SOCIAL CRIMES, ZINES, AND CHARLIZE THERON

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

More is more: I finished The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi which left me in tears of sweetness. As I mentioned last week this book centers around the concept of in-between life and after-life...a reflection on the lives we live and the memories we make, but told in a vivid and absorbing story. It's such a good read!

And then I binge read Careless People by Sarah Wynn Williamson. SHOCKING. ABSORBING. so good. This is the tell-all memoir about facebook; an upclose window into the world of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg from a woman who tried to help them make better decisions at every turn. I didn't think I had any desire to read this one. Who needs another person telling them what we already know? FB sucks. But after it was recommended enough times by savvy, voracious readers around me...I caved. And I'm so glad I did. Aside from it being a well-told story, the author is a hero for whistleblowing, for using her voice, for doing the hard thing. I count the entire team around her in that heroism because I'm sure the headlines only scrape the surface of what Meta (Facebook) did to try and ensure this book never saw the light of day.

What I'm writing: I wrote a LOT this weekend...some scenes for Evangeline...an essay we're pitching for Jackie Silva volleyball icon's story...I did a free write (by hand! on a yellow notepad! at a fancy bar!) of a wild, personal story which I'm considering compiling into an anti-inspirational collection of stories from the single side of life. I retold this story (of false accusations, false memories and a meditation on the tension of stories colliding) to one of my dear friends and let's just say his mouth was AJAR. There's more where that came from. I don't know team, my creativity is popping off right now, and I figure just keep writing until one of these project does indeed pop. Keep it going as Olympic Champion Jackie likes to say.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

Charlize Theron: I don't need a man. This title is much less nuanced than the courageous and insightful conversation that Charlize had with host Alex Cooper. I found myself rewinding the conversation at many points to relisten to what Charlize said – about how society refuses to accept a woman, single at 50, without wondering what's wrong with her?? << answer: must be bitch/crazy/gay/broken>> As she puts it, why is it so hard to believe that my life without a man is f*cking great?? AND also that I'd still want a long-term partnership one day. It was just so good, as was her divulging of how great sex with a 26-year old is...to which I say amen ;)

Notes Toward a New Romanticism. Humanities are so important to me – and of course they're important to society. Art and music and literature and and and...we humans crave being human. This post was a smart and thoughtful look at what happened after the industrial revolution and how artists helped lead humans back to their humanity. A big brain friend of mine disagreed, saying it was too optimistic and that he was feeling more dust bowl energy coming. Alas, I'm Ted Goia new readers because the stuff he's writing is interesting and smart.

And on that note, I've told this story to a lot of people in recent weeks, but like you, I notice myself scrolling past a ton of AI-generated stuff: on LinkedIn, in press releases, on Substack, in marketing emails. It's polished. It's been edited to have some voice. But it's all so fucking flat. And then I read my friend Rob Healy's Instagram post >> What No One Tells You When Your Dog Is Dying >> after losing their sweet and perfect dog Gary. I first cried, because I love that dog and his Mom Joan with my whole heart. But I then had this full-body revelation later in reflecting on how much his writing moved me that THIS! THIS!! THIS IS WHAT AI COULD NEVER WRITE. Never. I don't care how good it gets or how good we get at using it. It's not actually born of the intelligence of lived experience. And to bring it all the way back around to Notes Toward a New Romanticism, I believe that's why we need more artists, more writers, more makers continue to lead with their art, for art's sake. Which is for humanity's sake.

How to Have Sex with Basically Anyone. It's exactly what it says it's about, from a woman with a long career in erotic labor. SUCH an interesting read. SUCH simple yet powerful reminders. I was the girl sitting around a banquet table with my volleyball teammates polling who's ever orgasmed (because I was fresh off my women's studies minor and my Vagina Monologues performance) and I'll never forget the conversation that ensued. Sex education, from our galpals or a substack read, shouldn't be taken for granted.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

I strolled through Savannah's farmers market, a Saturday morning ritual, and stumbled on the artist, Darriea Clark. I stopped because I saw her beautifully designed zines, ones I knew I needed to buy and mail to a friend. Darriea's art practice is so much of what the world needs, and she is using it to create things for people exactly where they're at: strolling through the park, on a Saturday, thinking of their friend who's going through a hard time, not knowing how to help...and there she was. That's why we've got to keep making things, keeping creating things, regardless of who tells us no or not yet or not this. So that we humans can find each other.

woman on xx