I would like a ring

Actually I would like to stop singing "I would like a ring". But I can't

Oct 27, 2025

Some things that I have been thinking about

Does anyone rate their experience at Australia Post after receiving an online delivery? Or at any other place? The bulk of my emails these days are from people asking me to review my purchase or trying to urge me to shop again. Although I think that probably says more about my online shopping habits than anything else.
Why hasn’t someone invented a horn with a happy sound? Surely by 2025 we should be able to honk the horn with a friendly little ‘thank you’ or ‘hi’. I suppose I should be grateful that no one has invented one that says something less friendly…
Why do people ask beauty influencers questions about which schools they should send their kids to? Yes, I AM spending too much time on Ask Me Anything posts on Instagram. It’s so weird to me that because a person has a lot of followers people suddenly assume they are experts in everything. From war in the Middle East to what to pack for school lunch to how to perfect a winged eye. Oh to have the confidence of a person who knows everything.

While most of the world is listening to Taylor Swift I cannot stop listening to Lily Allen’s new album.

I also cannot listen to one bar of Where Is My Husband by Raye without singing “I would like a ring, I would like a ring, I would like a diamond ring on my wedding finger, I would like a big and shiny diamond that I can wave around and talk, and talk about it”

I dare you to try it.

I have also found the best podcast to listen to as a sleeping aid. Strong recommend for Bill Nighy’s podcast Ill Advised which he describes as “A podcast for people who don’t get out much and can’t handle it when they do!” His tone is the perfect sound to lull you to sleep.

As you can tell I don’t have a lot of important things on my mind at the moment, while I try not to think about the real world. So let’s dive straight into two BRILLIANT books I have just read.

Very Impressive For Your Age

Sometimes I think about how I am going to describe a book while I am still reading it, this turns out to be a very bad habit because it takes me out of the story. Anyway when I started reading Very Impressive For Your Age I thought that it was lovely but maybe I was too old, maybe this book was meant for a younger audience given that it is, in essence, a coming of age story.

But then I carried on reading and I realised I was wrong. This book is complex and smart and mature in a way that conveys depth and understanding not just about growing up, but about ambition and career, about self reflection and acceptance, about how we view the trajectory of our lives and how that can be changed.

Very Impressive For Your Age tells the story of Evelyn a young opera singer who loses her voice and needs to start again. But it’s about so much more than that. It’s really about being a person and changing your mind, learning about and opening yourself to the world. Every character is so brilliantly drawn and fleshed out I feel like I know them as friends.

Absolutely loved this book.

The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done

It’s always a bit of a gamble you take when you read a book you’ve heard so much about, especially when you absolutely love the way the author writes. But I took a gamble and I won the jackpot.

The Worst Thing I Have Ever Done tells the story of Ruby Williams who writes for a feminist website and becomes the victim of an internet pile-on.

I can’t even begin to describe how brilliantly Clare Stephens describes the world of a pile-on. I remember vividly about 100 years ago when I was at Mamamia and I wrote something about Miranda Kerr and I drew “a bit of internet ire”. I remember seeing the comments unfolding and I remember the fear coursing through my blood. I hadn’t intended to be divisive or unkind but that is the way the story sounded to others who read it. I was almost too scared to leave the office and drive home, and then when I got home nobody in my real world knew or cared about the comments on a post about Miranda Kerr. No one could understand how scared I was of the strangers online. I try so hard to be fair, kind and non judgemental and I wanted the world to know that - but they didn’t care, they just thought I had been mean about Miranda Kerr. It was a long time ago and I think this kind of pile-on is far worse now, angrier, more sustained, even scarier.

But rather than making this review about myself I urge you to read this book to understand the impact of every single comment you make online, whether it’s a Facebook or Instagram comment, a thread on Reddit or (gags) an internet forum.

Clare is so smart and researched and every word of this novel is meaningful. I am absolutely in awe of her ability not just to convey emotion, but to tell a story with so much depth and nuance. (Also she knows a lot about black holes) Even if you have never had to protect yourself from trolls online you will love this book. I think it may have changed the way my brain is wired, it was that impactful. READ IT.

(Just to add that the book is about so much more than a pile one so if you don’t care about internet trolls you should still read it.)

Thanks for reading to the end. Don’t forget to like this post (if you) did and maybe recommend it to a friend if they are looking for a book suggestion.

Cheers

Lana