Well, I spent most of the past week in Hawaii and my pale skin is slightly less pale. Hope you had a good week. Let’s get into it…
Quote of the week:
“In dark times, when so much in the news is so unrelentingly horrible, it is a political act to open yourself to the awe and joy and beauty the world still provides. To sit with a poem or take a walk in the woods isn’t an abdication or a kind of quietism. It’s a reminder of what this is all for. It’s an opportunity to muster the strength to continue, and to see just a little bit more clearly, and maybe respond just a little more compassionately.” –Ezra Klein (at the beginning of his podcast episode with Ada Limón, which I LOVED)
What I’m reading:
To Be a Man: Stories by Nicole Krauss. It’s a good collection, but I like her novels better.
What I’m listening to:
I’ll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife & Motherhood by Jessi Klein. I’m about to finish this one. Really enjoyed it.
What I’m watching:
Maidentrip, a documentary about Laura Dekker’s two-year solo voyage sailing around the world (she was only 14 years old when she set out!). I got a little teary-eyed at the end.
Writing news:
I finished edits on the first draft of my new novel and sent it off to my agent and a few of my trusted early readers. This book is a bit of a departure for me. Curious to see what my early readers think!
What I’m talking about:
- Grief—so many layers, so little time. Just got back from a family trip to Hawaii during which I felt an immense amount of sadness about the loss of my dad, coming up on a year ago. The body remembers, as they say. We’ve done family trips to Maui since the 1980s. It won’t ever be the same without him. They say grief comes in waves and I’ve been pummeled recently
- The January 6th hearings. It’s about time we all see these attacks for exactly what they were — a violent mob attempting to prevent certification of a presidential election. If there are no consequences, how can our democracy possibly survive?
- The new Texas legislation that bans children from attending drag shows. Glad to see they jumped to action on this instead of gun reform
Interesting things I learned this week:
- Of 3.2 million book titles tracked by Bookscan in 2021, fewer than 1% sold more than 5000 copies (thank you to all my readers. It’s a tough industry)
- Five planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury) have aligned for the first time in 18 years (read here)
- Fika is a Swedish word for a break in which people drink coffee or tea, eat snacks, and relax with others. I am a fan
- Elvis impersonators are no longer allowed to perform wedding ceremonies in Vegas (read here)
- Excavations of Tel Meggido in Israel have unearthed 20 strata of ruins since the Neolithic phase — city upon city built and destroyed on the same site. Putting this on my list of places to visit some day
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Twitterpated word origin.” I used this word in my new novel and was wondering where in the world it came from. It’s literally translated to having one’s pate (“head”) in a twitter (confused). It was first used in the Disney movie “Bambi” in 1942.
What I’m grateful for:
- Finishing a first round of edits on my new novel and sending it off to early readers
- A week of vacation from work–spent five days in Maui with my daughter and family, and a few days at home catching up on life things (some photos from Maui below)
- Continued health! Somehow still negative for Covid despite lots of traveling the past month
A few snapshots from this week:
