More of these things please

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I could tell you to pay attention to the world burning instead of that new Muna song but I don't think that's useful. I want more energy to work on positive things, to raise money for good causes, to be angry in the first place. I need more things in my life that have some glimmer of hope without just putting my head in the sand.

So I thought that now would be a good time to share my reading list. I'd love to hear about articles or books you've been excited about lately too if you feel like hitting the reply button.

How to find your next creative direction after realizing you and the world have changed forever - Creative Boom

I find that a lot of lists like this are things I already know, or just stating the obvious. This article by Katy Cowan, however, gives a lot of examples of people starting new things, pivoting, learning new skills, etc. to refocus or boost their career. I immediately thought I should share it with y'all.

Reading List

I have been severely slacking on reading this summer but am preparing for more van time and I swear I'm going to finish these by November.

Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch
No, I still haven't finished this. But in my defense, I honestly enjoy it so much that I don't want it to end. It has been compared to Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina and I agree. It's Ffitch's debut novel, which is impressive.

Someone Should Pay For Your Pain by Franz Nikolay
Nothing like a good novel about reckoning with yourself after being outpaced by a younger artist! I've heard great things and look forward to reading a book about a tour while on tour.

Samaritan by Richard Price
I am a big sucker for crime novels set in the New York tri-state area. Price was a writer on The Wire and his novels feel like you're watching something similar. The saying "no good deed goes unpunished" is front and center in this one, as a cabbie turned wealthy screenwriter returns to his hometown.

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
A meditation on "how Black performance is inextricably woven into the fabric of American culture," this is Abdurraqib's most recent book and is one of those things that maybe I've been avoiding because of how good it probably is? That makes no logical sense but I find myself more inspired and motivated after reading his work and sometimes going there makes me feel overwhelmed. He just won a MacArthur Genius grant, too. 🤟

The Freezer Door by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
I forget who recommended this to me but it's described as a reflection on "the trauma and possibility of searching for connection in a world that relentlessly enforces bland norms of gender, sexual and social conformity while claiming to celebrate diversity." Yep, sounds like my jam.

Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World by Mo Gawdat
Ex-Google engineer Mo Gawdat seems to be ringing the alarm on how close we are to the singularity. I read a statement where he describes being actually scared by the intelligence of a robot arm, so I'm preparing myself for this to read like a real-world Black Mirror episode. Maybe it's hyperbole, maybe it's not, but I think this will be a fascinating read that makes me hope I'm not here by the time the robots revolt.

ON THAT NOTE!

What are YOU reading? Anything more uplifting than that last one?

Thanks again for being here. Hope to see you all at a show sometime soon. Stay safe!

Heads up that I have to close both my art webstore and my Worriers merch tomorrow through the end of October. If you wanted to pick anything up, now's your chance!