In the first season of Literative, we learned that we need to make some space for inspiration and serendipity. In Season 2, our motto for January is "Normal Plus," borrowed from Sophie Kinsella's novel What Does It Feel Like? This thinly fictionalized novel recounts Kinsella's own battle with brain cancer; instead of a bucket list, the heroine adopts a strategy of "normal plus," upgrading her ordinary routine to include more small pleasures. We'll do the same in the New Year, taking lessons for small changes from our reading list.

Resources:

Adachi, Kendra. The Lazy Genius Way.

Burkeman, Oliver. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.

Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.

Kinsella, Sophie. What Does It Feel Like?

“Obituary: Sophie Kinsella,” JoJo Moyes, The Guardian (11 Dec. 2025).

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Happy birthday, Jane Austen! We're celebrating with a field trip to Winchester Cathedral, where Austen is buried, and Jane Austen's House in Chawton, where she spent the last years of her life.

Resources:

Jane Austen's House, Chawton, UK

Smart, Stephanie. The House of Embroidered Paper

Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, UK

Woolf, Virginia. "Jane Austen."

Worsley, Lucy. Jane Austen at Home: A Biography (2017)

Wykeham Arms, Winchester, UK

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I've been derailed in the best possible way, by discovering a book that I could not put down: The Betrayal of Anne Frank, by Rosemary Sullivan. I share my personal history with Anne Frank, some provocative ideas from Sullivan's book, and one surprising connection to Jane Austen. I also take this opportunity to remember theater director and educator Yatesy Harvey and playwright Tom Stoppard. Next time, Sense and Sensibility!

If you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the link with your friends. Don't keep Literative a secret!

P.S. After finishing this episode, I learned there's some controversy about the conclusion of Sullivan's book, her identification of a single betrayer, and the "sensationalization" of history. I want to finish the book myself before commenting on the criticisms, but I find great value in what I've read so far of The Betrayal of Anne Frank.

Works Cited:

Anne Frank House. https://www.annefrank.org/nl/

Anne Frank's Only Existing Film Images: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hvtXuO5GzU

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility.

Stoppard, Thomas. Arcadia.

Sullivan, Rosemary. The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation.

Yatesy Harvey. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQAfEvKjQz9/

Photo:

Anne Frank passport photo, May 1942. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anne_Frank_passport_photo,_May_1942.jpg

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