Ask Agatha
Our book advice column is back, and so is our wise and learned bookseller Agatha, who is ready to answer all your tricky (book-related) questions.
If you have a question for Agatha please email [email protected].
Dear Agatha
I’m seeing more and more of my friends switch to KeepCups and beeswax wraps, while I am still out here filling up bins with Styrofoam noodle cups. I know I should probably be doing more for our planet; I’m really starting to worry that these corporate giants and coal-crazy politicians don’t actually have our best interests at heart. Do you really think I can make an impact though? Does that hippie conditioner actually work?
I’m telling you, every drop counts. Every ripple causes a wave. The butterfly wings concept is real. Do whatever you can to make a difference. Need ideas? Try this: Waste Not Everyday. Need shame to drive your behaviour change? Read Greta Thunberg’s No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. And for god’s sake, stop with those instant noodle cups and head towards the 5-pack option that holds less packaging and the same amount of MSG. It’s an ‘everyone’s a winner, baby’ situation.
Dear Agatha
Things have been hectic lately, and like low-waisted jeans, my old friend anxiety has made an unwelcome comeback. I know I’m not alone in having a sense of impending doom, but I’d really like to stop waking in fright and panicking at the supermarket. It’s not cute, and I’m over it. Help!
I’d be worried if you weren’t worried. Everyone should be worried with the buffoons we have in power, the ice melting and the working day getting longer. Truly, what do you want from yourself? Anxiety is the first step for acknowledging that everything is going to sh*t. The trick, of course, is to balance it with being able to enjoy down time, family time and alone time. If anxiety is becoming a permanent friend in your life, you’ve gotta shake free. Give this a read: No Worries by Sarah Edelman, and if that doesn’t work, make a written list of everything that is driving you crazy, hold a ceremonial bonfire in your kitchen sink and let that baby burn.
Dear Agatha
The popular face app aging filter may be to blame, but I’ve been contemplating mortality a lot lately. We all love to plan our own fantasy funerals (I want a full buffet, Rihanna on the playlist and a dog-friendly venue) but seriously, I worry about my aging family members and how I’m going to cope with their deaths. I’d like some assistance in being a bit more prepared for these inevitably turbulent events.
Death is the talk of the town at the moment, and I salute you being all proactive about the afterlife. In the same way we put clean knickers on every day because we never know what might happen, keeping yourself nice at home so you are ready for the inevitable is just sensible. Have a read of A Better Death by Ranjana Srivastava for good ideas on making sure everything is tip-top before you topple over for evermore.
