More things to read if you're bored
Something grand to say about Christmas and the end the year?
I’m too tired for that. Let’s just say moving to New York City wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card in January.
So a short one this week.
But here are a few articles and detritus you may want to peruse over the next week. I’ll be in Florida near the beach over the next few days, with a pool and beach nearby. It’ll still be 72 degrees, so not super warm, but the pool is heated. I’ll be back with this in 2024, just not sure when!
More Things
“The Hoffman Wobble and The Problem of Historical Memory” by Ben Lerner at Harper’s. I don’t quite know what to make of this, what’s true, what’s not, which is the point. But it is about Wikipedia and editing and who owns what. Perhaps Lerner will write non-memoir non-fiction one day.
“What Happened After My Wife and I Removed Wifi from Our Home” at The Atlantic. Spoiler alert: life was better.
“The Best Emo Albums of 2023” at Uproxx. I love listening to Ian’s Indiecast podcast and he always turns out a few albums I never hear. Great list if you like emo.
“Speaking in Tongues: On Don DeLillo” at N+1.
“How did the Eighties feel and taste, and how did one novelist, whose gifts during the Seventies were as obvious as his limits, tap into those strange sensibilities to author works now firmly in the canon? How could the decade’s various American artists produce, as if in unison, so much collective radiance?”
The Wisdom Pyramid by Brett McCracken. This is a book I’m reading about how to gain wisdom, specifically from a Christian POV, and he lines it up as a pyramid, kinda like that old nutrition pyramid. He focuses on the Bible, church, nature, books, beauty and then the Internet at the top (and the least important for wisdom). What’s linked above is an article, which gives you the gist. Here is the book link if you’re interested.
Is Your Phone The Reason You Feel Broke? At NY Mag.
“The device that used to be satisfied with your attention is now asking you to pay up and to do so at higher prices. Your digital subscription statements resemble self-storage rental bills, charging in the background and creeping up, up, and up.”
“Good News of Great Joy” by John Piper. These are devotional readings for Advent. Piper is one of the most well-known pastors of the last ~25 years, and these go beyond the normal Christmas passages into Hebrews and other books to give a full picture of Christ’s birth and the reason for his birth. If you’re looking for something to peruse about Christmas or are interested more in what Christianity is about, this is a good place to begin.
“The Friendship Dip” by Anne Helen Peterson at Culture Study.
“I think it’s important to emphasize that right now, the way our society is organized, we have a prolonged stretch of adulthood that is not conducive to forging or sustaining friendship or community. In many cases, I’d say it’s actually hostile to it.”
Reading Journal Template in Notion. I’ve been creating more Notion templates recently and I just created this one to track notes from articles and books. If that sounds interesting to you, check it out. That’s a Gumroad link.
So “Molly” by Blake Butler inspired me to check out a few other books from Archway Press and this one called NDA: An Autofiction Anthology is on hold for me at the library. Features stories from Elle Nash, Tao Lin, David Fishkind, Sam Pink and others. I’ll pick it up before heading out to Florida.
Last Thing
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” — Matthew 11:28-30
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Keep going,
-Josh Spilker