Brain work

Reading big books and learning new stuff

Do you know how sometimes you think of something and then it seems like everyone around you is talking about something similar? I’ve been thinking a lot about challenging myself a little bit. I noticed that I needed to use my brain more, to learn things, to do something that wouldn’t come easy. I realised this because I’m roaming the universities websites in search of interesting master programme and I’ve even started thinking about doing a PhD. Which is silly, because I’m not really interested in working in the academia. If this is not a sign of a certain need, than I don’t know what is.

So after I’ve done a lot of thinking and after seeing Simon Haisell talking about his slow reads for 2026, I’ve found my challenge. Not so long ago I’ve read a book Clara Reads Proust by Stéphane Carlier and since then I can’t stop thinking about In Search of Lost Time. And then I saw that there’s a new Polish translation (last part being published in autumn 2026 which is perfect) based on the newest and apparently the most complete French edition. And, finally, this morning I’ve read this from Naomi Alderman and the deal was sealed. Starting January 2026 I’ll be reading In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust.

Don’t fret, this is not the only thing I’ll be doing. I’ll be reading more (not only Proust), but I’ll also will be reconnecting with the Italian as it seems to disappear from my brain and I don’t like it at all. I’ll also be learning German as we now live close to the border and do our groceries there very often. My husband speaks German and can translate for me, but I hate not to be able to understand what people around me are talking about. I can more or less read the labels, but the only things I can say are ‘hello’, ‘thank you’, ‘with card, please’ and ‘have a nice day.’ That’s not much and I feel very dumb every time someone speaks to me and I can’t understand them.

It looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time in my attic room from now on, probably asking myself what the hell I was thinking

I have a couple of other things in mind, but I don’t want to share them publicly. At least not yet. But I hope that the next couple of months will be a good start for even more brain work next year, as I really miss learning new things, but also simply using my brain in challenging ways.

Naomi Alderman says in her article that ‘scrolling addiction is a sign you’re desperate to learn new things’ and if I look at my scrolling habit honestly than I sure hope she’s right.

Want to join me for some Proust?