A Few Things to Pass the Time
The data on the (very few) readers of this blog reveals that most of my binge readers are sitting in airports. I surmise from this that when people are bored, they have a list of things they mean to "catch up on" and sometimes this blog is on that list. We're all about to have a lot of free time to "catch up", so I'm sharing my list of favorite online pursuits.
Short Essays I Read Once a Year for Inspiration
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
All I have to do is read the first few paragraphs and my brain feels like it's falling apart in a good way. All the walls around my creativity shatter, my heart becomes free. All my heroes are hedonistic males because reading their work is like looking at a distant planet through a telescope. I don't understand it (and I'll never understand it) but being in it is like feeling alive. Every time I read this essay I write for days, the drought remedied. And, its just a hell of a lot of fun.
"Goodbye to All That" by Joan Didion
A classic that needs no introduction. There was a time where almost every creative nonfiction and memoir class was assigned this piece.
I've always wanted to be Nora Ephron's best friend. She seemed to have a wild love of New York City like I do. In my daydreams we could walk around the Upper West Side pointing out all our favorite things. Everything in the city is extreme, and real estate is the most extreme. It only takes a couple of years to turn into a real estate wolf, to know what's considered a "good deal" and to have some weird love of "gems" with natural sunlight. This essay is a good depiction of that mindset.
"Accompanied Woman" by Osayi Endolyn
The piece intersects a lot of common experiences in my own life in an elegant way.
A Few of My Favorite Blogs and Websites
Narratively: An excellent collection of memoir, investigative reporting and deep-dive articles.
In the Realm of Pure Fantasy…
I love looking at beautifully shot fashion and travel blogs, but I am often conflicted because they represent the unattainable for me (read: I’ll never be rich and white). But, they keep me inspired, and my favorite bloggers put so much effort into creating artistic content and for that, I’m grateful.