually answering some of them) had me laughing myself silly. tumblr really does have a way of loosening the tongue, doesn’t it?

so, this is me the morning after: a little stunned, a little scandalised, and reminding myself that some things are better left in the 90s. 😉

and with that, I’m slamming the anon box shut. (probably. …maybe. we’ll see.)

All matches, they said

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

Sky Sports promised me “all US Open matches.”

What they meant, of course, was: some matches, the ones we feel like showing, and not the half of the qualifiers you were actually looking forward to. 🙃

So there I was, forced into tennis piracy. Skulking around shady ESPN streams, dodging pop-ups like they were errant forehands, hoping there might at least be some Darren on the other side of my crimes.

But no. Not even a glimpse. Just lag, ads, and a nagging sense that Sky owes me Darren at this point.

Because really — what’s the point of breaking the law if I don’t even get a Cahill cameo out of it?

Not Every Point is a Match Point

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

You can’t live your whole life like it’s a tiebreaker—sometimes you’ve got to let it play out.

Sometimes life feels like you’re stuck at 6–6 in the final set — all nerves, all urgency, no room to breathe. But not every moment needs to be a match point. Some of the best things happen when you let the rally go long and see where it takes you.

There’s a certain rush in a tiebreaker. Every point is urgent, every mistake magnified, every winner worth a fist pump. It’s addictive — that edge-of-your-seat feeling where you’re dialled in, hyper-focused, heart pounding. But you can’t live there forever.

In tennis, the beauty isn’t just in the high-pressure deciders. It’s in the slow burn of a set that twists and turns. The rallies that start with a tentative slice and end with an audacious drop shot. The points where nothing much seems to happen — until you realise you’ve been drawn into something quietly brilliant.

Life’s the same. You can’t be in crisis mode 24/7, even if you’ve convinced yourself you work best under pressure. Not everything needs an immediate winner. Some things — the important things — need time to breathe. A relationship. A career change. Figuring out who you are now versus who you were five years ago.

Sometimes, the most satisfying victories come when you stop pressing for the finish line and just play the point in front of you.

So yes — embrace the tiebreakers when they come. Rise to them. Feel the thrill. But remember to let the rest of the match unfold, point by point. You might just find the best parts happen between the big moments.

Book Review: But Seriously by John McEnroe

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Candid, charismatic, but a touch repetitive

📖 Quick Take:
The follow-up to You Cannot Be Serious, this memoir sees McEnroe reflecting on life after his fiery days on the tennis court. It’s less about serve-and-volley brilliance and more about family, broadcasting, art, and the ongoing balancing act between private life and public persona.

✍️ My Thoughts:
McEnroe’s voice is as distinctive on the page as it is behind a microphone—dryly funny, self-aware, and never short of an opinion. But Seriously offers a peek into the mind of someone who has lived multiple lives: Grand Slam champion, commentator, art gallery owner, husband, father.

Where the first memoir thrived on the raw energy of his career highs and lows, this one feels calmer, more introspective. There’s a lot to enjoy in the anecdotes about fellow players, celebrity encounters, and the odd broadcasting drama, but some sections wander into familiar territory from his first book, which can make it feel a bit padded.

What surprised me most was the warmth—he’s still McEnroe (blunt, occasionally prickly), but there’s a reflective edge that comes with time and perspective.

💌 Vibe Check:
🎾 Life after the limelight
🎤 Behind-the-scenes sports media
🖼 Tennis meets the art world
💬 Still telling it like it is

💬 Favourite Line:
“You can’t live your whole life like it’s a tiebreaker—sometimes you’ve got to let it play out.”

⭐️ Final Rating:
3 stars. Engaging and witty, but more of a gentle rally than a five-set thriller.

Is there anything better than iced coffee and a bookstore on a sunny day?

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

“Is there anything better than iced coffee and a bookstore on a sunny day? I mean, aside from hot coffee and a bookstore on a rainy day.”

Honestly, I can’t think of many things that beat either scenario. On a sunny day, it’s the kind of iced coffee that beads with condensation before you’ve even taken the first sip, paired with the satisfying creak of an old bookshop door. The sunlight filters through high windows, catching in the dust motes and making the spines on the shelves gleam like a rainbow of well-loved treasures. There’s a lightness to it—a sense of possibility—that maybe today you’ll discover that book, the one you didn’t even know you needed.

Rainy-day bookshop visits are an entirely different kind of bliss. The air is rich with the scent of wet pavement and freshly brewed coffee, the rain pattering against the windows as you wrap your hands around a warm mug. The world outside might be grey and hurried, but inside, time slows. You linger over hardbacks you’ll never quite convince yourself to buy, stroke the covers of new releases, and tuck yourself into a corner chair to read the first few pages of something that just feels right.

I’ve always thought of bookshops as the perfect in-between place—somewhere between adventure and sanctuary. And whether the coffee is iced or hot, the magic is the same: you walk in carrying the day’s weather with you, and you leave with a little more than you came for. Usually in the form of a paper bag and a slightly lighter bank account.

So tell me—are you a sunshine-and-iced-coffee reader, or do you live for the rainy-day-hot-coffee kind of bookstore bliss?

Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Witty, warm, and wonderfully self-aware

📚 Quick Take:

Emily Henry flips the small-town romance trope on its head, giving us a story where the “cold big-city woman” gets to be the heroine — and the love interest is a grumpy editor, not a rugged local carpenter. Expect whip-smart banter, emotional depth, and a romance that feels earned.

✍️ My Thoughts:

Nora Stephens isn’t here to charm the locals, she’s here for her sister. But when a work trip takes her to a small North Carolina town, she keeps running into Charlie Lastra, a fellow New Yorker and fellow cynic. What follows is a delightful enemies-to-reluctant-allies-to-lovers arc that’s both funny and heartfelt.

Henry’s strength is in her characters – flawed, ambitious, and believably human. The sibling dynamic between Nora and Libby adds a rich emotional layer, exploring identity, sacrifice, and the stories we tell ourselves. And the romance? Crackling chemistry without losing sight of the personal growth that makes it meaningful.

Why not five stars? While I adored the writing, a few pacing dips and slightly overlong introspection pulled me out now and then. Still, it’s a standout in the romcom genre.

✨ Vibe Check:

  • 💬 Enemies-to-lovers banter
  • 🏙 Big-city hearts in a small-town setting
  • 👯‍♀️ Sisterhood front and centre
  • 📚 Publishing world backdrop

💬 Favorite Quote:

“Is there anything better than iced coffee and a bookstore on a sunny day? I mean, aside from hot coffee and a bookstore on a rainy day.”

⭐️ Final Rating:

4 stars. 4 stars. Smart, funny, and brimming with heart.

Back from the Tennis Trail: Monte Carlo to Wimbledon

~ Kitty Danvers ~ Leave a comment

It feels like I’ve been living out of a suitcase since April—and honestly? I rather have. From the clay in Monte Carlo to the grass at Wimbledon, it’s been a whirlwind of airports, match points, and one too many cappuccinos on the go. Somewhere between chasing the ATP tour and trying not to melt in the summer heat, my little corner of the internet went a bit… dormant.

But now that I’ve drawn breath (and finally unpacked), it’s time for a proper reboot.

Back When I Was Much Younger

Back in the mid-late ’90s and into the early 2000s, I followed the tour properly. I’d jet off to Australia, swing by the US Open—it was easier back then, and frankly, far less ruinous on the purse. Was I a tennis groupie? A lady never kisses and tells.

Post-COVID, with travel feeling heavier and—if we’re being candid—the years creeping in, I’ve mostly stuck to a handful of clay court tournaments in Europe. But this year? I’ve not gallivanted quite like this in decades, and it’s been glorious fun.

Life on Tour: The Real, Beautiful Chaos

Monte Carlo was the start, planned down to the last detail. Then life threw me a delightful curveball: I met the loveliest Spanish couple, David and Miriam. One moment we were chatting over coffee, and the next I was in their car, road-tripping back to Spain. That turned into an unplanned escapade through Barcelona and Madrid—two cities, two entirely different rhythms, and frankly, more tapas than is respectable.

Rome was always on the agenda, though I had to tear up my flights and start again thanks to my newly altered route. It was the sort of last-minute scramble that used to send me into hysterics; these days, I simply shrug and order another espresso.

Then a quick interlude at home for laundry (and perhaps a decent cup of tea) before Paris called for Roland Garros. After that, back to London for Queen’s and Wimbledon—with David and Miriam making a surprise appearance, which was the perfect punctuation mark on an already mad summer.

At this point, my suitcase and I are on first-name terms. Plans shifted at the eleventh hour, flights got rerouted, and my main concern was not leaving my favourite tennis hat in some forgotten corner of Madrid.

And you know what? That unpredictability—that joyful chaos—is what makes this whole thing magic. It’s why I fell in love with tennis in the first place: the drama, the brilliance, the constant sense that anything could happen. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Why the Reboot?

After months of gallivanting and tennis-induced adrenaline, I wanted this space to feel like me again: books, tennis, and a little slice of life. Think vintage tenniscore meets literary dark academia—because my heart belongs equally to manicured grass courts and a well-worn novel.

What’s coming:

  • Weekly round-ups (Kitty’s Weekly Serve) mixing books, matches, and musings.
  • TBR check-ins, book lists, and a few strong opinions.
  • Tennis reflections and some inevitable US Open chatter.
  • Moodboards, playlists, and the occasional aesthetic indulgence.

So, What’s Next?

Today kicks off a new posting schedule—4 to 5 posts a week through August. Tomorrow, we’re diving into my Current TBR.

In the meantime, tell me:
What’s been the highlight of your summer—books, tennis, or something entirely different?

Drop a comment and let’s catch up. 💬

🌞 The Sunday Post – April 20, 2025

~ Kitty Danvers ~ 4 Comments

Hey friends! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet for another Sunday Post—a weekly blog link-up hosted by @ Caffeinated Reviewer, where we share what’s been going on in our lives, blogs, and bookshelves. This week’s post comes with bonus vampires, sunshine, and just a hint of red clay dust. Let’s go!

✍️ Blog/Life Updates

It’s been a proper blogging week this time! I’ve had a bit more energy, a lot more time on courtside terraces, and apparently all the opinions. Here’s what went up:

📚 Books This Week

I finished The Vampire Lestat and… it was a ride. Melodramatic and decadent in the best possible way.

I’ve just started Fourth Wing, and I’m already seeing the hype. Give me dragons and drama any day.

🔮 Coming Up Next Week

  • A full review of The Vampire Lestat (will try to keep the swooning to a minimum… maybe)

  • Books That Surprised Me – whether for better or worse

  • A peek at my bookshelves (aka: organized chaos)

🎾 Tennis Talk

Well… it didn’t end quite the way we hoped. Carlos had been playing beautifully all week, but the final slipped away—and more worryingly, he seemed to be struggling physically. A thigh/groin issue, maybe? It’s hard to tell, but the whole thing left me holding my breath and crossing every finger for a quick recovery. Here’s hoping it’s nothing serious, and he can rest up before Madrid. ❤️‍🩹

🌍 Life Lately

I’m heading to Madrid on Monday – yes, for more tennis! This is shaping up to be the spring of clay and cross-country road trips. I’m a little tired, very sun-kissed, and constantly having to remind myself to drink water.

But really, what could be better than books, good food, and live tennis in some of the most beautiful cities in the world?

Want to read more Sunday Posts or join in yourself? Head over to the Caffeinated Reviewer’s Sunday Post link-up.