The Soft Week Menu: The Joy of Being a Beginner Again

Hi Besties, Welcome to this week’s Soft Week Menu. I’m testing out this new format where it’s more than just what I’m doing, but a menu with expanded options, never a checklist. Every week I’ll share what’s helping me create a softer, cozier life, but this isn’t meant to be copied exactly. Instead, think of it like walking into your favorite café. You don’t order everything on the menu, you choose what sounds good that day. That’s exactly how I hope you’ll use these posts. Pick one book, one hobby, one gentle reset, and one idea to carry with you. Leave the rest. Your soft week doesn’t need to look like mine. It just needs to feel like yours.

This week I’ve been thinking about what it feels like to be a beginner again. Somewhere along the way, adulthood quietly teaches us that we’re supposed to already know what we’re doing. We become hesitant to try new hobbies, learn new skills, or pick up something unfamiliar because we’re worried we’ll be bad at it. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that almost everything I love today started with me being completely inexperienced. I didn’t know how to build a website, I went to school for radiology. I didn’t know how to create reading guides. I certainly didn’t know I’d one day be collaborating on coloring books. Every meaningful part of my life started with a first attempt. So this week, instead of chasing mastery, I’m choosing curiosity. And maybe that’s the softer way to live.

This Week’s Soft Week Menu

Reading

• If you’re craving a cozy escape (My Pick): Dreamers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
• If you want to soothe a heavy heart: Choose any cozy Japanese healing fiction novel.
• If you’re already dreaming about autumn: Start one book from your fall TBR.

Hobby

• Color something cozy (My Pick): I’m celebrating the launch of Bookish Quotes coloring book by filming coloring videos and spending time with the pages we created.
• Work on a puzzle: Even ten quiet minutes counts.
• Learn one new skill: Pick something you’ve always been curious about and allow yourself to be a complete beginner.

This Week’s Focus

Curiosity over competence.
This week I’m reminding myself that it’s okay to be new at something. Every expert was once a beginner, and every meaningful hobby starts with one small first step.

Ritual

Celebrate tiny progress.
Instead of waiting until you’re “good” at something, celebrate showing up. One chapter, one coloring page, one ASL lesson, one puzzle section.

Reset

Stop waiting to feel ready.
Perfection isn’t the entry requirement for trying something new, curiosity is.

Question to Carry

What would I try if I didn’t care about being good at it?

Reading: Choosing the Book That Feels Like a Deep Breath

One thing I’ve learned from creating seasonal reading guides is that reading for work and reading for yourself are two very different experiences. Right now, I’m deep into reading books for my Fall Reading Guide, which means my days are filled with exciting new releases months before they hit bookstore shelves. I genuinely love that part of what I do as a content creator. But every so often, I notice myself craving something quieter. Something that isn’t attached to a deadline. Something that simply feels comforting. That’s exactly why I’m reaching for Dreamers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll already know I have a soft spot for cozy Japanese fiction. There’s something about these stories that always slows my breathing a little. They remind me that ordinary moments can hold extraordinary meaning.

I loved The Full Moon Coffee Shop and Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop, so returning to this world feels less like starting a new book and more like visiting somewhere familiar. And honestly, after weeks of reading ahead for work, that’s exactly the kind of palate cleanser I need. If you’re looking for something with a similar feel, I also put together my guide to Comforting Japanese Healing Fiction Books to Read When Life Feels Heavy, along with 10 Cozy Books to Ease from Summer into Fall if you’re already beginning to feel that gentle seasonal shift. One thing I’ve noticed lately is that August always feels caught between two worlds. Summer isn’t over, but autumn is quietly waving from the distance. Maybe that’s why cozy Japanese fiction feels so right this time of year. It’s gentle enough to let me enjoy the season I’m in without rushing toward the next one.

Hobby: Creating Just Because It Makes Me Happy

If you’ve been following the Soft Week Menu for a while, you’ve probably noticed that coloring keeps showing up. At this point, I think it’s safe to call it one of my forever hobbies. Every week I think maybe I’ll be in the mood for something different. Every week I somehow end up reaching for my markers. This week feels especially exciting because our second coloring book collaboration, Bookish Quotes, is officially available. Seeing people discover something that the illustrator and I poured so much love into has been incredibly rewarding. But if I’m being honest, one of my favorite parts hasn’t been launch day. It’s been sitting down and coloring the pages myself in the book and not from a print out from my printer. I’ve been filming coloring videos as I go, and there’s something surreal about watching an idea that started as a conversation become a real book that I can hold in my hands and enjoy exactly the way I hoped readers would. We’re also already working on four more books in the series, which still feels slightly unbelievable to say out loud. Creative projects have a funny way of doing that. One day they’re just an idea scribbled in a notebook and my notes app. The next they’re sitting on your desk, reminding you that every finished project was once a beginner’s idea. And yes, I’m still slowly working through my summer seascape puzzle. Very slowly. I used to think hobbies had to produce something impressive. Now I think the best hobbies simply produce a calmer version of me. If you’ve been thinking about picking up a screen-free hobby, maybe this is your sign.

• Color.
• Puzzle.
• Sketch.
• Bake.
• Knit.
• Learn calligraphy.

The hobby almost doesn’t matter. Finding something that lets your brain exhale does.

This Week’s Focus: The Joy of Being a Beginner Again

One unexpected thing I’ve started recently has nothing to do with books. I’ve decided to learn American Sign Language. This wasn’t something I planned at the beginning of the year. It happened gradually. Over the past several months, I’ve found myself crossing paths with more members of the Deaf and hard of hearing community in everyday life. At the grocery store, picking up takeout, and running errands. These little moments that reminded me how limited my communication really was. I could sign “hello”” and thank you” but not much else. The more it happened, the more I thought, why don’t I change that? So I downloaded ASL Bloom. I’m using the free version because, like a lot of us, I’m trying to be mindful of my budget right now, and so far it’s been a wonderful place to begin. Am I fluent? Absolutely not. Am I making mistakes? Constantly. Do I sometimes have to repeat the same signs several times before they stick? Without question. But that’s what being a beginner looks like. And honestly, it’s been refreshing.

As adults, we don’t often allow ourselves to be learners anymore. We gravitate toward the things we’re already good at because they’re comfortable. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s also something incredibly humbling, and exciting, about remembering what it feels like to start from zero. It’s reminded me that progress isn’t measured by how quickly we become good at something. Sometimes progress is simply deciding to begin. If you’re building your own Soft Week Menu this week, maybe your beginner moment looks completely different. Maybe you’ve been curious about:

• Knitting.
• Watercolor painting.
• Birdwatching.
• Learning chess.
• Taking your first yoga class.
• Or finally planting those herbs you’ve been talking about for months.

The skill itself doesn’t matter nearly as much as giving yourself permission to explore it. Because curiosity has a way of making life feel bigger.

Ritual: Celebrate Tiny Progress

One thing I’ve started paying more attention to is how rarely adults celebrate small milestones. We wait until we’ve finished the project.

• Read fifty books.
• Mastered the recipe.
• Completed the course.
• Reached the goal.

But children don’t think like that. They celebrate the first drawing, first bike ride without training wheels, or first sentence they read on their own. Somewhere along the way, we stop acknowledging beginnings. This week, my ritual is celebrating them again. One more ASL lesson. A few more pieces added to my puzzle. A finished coloring page. A chapter read before bed. These moments may seem tiny, but they add up to something much bigger. They remind me that a meaningful life isn’t built from giant leaps. It’s built from small moments we choose to return to again and again. So maybe your ritual this week is simply noticing those moments instead of rushing past them.

Reset: Let Curiosity Lead Instead of Confidence

I used to think confidence came first. That once I felt ready, then I would begin. Now I think it’s the other way around. Curiosity comes first, then confidence follows. If I’d waited until I felt like an expert, I never would have started this website. I never would have written my first reading guide. I never would have collaborated on coloring books. And I certainly wouldn’t be fumbling my way through ASL lessons right now. Every meaningful chapter of my life began with uncertainty. That’s why this week’s reset isn’t about becoming fearless. It’s about becoming curious enough that fear doesn’t get the final say. If something has been quietly calling to you for a while, maybe this is the week you stop researching it and simply begin. Not perfectly. Just honestly.

The Question We’re Carrying This Week

What would I try if I didn’t care about being good at it?
Sit with that question for a minute. Don’t answer with what sounds impressive. Answer with what genuinely makes you curious.

• Maybe it’s a creative hobby.
• Maybe it’s a language.
• Maybe it’s learning to bake.
• Maybe it’s reading a genre you’ve always avoided.
• Maybe it’s something you’ve secretly wanted to try for years.

Whatever came to mind first, pay attention to it. Curiosity is often pointing us toward something worth exploring.

Final Thoughts

This week’s Soft Week Menu feels like a reminder that soft living isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about staying open. Open to learning, changing your mind, discovering a hobby that unexpectedly becomes part of your everyday life, or open to trying something simply because it sounds interesting. For me, this week looks like cozy Japanese fiction after weeks of reading ahead for the guides. Coloring pages from a project I’m incredibly proud to have helped create. Slowly adding pieces to a puzzle that isn’t going anywhere. Learning American Sign Language one lesson at a time. And remembering that every single one of those things started with someone being willing to be a beginner.

So as you build your own Soft Week Menu this week, don’t worry about choosing the “right” thing. Choose the thing that makes you curious. Because curiosity has a wonderful way of leading us toward a softer, richer, more interesting life. Your soft week starts here. I’d love to know what’s on your Soft Week Menu this week. Which item are you choosing from the menu? And is there something you’ve been wanting to try but have been waiting until you felt “good enough”? Let me know in the comments, I have a feeling we could all use a little encouragement to begin.