Dani has been hosting her brilliant Reservations Book Club at Maido for a little while, and if you haven't joined yet we hope this chat inspires you to pick up a book and join the club. We absolutely loved sitting down with her to chat about books, love and life.

Can you tell everyone a bit about yourself and what you do? 

I’m a Sydney-based writer, editor and the founder of a newsletter called Reservations. When I’m not writing (or reading) – which is rare – I’m usually in the ocean, watching a good film, or meditating.

You write a dating and advice column on Substack called ‘Reservations’, how did that start/come about?

I launched Reservations– my weekly newsletter – as a Substack after a particularly bad breakup. It was a way to make sense of love again. It’s kind of a living memoir because it evolves with me, covering dating, relationships, friendship; love and loss.

Why did you decide to name it ‘Reservations’? What does that name mean to you?

I liked that it almost had a double meaning: it symbolised the very real reservations – or hesitations – I had about dating again in my 30s. It was also a cute play on the dating theme of whether or not to make a reservation, or booking, at a restaurant or bar.

What drew you to writing? Was it always your passion?

I never made a conscious decision to become a writer: it felt like an inevitability. Growing up, I loved reading novels and magazines in equal measure. I knew I wanted to learn the craft of writing so I studied journalism and my first job was at Vogue. From there, my love of writing only expanded – now I’m a freelance feature writer, I have a newsletter and I’m also starting to write creatively in the hopes of one day getting a novel published.

You share a lot about your experiences of love, navigating dating apps, life lessons, how do you find sharing that part of your life?

It’s true that to write about love requires me to be vulnerable. My intention is to help people connect back to themselves as they attempt to connect with others and so I always try to authentically demonstrate the many ways I am also working towards the same thing. Certainly though, how much I choose to share is something I constantly review. It’s partly why I consider the newsletter a living memoir – and when it no longer feels relevant to share so personally, I’ll honour that too.

How do you come up with articles to write? Where do you find inspiration?

It’s an incredibly organic process. It’s usually to do with something I’m curious about, or it might be that I notice I’m frequently being asked the same question, or it comes from a topic of conversation over a wine with my girl friends. I’ve never been short of inspiration!

You recently started the ‘Reservations’ book club, why did you want to start a book club?

I really wanted to create a space where I could connect with my community in-person – given my love of reading, it made sense for that to be in the format of a book club. What I love most about the book club is the incredible conversations we have: I always learn so much and leave the night feeling like my cup is full again.

The books you select for the book club are all female led, why was it important to you to showcase female voices?

We read stories by women, for women, about women. I think a lot of us turn to books to help us feel seen, challenged and connected and so I am always interested in stories that reflect my own experiences and those of the women around me. My intention is to choose books that will move people into reflection and spark layered, meaningful conversations.

What do you hope people get from the book club? Why is it important to have it as an in person meet up?

I decided to make this a hybrid book club from the very beginning: the book club functions via WhatsApp, where people can join and read the book in their own time, plus contribute to the conversation virtually; we also have a monthly in-person meeting in Sydney, where I’m based, because there’s something very powerful about gathering in real life to talk about stories that matter to us. An in-person book club creates space for deeper connection – not only to the books, but to each other.

How do you select the books for the book club?

I have no real formula. They do need to be stories by female authors about female characters and oftentimes I’ll select something from my shelf that I love and want to share with other women – I love a re-read! But I also choose books I’ve never read before that I really want to dive into. We rarely read new or trending books – the only requirements I have is that I ask myself whether another book club is likely to be reading it: if they are, I don’t choose it.

How has reading and writing shaped you? What books/authors have had the biggest impact on you and why?

I can’t imagine my life without it. It gives shape, meaning and dimension to my world. Some of the authors who have changed the way I think are Joan Didion (her essays and her memoirs on grief), Jhumpa Lahiri (Whereabouts, her novel in vignettes, is my favourite literary work to date), David Whyte (a Yorkshire-born Irish poet whose work investigates the human condition), Elise Loehnen (the former chief content officer at Goop whose podcast and newsletter is always illuminating) and Sally Rooney (because she writes the exact kind of stories that I love to read).

What book do you recommend everyone reads?

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Grief will touch us all eventually; Didion’s memoir of losing her husband captures it in a way no other work has. Her words have stayed with me, woven through the shifting textures of my own grief over the years and I know I’ll return to them again. The perfect gift for someone who has lost someone.

Who or what inspires you the most?

This changes throughout the years, but I’ll answer it today. I am really into David Whyte’s poetry right now – his work is deeply resonant. Often he captures perfectly things I didn’t even know I was trying to say.

How do you spend your free time?

I’m the former editor of a beauty magazine, so I love my skincare rituals. My skincare routine is simple but effective: I love Rationale to cleanse, Emma Lewisham for actives and to hydrate, then a natural facial oil (I really like Sans [ceuticals]) to lock it all in.

What is your love language?

I believe it’s words of affirmation: I think verbal expressions of love are everything.

Can you talk us through a daily ritual you have?

I have a consistent meditation practice, which involves a silent, mantra-based technique called Vedic meditation. I sit down to meditate twice a day for 20 minutes and it gives me calm, clarity and creativity.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Your vibration must be higher than what you create, otherwise you cannot manage it – when it comes to art, we need to be sure that our vibration (our individual energy for something) is higher than what we are trying to bring through.

How can people join the book club and where can they find more from you?

You can join the book club here and to keep in touch follow me on Instagram here.