As we head towards the end of yet another year and our brains go into introspection mode, seeking comfort in our surroundings seems natural. Call it hygge capitalism, call it doing what feels necessary, call it a weather phenomenon, but this is the time of the little treat and the guilty pleasure. After a conscious few months trying to avoid OTT binges, I spent last weekend watching Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman spar entertainingly and…bring the house down in The Roses on Netflix, and Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning bond in the ham-handed motherhood drama All Her Fault on JioHotstar, before dipping my toes in the dark, twisted world of Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys starrer The Beast in Me. I watched Wicked: For Good and, like the rest of the world and the 18 fellow movie-goers in the morning show, scratched my arms looking at Elphaba’s sex cardigan. After running through this year’s Booker Prize-shortlisted novels the last couple of months, I’m determined to read only feel-good romances between now and New Year’s (Ali Hazelwood, Sarah MacLean, Dani Francis, and Regina Black, if you’re asking). For a month, at least, I will eat cake, moisturise diligently, sleep on my silk pillowcase, and, occasionally, light my apple pie candle. Do what makes you happy.
