READ ALL ABOUT IT
Since 2012, I’ve been writing about books. And the act of reading. And the importance of story and narrative. But, mostly, the underlying theme of all I write is how taking a moment to stop and digest some longform text — instead of scrolling, instead of watching a video, instead of multitasking — can be one of the most grounding things we can do for ourselves. Here’s the one-stop online home for all this writing.
You can read more about me and my work by moseying over here. Want to peruse periodic “essay drops” — excerpts from my work-in-progress essay collection about Homesickness? Here ya go.
On Social Captal & AI
From Newsletter Issue No. 23:
On New Year’s Eve, we got together with friends. Aside from the general joviality of a post-Christmas catch-up with some of our favorite people, we played a game called Priorities. It’s fast and easy, and the basic gist is that one player at a time is given five cards, each with a very specific “thing” on it, and then proceeds to prioritize them in order of how much they value/like these things.
Birthday Book Recs 30/50 : The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein
Birthday Book Recs: 30/50
The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein
Birthday Book Recs 29/50 : Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Birthday Book Recs: 29/50
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Birthday Book Recs 27-28/50 : Commonwealth by Ann Patchett and Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Birthday Book Recs: 27-28/50
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Birthday Book Recs 26/50 : TalkTalk: A Children’s Book Author Speaks to Grown-Ups by E.L. Konigsburg
Birthday Book Recs: 26/50
TalkTalk: A Children’s Book Author Speaks to Grown-Ups by E.L. Konigsburg
Birthday Book Recs 25/50 : Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Birthday Book Recs: 25/50
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
State of Wonder: A Posture for a New Year
When you scan the books scattered among the shelves for something
— you haven’t yet read
— isn’t anything like this collection of autofiction* that all at once became ready to pick up at the library and is now accumulating on your side of the bed
Birthday Book Recs 24/50 : The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Birthday Book Recs: 24/50
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Birthday Book Recs 23/50 : Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Birthday Book Recs: 23/50
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Mrs. Dalloway
The 2020s are so weird and there is absolutely no denying that. But when Matt and I watched Ken Burns’ documentary on prohibition a few years ago, all I kept thinking was that the 1920s seemed pretty weird too.
Birthday Book Recs 22/50 : The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Birthday Book Recs: 22/50
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Birthday Book Recs 20-21/50 : Love, Work, Children and Morningside Heights by Cheryl Mendelson
Birthday Book Recs: 20-21/50
Work, Life, Children and Morningside Heights by Cheryl Mendelson
Birthday Book Recs 18/50 : The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Birthday Book Recs: 18/50
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Birthday Book Recs 19/50 : House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister
Birthday Book Recs: 19/50
House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister
Birthday Book Recs 17/50 : Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins
Birthday Book Recs: 17/50
Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins
Birthday Book Recs 16/50 : The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (aka “Strunk and White’s Elements of Style”) {this edition illustrated by the fabulous Maira Kalman}
Birthday Book Recs: 16/50
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (aka “Strunk and White’s Elements of Style”) {this edition illustrated by the fabulous Maira Kalman}
Birthday Book Recs 15/50 : Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
Birthday Book Recs: 15/50
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
Birthday Book Recs 12-14/50 : The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Birthday Book Recs: 12-14/50
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Birthday Book Recs 11/50 : Room by Emma Donoghue
Birthday Book Recs: 11/50
Room by Emma Donoghue
Birthday Book Recs 10/50 : Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain
Birthday Book Recs: 10/50
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain