In my Lizzie McAlpine era

If you’re anywhere near my age of 27, you know who Lizzie McAlpine is. I have gotten into a singer-songwriter cycle where I listen to Lizzie and Gracie Abrams and pretend that I’m in some Indie movie where I couldn’t be bothered to have a love interest. I could groove and jam out to ceilings for hours on end. Some of Lizzie’s songs—Doomsday, for example—can get me in my emotions a little too much, and boom, I’m in a slump. “I would’ve married you if you’d have stuck around” at the bridge does exactly what a bridge should do: gut you. McAlpine is a wonderful songwriter, and I can’t get enough. However, sometimes I need to get out of my deep and oftentimes depressed emotions for a bit and consciously think of things that I am thankful for. So, let’s do that little exercise together:

Things I’m Thankful For:
1. Harper — my dog. She is my pride and joy, and I audibly tell her and others this many times a day.
2. My friends — I live with some of my best friends, and I’m within walking distance of others. Even though it takes me a little bit to let my walls down and accept help/love from others, I know that they’ll be there for me when I need it.
3. My family — My mom will talk me through my many mid-life crises, my sisters are always there to read my latest writing pieces and offer advice, and my little nieces and nephews just fill me up with so much joy when I see videos and pictures of them.
4. My job — I’m finally in a job that I enjoy and am grateful for. I work with some fun characters, and it’s a lot of clerical work which is weirdly lovely.
5. I’m not in a reading slump (currently).

Readers, try that. Think of 3-5 things that you’re thankful for. I promise that it’ll do some good.

Reagan Fleming

Get Ready with Me

Why are these “Get Ready with Me” videos so relaxing? Why do I get lost in the cycle of random people or celebrities getting ready to start their day and do their skincare/haircare routine? Don’t get me started on those “Bedtime Routine” videos too.

Picture college-aged Reagan on her dorm room bed, watching Glossier video after Glossier video of models and Glossier employees getting ready with a video camera pointed at them. I have watched every single Glossier GRWM video, and I am not ashamed to say it. There’s something about watching people verbally go through their skincare routine and have you watch them do it. Lord knows I won’t do 8 out of the 10 steps that they do, but it’s fun to watch. I remember one day, I was watching some GRWM videos in my dorm room, and my roommate went out to go eat with some friends. And by the time she came back, I was in the same spot watching the same type of videos. (Awkward smiley emoji.)

Fun fact: I did, in fact, take a break just now to watch a few GRWM videos. Sue me!

Since I find any type of “Get Ready With Me” or “A Day In the Life” videos and articles so intoxicating, I thought I’d include A Day In the Life of Reagan Fleming. I hope it’s as therapeutic for you as it is for me!

〰️

prepare to be relaxed as hell

〰️ prepare to be relaxed as hell


6:30 - Wake up to my alarm and cuddle with Harper (my dog) for a few minutes.
6:45 - Make coffee, turn my curling iron on, and queue up The Office for some nice background noise.
6:50 - Put contacts in and brush my teeth.
6:55 - Do makeup while sitting on the floor in front of the mirror on the bathroom door.
7:05 - Curl my hair.
7:15 - Let Harper out to go potty, give her a dental chew, and feed her.
7:25 - Pack my lunch for the day if I didn’t already the night before.
7:35 - Get dressed for the day.
7:40 - Make myself a coffee with creamer for when I’m at the office. Sadly there’s no keurig machine, but there is a coffee pot I can use to make myself a pot of black coffee to drink throughout the day. If you can’t tell, I really like drinking coffee.
7:45 - Leave for work.
8:00 - Clock in!
12:00 - Lunch break! I usually watch a show on my laptop while I eat, and then I like to read for the last bit of lunch.
1:00 - Clock back in from lunch!
5:00 - Clock out and walk to my car! Last exclamation point!
5:20 - Get home and let Harps out. She’s usually really wiggly and ready to go potty by the time I get home.
5:30 - Make myself some type of drink (either another coffee, a beer, sparkling water, or a smoothie, depending on if I’m hungry or not) and read either outside on the porch or in one of our living rooms.
6:30 - Start making dinner. I like to play a podcast or some fun oldies music while I cook. It gets me excited about whatever I’m cooking.
6:45 - Eat dinner and watch a show, usually with my roommate!
7:00 - Continue watching shows with my roommate, but here’s when we bring out our crochet projects. I got into crocheting literally last weekend, and I’ve already made a purse, a tank top, and now I’m working on a little slouchy accessories bag. Crocheting and listening to an audiobook is a particular kind of heaven for me.
7:45 - I prefer showering at night and going to bed with damp hair like a lunatic. So, I usually shower around this time and then change into my jammies and slippies. (Aka pajamas and slippers. But I promise you will never hear me say slippers in my own home.)
8:00 - My roommate and I love making decaf coffee and reading in our living room. I could probably drink regular coffee at this point and not be fazed when I go to bed, but I fall to peer pressure and do the decaf. We usually read in silence, and Harps sometimes joins us if she’s not too squirrely at the time. If she’s antsy, I like to have her run around in the front yard to run off some of her energy. She’s the kind of dog that gets super excited when you clap and cheer her on, and that makes her run even faster.
9:30 - My roommates and I are grandmothers when it comes to our bedtime. I’m usually ready for bed at 9, but I really push myself to stay awake until 9:30.
9:40 - Get ready for bed! I have to take out my contacts first and foremost. Then, I use micellar water and sometimes a cotton pad to wipe away my makeup from the day. Next, I cleanse my skin with either the Neutrogena Hydro Boost cleanser or the CeraVe SA cleanser with salicylic acid. (Both make my skin feel incredible.) To finish off the night, I use some type of serum from The Ordinary, and no, I do not want to look up the exact serum I use purely because I’m just lazy, and I wait for that to dry. I should be using eye cream and all that jazz at this step, but I usually just do a night cream all over my face and neck and call it good. Every other day or so I like to use Vaseline on my face as a deep and intense nightly moisturizer. Since it’s still crazy cold in Oklahoma most days, I use this more often than not.
9:55 - I queue up some peaceful and calming show — right now, it’s The Office for me. For a while, it was Heartstopper, which I’ll probably (definitely) get back into in a few weeks. A few nights a week we go crazy and just not have anything on as background noise while we go to sleep. I wouldn’t say that I sleep better with no television on, but I think it’s a nice change while I prepare to shut off my brain for a few hours while I sleep.
10:00 - I let Harper out to go potty for the last time, and then we hop into bed. But! Before we hop into bed, I wrap my hair in a cotton t-shirt since my hair’s still damp, and I sleep in that. If I don’t, boom, headache in the morning.

And that’s it! If you’ve made it this far, congratulations. And I’m surprised. But, hey! You’re probably way more relaxed than you were, right? Oh, the science that is GRWM and A Day In the Life articles.

Reagan Fleming

We Lived, We Read, We Conquered Our Reading Goal

The year 2022 was a good year for me. I discovered the insane cuteness that is Heartstopper (both graphic novel and Netflix series), I surpassed my reading goal for the year, and I got to see my family more than I thought I would be able to, and I have discovered the joy that is OKC Thunder basketball.

I mean, it’s Heartstopper! I could just end my review there and call it good. I first started it when the person I was dating at the time lent me their books. I flew through books 1-2 quickly, but I had to purchase my own copies after things ended. Look at that, the power that is a good book. Even the ending of a relationship can’t keep readers away.

If I could choose one book to erase an author’s name and claim the book as my own, I would do that for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. The first time I read it (it was my third time in 2022), I laughed out loud so many times, surprising myself that I actually could laugh out loud at a book. (I do have emotions, don’t worry.) Greg, the narrator, looks at life in such a quirky way.

Love on the Brain is Ali Hazelwood’s second full-length Women in STEM book, and I can never get enough of Hazelwood’s writing. Her first, The Love Hypothesis, made me laugh harder than any book that I’ve ever read, and I flew through it in 2 days. I looked forward to being done with my job at the time (for many reasons), but mostly because that meant I could sit outside with my dog and read The Love Hypothesis. Love on the Brain was such a great read, but I must admit that it’s dangerously close to The Love Hypothesis with its plot and love interest. It’s still a great read, but I would recommend not reading the both of them within too close of a time frame.

The only bad thing I have to say about these books is that why would someone choose to be called “Belly”??? I understand that it’s short for Isabel, but dear god just call her Izzy or Bella. Conrad and Jeremiah - wow. What a dream it would be to have those two brothers fighting over you. The show on Amazon Prime does a great job at bringing these two characters to life, and I highly recommend both reading and watching the show. Season two will be coming out soon, but I will warn you: you probably won’t be able to wait to read the second and third books before the correlating seasons come out.

I mean, it’s Emily freaking Henry! Much like Alison Cochran or Ali Hazelwood, you truly cannot go wrong with one of Emily Henry’s books. However, I made the mistake of reading People We Meet on Vacation first, and that proved to be a teensy bit of a letdown when I then went to Beach Read and then Book Lovers. PWMOV is her best one yet, I believe, but I think it also had to do with the order I read them all in. Henry’s voice shines through all of her works, proving them to be funny, witty, and surprisingly emotional.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler. Boy oh boy was I excited for this one. I was obsessed with McQuinston’s Red White and Royal Blue, so I will admit that I had impossibly high standards for her third book. When I was reading about the characters, it all seemed kind of surface-level in a way. I didn’t care much for the characters, and Shara was one character I especially didn’t like. At the end of the book, I just didn’t really care what happened. If you’re looking for a great rom-com, maybe one that’s LGBT, try McQuinston’s other books, Red, White, and Royal Blue or One Last Stop.

Cutie cutie cute book. I really enjoyed The Charm Offensive. It took my secret love of The Bachelor and transformed it into something I always wondered about. What would happen if the bachelor or bachelorette was secretly gay? Dev is the producer of a bachelor-type show, and despite the fakeness of it all, he still believes in true love. In walks the newest contestant, Charlie, a shy and not-so-leading man who Dev is ordered to bring out of his shell so the show gets more views. I remember borrowing this e-book and flying through the digital pages on my iPad. Definitely recommend this one.

Again Again. I read this probably 4 months ago, and when I tell you I do not remember what happened in this book, I do not remember what happened in this book. I remember thinking that it was really cute and unique in the way it was written. It almost felt like poetry in a way. As the reader, you saw what happened in the book from different scenarios. “If she decided to speak to him at that moment, this is what would have happened” kind of a thing. It’s a short read, just not the most memorable book I’ve ever read.

Count Your Lucky Stars is the first in this three-part series I read, and I just inhaled these books. I will say that this one is my favorite of the two that I read, simply because I really liked Margot and Olivia’s dynamic.

Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood is one of her STEM novellas. As a writer myself, I know how hard it is to come up with ideas or ways to develop your characters, but I’ve found that Hazelwood tends to write the same leading man in all of her books. They’re always tall, dark, and handsome (except for Below Zero, where the leading man is tall but red-haired), and the ladies are always petite. As a 5’5” gal, I’m all for the leading man being way taller than the protagonist, but it made me feel like I was reading The Love Hypothesis or Love on the Brain again with how the love interest was described. I listened to this on audiobook, and I will say that it was a very cute, very fast read/listen.

The Amityville Horror book. My oh my. I truly could not have hated this book more. Pretty much all I have to say about this book is: WAY too many exclamation points! When you use exclamation points all the time, it makes what you’re writing sound cheesy! And especially not scary!

Boy Erased. This book was written about the horrific topic of conversion therapy. I first saw the movie when it came out, and I wept like a BABY after I had some time to myself post-movie to think about what I had watched. Even if you don’t relate to the topic yourself, this book allows you to empathize with those who were and are constantly told that who they are inside is inherently evil. While reading this book, Gerrard Conley included a lot of facts and timelines of conversion therapy, and this kept everything organized in my head. Conley is only 37 years old this year, in 2023, so the trauma and pain that he went through as a teenager happened a lot more recently than you’d expect. Despite the mental, emotional, and sometimes physical harm that it causes, conversion therapy still exists to this day.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur was the second book of the series that I read, and it provided more information on Darcy and Elle’s relationship. In Count Your Lucky Stars, we meet Darcy and Elle who are dating, but we don’t get their backstory until this book. Count Your Lucky Stars is my favorite, but this is a close second!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell was the first Rowell book that I could get through. I mostly picked this one up because I heard it was good, and there was a character in it named Reagan. Although, I’m pretty sure they spelled it differently than I do, I just don’t remember. Cath writes Harry Potter-like fanfiction for a serious called Simon Snow. There’s a fun little twist in this one, and overall I really enjoyed it for the blurbs of the fanfiction and unexpected romance.

Carry On is the fanfiction that Cath writes in Fangirl. Even though it’s incredibly similar to Harry Potter, I still really enjoyed it for the fantasy, which is something I’m usually not into as a reader.

How Stella Learned to Talk. I was a bit hesitant to read this book at first because I thought it might be cheesy. It’s a book about a dog, so I was having flashbacks to Marley and Me, and it took awhile for me to finally decide to read it. But once I started, I couldn’t get enough of it. It was fascinating to learn that Stella’s owner, Christina Hunger, was the first person to train her dog to press buttons to communicate with her. At the end of each chapter, she has little tips and activities for you to try out with your own dog. This Christmas, my mom got me a pack of buttons to try to teach my dog Harper how to communicate with me. So far, she’s a little scared of the buttons, but we’re still working on it. I definitely recommend this fascinating read.

I couldn’t hate this book more. I was so pumped to read this book since all of BookTok was talking about it, and so were some of my friends. Did I roll my eyes and sigh aloud, “Oh my god,” “What is happening?” “This is so bad,” multiple times while reading this book? Yes, I did. It’s now being made into a movie with Blake Lively as the lead, and will I watch the movie? Absolutely. I’m not insane. I live for rom-coms and terrifying horror movies.

The Unhoneymooners. This was my first (and so far only) Christina Lauren book that I’ve read. I finished this in probably the same amount of time as I did The Love Hypothesis because it was so easy to read and hilarious. Olive’s sister and Ethan’s brother get married, but before they go on their honeymoon, they get incredibly sick and are unable to make it to their vacation. Olive agrees to go and take her sister’s place, and Ethan agrees to take the place of his brother. It’s a very cute enemies-to-lovers book, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be laughing out loud.

Boyfriend Material. Don’t let the cheesy cover art fool you. I picked this one up randomly at Target, and I knew from the first few lines that I would like it. Luc is appearing in the tabloids for doing stupid things, so the best way to clean up his image was to find a fake boyfriend. Enter Oliver, a serious and handsome barrister. Like any fake-dating scenario, it slowly becomes more datey and less fake. It definitely felt like a cute lil British rom-com.

Here’s to Us. Wow. Basically, all I have to say is that this is the perfect conclusion to the first book in the series, What if it’s Us by the same authors. The book is told from Ben and Arthur’s perspectives. I picture Becky Albertalli writing one and Adam Silvera writing the other, but I’m not sure if that’s actually how it worked out. When books are written from multiple perspectives, I always have a fear of the characters sounding similar since they’re both coming from the same writer’s brain. But in Here’s to Us and What if it’s Us, Ben and Arthur definitely have their own voices. I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook (which I did for my re-read of What if it’s Us) because Noah Galvin reads the part of Arthur. So when I read Here’s to Us, I had his voice in my head.

I must say, my hopes were insanely high with this one. It was a New York Times Bestseller, Goodreads Choice Winner, and a few other things. But I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars. I’ve heard that people loved the audiobook since she was the one reading it, and I’m wondering if that would have made me like it more. It was well done and the chapters were nice and short, but I just thought it was okay.

Wowowow I couldn’t get enough of this book. The ebook finally came in from the library the day I traveled home to Ohio for Christmas. It’s another incredible queer love story by Alison Cochran, who wrote The Charm Offensive, which I read earlier in the year. Fairly early on in the story, there’s a plot twist that I literally gasped when I realized what was happening. My mom chuckled at me that I would audibly gasp at a book, but I thought Cochran was a clever gal and did a great job with this one. It was the perfect read this Christmas, and I’m not usually into Christmas very much. It made me appreciate the chilly weather and Christmas decor.

What were some of your favorite books of 2022?

Reagan Fleming