Do you consume enough?

I certainly do not.

I can't remember the name of the Substack writer who asked this question, but I strongly agree with their point: we've been too pressured to be productive and creative, and more often than not we're forgetting about consuming.

It's not about just "consuming content" (probably the most hideous expression there's ever been). It's about watching films and TV shows, reading, playing games, seeing art. Things that feed your productivity and creativity, inspire, teach, and comfort. Things we often feel guilty about, because it's "leisure", not honest hard work.

This year, I don't have a resolution, but a reminder: feed the growth. My ambitious goals are worth nothing if they have no fuel to run on. My fuel as a creative are other people's creations. And this approach would certainly make achieving my goals a much more pleasant process. Which is Perfectly. Normal.

And now to the mandatory list of things I enjoyed most consuming in 2023 (not necessarily released that year) that I'm happy to recommend to you.

Books:

• "Translation State", Anne Leckie;

• "Archive Undying", Emma Mieko Candon;

• "Heat 2", Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner;

• The Scholomance trilogy, Naomi Novik;

• "Nettle & bone", T. Kingfisher;

• "Doom Guy", John Romero;

• "Control Freak", Cliff Bleszinski.

Games:

• "Death Stranding" — turns out, I'm not the latest to the party (why I’m late is another story I hope to touch in another letter), and there are still many who haven't played it yet and ABSOLUTELY should if you want to educate yourself on story-driven games, worldbuilding, and asynchronous storytelling.

Films & TV shows:

• "Oppenheimer"

• “Nimona”

• "Super Mario Brothers"

• "The Last of Us"

• "Deadloch"

• "A Murder At The End Of The World"

• "The Holdovers" (best watched in winter)

I had my first New Year in Belgrade, and then the Orthodox Christmas, which began with Badni Dan — a pagan tradition of burning dry oak leaves next to churches.

As I’m sending this off, it’s Serbian New Year’s Eve, according to the Julian calendar. There’s also an important milestone at work coming, and I feel the need to improve my quest design skills as part of my career journey (should I write an email about learning? Give me a shout.) Now more fireworks coming. And more consuming.

Finally brought most of my camera collection from Moscow to Belgrade