Quote of the week:
“Out of these flat almost two-dimensional boxes of paper will spring mountains, lions, concerts, galaxies, heroes. You will meet people who have been all but destroyed, who have risen up and will bring you with them. Books and stories are medicine, plaster casts for broken lives and hearts, slings for weakened spirits. And in reading, you will laugh harder than you ever imagined laughing, and this will be magic, heaven, and salvation. I promise.” –Maria Popova, A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader
What I’m reading:
I just finished The Honeybee Emeralds by Amy Tector yesterday (I got an advance copy and loved it) and am starting When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister tonight.
What I’m listening to:
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez–really liking it
What I’m watching:
The baseball playoffs–Go Dodgers!
Scenes from a Marriage on HBO
Love on the Spectrum (Season 2) on Netflix–just finished; I want more!
Writing news:
I got advance copies of Ways the World Could End today! If you want to enter for a chance to win a copy, visit my Instagram page and leave a comment on the post!
What I’m talking about:
- The oil spill off the coast of Orange County (where I live)–about 126,000 gallons of oil spilled, killing fish and birds and closing beaches. It’s really devastating and sad. Monica Embrey from the Sierra Club said this: “How many of these oil disasters do we have to witness before our elected leaders understand that there is no safe way to drill or transport dirty fossil fuels? This spill is yet another reminder that we can have healthy and safe communities, thriving coastal economies, and a stable climate — or we can continue drilling for oil. We can’t have both. It’s long past time to choose a transition away from dirty oil drilling and toward a healthier, safer, clean energy future.”
- Covid cases declining–new cases have fallen by more than a 1/3 in the past month–great news!
- The Facebook/Instagram outage and how many of us are probably better off without social media available 24/7
- The debt crisis and the proposal of a $1 trillion coin to get us out of it
Interesting things I learned this week:
- Developed nations contribute an average of $14,000 per year for a toddler’s care, compared with just $500 per year in the US; in Norway, the government contributes nearly $30K per child per year!
- After the 21st Amendment became law, the San Clemente city council issued the first permit in the US to sell wine and beer (I live right next to San Clemente)
- California will become the first state to track the violent deaths of LGBTQ+ people, which is crucial in understanding the disproportionate violence faced by this group
- This year, Costco packaged 21,000 tons of Halloween candy, equivalent to the weight of 3,500 African elephants
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“How many hours a day do cats sleep?” The answer is 12-16, but I do not believe this. My cats sleep at least 22 hours a day.
What I’m grateful for:
- My daughter’s 4th birthday (we had a great little party for her last weekend)
- Feeling strong during marathon training (and continuing to catch some great sunrises–see below)
- Writing a new novel. I am excited to work on it every day (aiming for about an hour of writing a day currently)
