52

Or, Reflexion

Reader,

Yesterday marked a year since the first newsletter entry. It feels almost surreal that this is still a going concern. I’m not trying to be self-effacing here; I’m truly honoured to have a readership that is engaged, kind, and thoughtful. Some of you have joined along the way and some have been here since day the first and I want to thank you and the folks who may be reading this in the future - I appreciate you!

On Saturday, I went painting at UM Gallery with a friend and I ended up talking to a child who sat next to us about all sorts of things. When I told them I’m trying to go back to my crafty roots (making jewellery, knitting, for example) by signing up for a sewing class, they helpfully told me I could learn all that via YouTube. Which is…true… After all, that’s how I learnt how to knit and make jewellery in my late teens and early 20s but I found myself saying that what I was seeking was a connection to other people, to meet folks outside my usual circles and make with them. I’m curious about what sites of connection there are for us in a world mediated by screens and whether there’s still room to learn for pleasure in the meatspace.

I mentioned in a past entry that I’ve been struggling with short story collections lately and I think I’ve finally figured out how to go back to enjoying them— spread them out over a day or 3, letting each story breathe before going into the next one. I’m hoping to try it this week - reading a story during long pomodoro breaks, say - and report back soon with whether my enjoyment has returned. I’ve also found that parallel reads (where I read the e-book as I listen to the audiobook) help me stay the course with essays so I’ll see if that applies to short stories, too. I’m trying this out with Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty; I will let you know how that goes.

Angie led me back to Insecure and now I understand why it was such a phenomenon. The way it speaks to the concerns of a certain millennial Black person is something to witness and it feels fitting that I returned to it in the same week I picked up the July 11 & 18, 2022 issue of The New Yorker that included “Arrivals” by Bryan Washington (listen to the writer read it here). 

I finished 4 books last week: The Birthday Room by Kevin Henkes, The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau (read by James Sie and Eunice Wong), Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again: Women and Desire in the Age of Consent (read by Cat Gould) and My Money My Way: Taking Back Control of Your Financial Life by Kumiko Love (read by the author). I discuss them in the latest video. I also realised that using an app like Bookly would be a good way to keep that 45 daily minutes of reading discipline I discussed last week going. Of course the universe then dispatched the latest Culture Study, leading me to question my love of streaks (see: Bookly now, Duolingo before that).

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

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!