It's a bottle episode 2.0 & 2024 favourites
2024: My best posts and a Touching Grass round-up
Another wild year of sending this newsletter. Last year, I published It’s a bottle episode, a summary of everything I’ve written and enjoyed in 2023. I’m back again with more of the same.
In this email, you’ll find some newsletter stats, top posts, and, most importantly, an absolutely huge Touching Grass edition that includes all of my favourite books, TV shows, films, and other media from throughout the year.
This email is very long, so if you’re reading in your inbox, you might need to visit it in the browser to get the full list.
So, without further ado, let’s go.
This year, I hit 1,200 subscribers and had over 36,000 views on the newsletter.
I sent 48 emails, meaning I only missed three weeks!
My most popular posts were:
We came back from holiday early (June) - Where I wrote about my breakdown caused by a terrible caravan holiday.
The court of public opinion is in session - (October) - Analysis of discourse after Liam Payne’s death.
Money, money, money (April) - Sharing some insights into our business growth and the competitive nature of freelancing
It’s time to stop calling yourself “high functioning” (March) - My rebellion against that stupid term
Where do we go from here? (February) - Discussing the loss of third places
Five years ago (February) - Looking back on half a decade without my mam
It’s personal
From a personal perspective, it’s been a tricky year. In some ways, it was great— I ran three half marathons, including beating my personal best in Edinburgh in May. I also continued navigating the Wild West of toddler parenting while also running a six-figure business and looking after two rescue dogs.
But also learned this year that I’m autistic not long after that post about having a menty b at Haven Holiday Park. This commenced a period of intense soul-searching as I re-learn how to exist in a neurotypical world and attempt to give myself grace when I struggle (still working on this one.)
So, with that in mind, I wanted to thank everyone who has ever opened, read, shared or commented on this newsletter. I will continue to write it long after anyone gives a shit, because I don’t do it for the clout, but I must admit it’s nice to know people are actually reading it.
Hold onto your hats, folks; this is going to be a huge round-up of all of my favourites. I can’t include all the books, TV shows and films I’ve enjoyed because Substack has a text limit, so these are just the best of the best.
If you want to see more books I’ve read, you can follow me on Goodreads.
📚Books
Fiction
📚Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - Faultless.
📚 Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe - A hilarious emotional rollercoaster.
📚 Foster by Claire Keegan - Heart-wrenching, you can read it in one sitting.
📚 Evenings And Weekends by Oisín McKenna - Multi-generational tale of trauma, secrets and love.
📚 Private Rites by Julia Armfield
📚 What You Need From the Night by Laurent Petitmangan
📚 Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
📚 The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson
📚 Topographia Hibernica by Blindboy Boatclub
📚 I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Non-fiction
📚 Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Raddon Keefe
📚 The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell by Lucia Osborne-Crowley
📚 Avoidance Drugs Heartbreak & Dogs by Jordan Stephens
🎥FILMS
🎥 Kneecap - It goes without saying this was my favourite film of the year. The lads have just been shortlisted for two Oscar nominations, too, so if you’ve not seen it yet, what are you waiting for?
🎥 Challengers - Again, no surprises here. Obsessed.
🎥 La Chimera - So, so good and clever magic realism piece.
🎥 Strange Darling - Best thriller/horror of the year.
🎥 Small Things Like These - Remarkable adaptation of Claire Keegan’s short novel.
🎥 A Different Man - Such a weird and interesting experience.
🎥 Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young
🎥 Dune 2
🎥 Longlegs
📺TV
📺 Inside No.9 (BBC) - It’s over, but it was perfect.
📺 Slow Horses (Apple TV) - Addictive crime show with an excellent found family of characters.
📺 Dark (Netflix) - Mindblowing.
📺 Industry (BBC iPlayer) - This is up there with Succession and The Bear when it comes to chaotic telly.
📺 Colin From Accounts S2 (BBC iPlayer)
📺 We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4)
📺 Heartbreak High S2 (Netflix)
🎤LIVE MUSIC
🎤 Interpol (Newcastle City Hall)
🎤 Kneecap (Digital Newcastle)
🎤 Bruce Springsteen (Sunderland Stadium of Light)
🎤 English Teacher (Boilershop Newcastle)
🎤 Ben Howard (Newcastle City Hall)
🎭THEATRE & COMEDY
🎭 Sam Campbell (Tyne Theatre and Opera House) - Funniest stand-up I’ve ever seen.
🎭 Fern Brady (Tyne Theatre and Opera House)
🎭 Prima Facie (National Theatre Live)
🎭 The Underdog: The Other Other Brontë (Northern Stage)
🎭 Macbeth (Harold Pinter Theatre)
Let me know below some of your favourites from 2024! I will probably take a week or two off now, so I’ll see you in the New Year (or before if I get inspiration).
Thanks, as ever,
Ellen.
If you like the audio version of this newsletter, you can listen to them all over on Spotify. Here’s last week’s:
💌 About this email
I’m Ellen, and I write about mental health for the chronically online. I am a freelance copywriter, strategist and web designer, and I work from home with my husband, Craig, at Content By The Sea. We have two rescue greyhounds, Potter and Harmony, and a toddler.
I started this newsletter in March 2020 and have sent over 200(!) emails; currently, I have over 1,200 subscribers. I write about a wide variety of topics, including diet culture, my love of running, jealousy, my life falling apart, mam guilt, and this dystopian world we all live in.
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