Winter Smorgasbord
Can you believe it’s December? This year has flown by, though I suspect that’s because I’m very happy. As I said on Instagram, November was a great month.
My latest Rogue column was published last weekend. It’s about how the internet isn’t as good as it used to be, specifically as a place for reading and writing. I hope you enjoy it!
Now, onto the links..
THINGS TO READ
I took a generative writing class and read a couple of amazing pieces for it. I loved this beautiful braided essay and this flash piece in particular.
10k words on Emma Thompson.
“We have lost 68 percent of nature since 1970.” I’m a longtime reader of Sarah Wilson and was happy to discover her substack.
Similarly, I read Susannah’s work more than a decade ago. This installment on her recent ADHD diagnosis is worth your time.
I don’t have children but we all have a lot to learn from Dr. Becky.
“Wealth is the floatation device that spreads vertically and horizontally through your family, buoying all those close enough to gain access. The size of that floatation device — and how many people it can keep afloat — depends on how many people are bolstering it (through their own security) and how many people need its support.”
“Comfort food should really be called trauma food. It’s what you cook and eat to remind you you’re alive when you are not entirely sure this is true.”
“Being sick feels lonely, but it’s also a fundamentally social experience in that you can’t get the care you need unless you can successfully communicate your suffering.”
“Americans don’t want to share a living room with one another. We prefer to live and be entertained in ideological encampments.”
“If we’re not careful, our online lives can become a source of chronic stress that subtly seeps into everything. Everyone needs some privacy, but we often don’t provide it for ourselves and end up feeling like we’re constantly battling invisible enemies.” Got a lot from this article.
'I still don’t know why my name is Claire McGettrick and not Caitríona Palmer'
"Should I wear spanx to family court?"
Home is where your best friend is.
How an idea becomes a podcast.
Kathy Sheridan on how some events hit different generations differently.
John Fetterman kills on twitter. Inside his recent win in Pennsylvania.
The ‘Shitty Media Men’ list goes to court.
THINGS TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO
Enjoyed Ticket to Paradise and Confess, Fletch. Don’t Worry Darling made my brain hurt. There was too much singing in Spirited. Enjoyed Mammals, though it’s very weird.
This is a great new podcast.
The gayest candy made me laugh.
Interesting behind the scenes chat with Melissa Clark
MISC
So many great cooking and life ideas from this newsletter.
Inside Lena Dunham’s home.
Added a handful of books from here and here to my shopping list.
A useful resource for writers in Ireland.
I’m gonna do this with my people.
And a poem, to round it all off.
