Look, I know the idea of a “new” year is artificial, but I’m always ready for an excuse to feel new and fresh and full of potential. Even though it’s really hard to feel “fresh” in January. January is the anti-fresh. It’s more… dry-skinned and sad. But we do our best, right? We’re always doing the best we can.
Guys, I’m going to be able to share the cover of my new novel soon. So soon! But not yet. I am SO EXCITED.
And speaking of excited, here’s…
Five things I’ve recently liked that you might also like:
Okay okay, sorry to start off with a little rank self-promotion, but I wrote an essay for Slate that I’m really proud of! It’s about being a crossing guard, which is a terrific job, and yes fine it’s slightly LESS terrific in January in Chicago but I stand by what I said. And check out this adorable animation they made to go with it!
Last year, I had a bit of a reading slump, as I think I mentioned. Mostly because when I’m working hard on a new writing project, I’m somehow physically incapable of reading novels. THE WORST! But I had a late-breaking favorite book that squeaked in at the end of the year - North Woods by Daniel Mason. It’s just the kind of fiction I like - unconventional, a touch of magic, and above all, lots of surprises. I’m also rereading a great little manifesto that came out last year called On Writing and Failure, probably because I just turned in copyedits for my new novel - that terrifying transitional moment when a book crosses from Kansas to Oz, from private toward public - and my weird brain finds it soothing to think about… failure. Don’t judge.
It' must be hard and scary to be a teenager today, but one thing that’s way better now is that they have the movie Bottoms. Are you KIDDING me? I would have killed for a movie like this when I was a teen. It would have changed my whole life. And in the words of my friend Josh, “there would have been congressional hearings.” Extremely accurate. Anyway, we didn’t have it then, but we do have it now. So go watch it, and while you’re at it, watch director Emma Seligman’s hilarious and cringey first film Shiva Baby too.
Did you know you can MAKE shoes? In Chicago, we’ve got a street that’s full of, like, old factory lofts featuring a cornucopia of crafty classes, as well as a variety of Kung Fu options. If you’re here, do yourself a favor and make some shoes!
Not to end on a serious note, but this year I’m trying to get a better understanding of the things that scare me and why, and find gentle sustainable ways to do those things anyway. Such as: I’m embarking on a financial audit of myself and setting some long-term goals even though this is how I feel about it: 🙈. I also applied to an academic position that dredged up some deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, unrelated to whether or not I get the position. Do these feelings of fear keep me from doing what I want and need to do? I’m teaching a class in a couple weeks on working through fear to get creative projects done (if you’re in Chicago, you should come!) and hoping to both articulate these thoughts and learn from my students. How do you manage your fear? Help me take a shortcut through it so I don’t have to work so hard.
And, well, sorry for the jarring transition, but it’s time for…
Bonus lewd animal fact!
I guess I already knew that elephants have prehensile penises? But I really didn’t understand HOW prehensile. The grace, the elegance, the… ability to scratch a belly itch and swat away flies. Science writer and national treasure Ed Yong describes it better than I ever could:
There’s good reason for elephants to have prehensile penises. It’s hard enough for a six-tonne animal to get into the right position for sex, let alone having to do the rhythmic thrusting that’s required. So he let’s his penis do all the work for him.
Here’s to a great year! If I had an elephant dick, I’d salute us with it.
maybe i too should find a job as a crossing guard. loved your slate piece! xx