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Or, Brain Melt

Jan 19, 2026

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Pinning this for the next few weeks

My birthday wishlist, now an annual tradition, is out! You can find it here and any and all gifts will be appreciated 🙂

(I’m also open to surprises; as long as it’s not a surprise party.)

Reader,

This week marks 2 years since I was laid off and I wish I could say I have some big insights to share. All I have is un(der)employment sucks (been here before so I didn’t need this lesson) and, contrary to some takes on the internet, it doesn’t do wonders for one’s media consumption. Between AI and cuts to jobs making the job seeking space horrible, I went to bed last night determined to radically change something in my life in Nyambura Year 2026/27 (31 Jan 26 to 30 Jan 27) because I need to tell myself another story of myself this time next year.

For the first time in almost 3 years, I went on a birthday period getaway last week. The only electronic devices I carried were my phone and my Kindle and neither of them got much action. Which is to say, I should probably have scheduled last week’s post before I left on the SGR to Mombasa on Sunday night.

Maybe it was the fact that coastal temperatures hovered in the mid to upper 20s but I was fighting for my life. My attempts at reading in the spot I stayed at, in cafes, on the beach, in transport (starting to sound like Dr Seuss lol) were mostly failures. I was telling my friend yesterday how Nadine Gordimer’s City Lovers, which I’ve read (and listened to) many times, was hard to get into even with waves lapping the shore in front of me. Your Honour I am not built for the ocean. I’ve had an easier time in Lamu in the past, but I also spent a lot of time in spaces with air conditioning so really….

I’ve been joking all week that the heat was melting my brain too much for me to really get into a book, despite loading my Kindle (with books via Libby and Send to Kindle as well as articles via the dotepub extension) before leaving home but I fear the noggin was melted before I left the village. I suspect the Protestant in me has some guilt about taking a holiday sans job (I kept telling myself it was a budget holiday and I packed lots of snacks whenever I was out and about!) and it showed up as a struggle to face the text but I might just be attaching too much significance to a regular degular reading slump. Oh well 🤷🏾

With that in mind— please feel free to share what works for you when you hit a reading wall and also (especially?) let me know how you braved the passage of time while unemployed. I’m drowning here.

If you’re wondering how to support me during these early days after my big move and in the days ahead:

Money goes a long way so feel free to send M-PESA or USD via PayPal (paypal.me/cmutanyi)
Send opportunities my way (I can do run your communications effort, research, write reviews, write copy and much more besides; just shoot me an email - 100onbooks@proton.me)
If you’ve made a move like this, please tell me what you found helped the most with your transition
Send reading and watching recommendations (better yet, share a library card!)
Imagine what you’d like in this situation, and do it for me (this has yielded interesting results in my experience)

Take good care of yourself and each other and thanks for taking the time to read this far xx

Quick news/ things that may be of interest:

Treat someone you like (me, for instance, I have a Switch) to the Tiny Bookshop Game (which is also on Discord)
Subscribe to my WhatsApp channel for texts I find while I spend time online
Film folks: Solidarity Cinema, for your consideration
If you’re in the Global North and would be open to engaging in the North-South solidarity that is sharing a library card, please email or message me so we can figure things out. Thank you!
The Queer Liberation Library 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️, which is free to join here
Digital Library of Korean Literature, which is free to join here
Film folks: Check out the Japan Foundation’s JFF Theater online streaming platform
How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the visually impaired
An interactive self care flow chart
Links to Reading Lists, Free Books, Book Recs, Book-related Items, and Calls for Submissions in this document (most recent links at the top)
Since Elon seems to want (some of) us gone, I’m trying to post more often on Bluesky. Follow me there if you’re on it!
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya (I write back!)
I have finished one (yes, 1!) book since I last wrote to you: Freckle Juice & The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo by Judy Blume (audiobook narrated by Laura Hamilton). I’m primarily using Storygraph now (passively updating Goodreads as I read most e-books on Kindle via the library) and I hope to get back to making videos soon.

As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.

I Know You Think This Newsletter Is About Books

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