Some things I wanted to show you

SPOOKY SEASON.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” (Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery). Once again I am eagerly looking forward to a future fall season when I can just go look at leaves and watch scary movies all month instead of work. I am writing an entire book this month, which I have never been able to do before, so my next day off will be October 27.

New Taylor Swift album. It was underwhelming at first but has grown on me, and definitely adds a fascinating new chapter to whatever future book of essays or short stories I write about her work. (related: 8 Elizabeth Taylor movies to stream)

A concise introduction to Thomas Pynchon : New movie One Battle After Another is loosely based on Vineland by Pynchon. I’ve read that and another of his books, but now I want to read all of them (he has a new release this month). “He started writing stories, and with his friend Kirkpatrick Sale composed a never-to-be-performed science-fiction musical called Minstrel Island — the titular island being a place that people escape to who don’t want to live in a dystopian America run by IBM (quite the piece of foreshadowing, that).”

@hikingshawty on Twitter : If you happen to still be on Twitter, this user is in England and goes for long walks every day. She posts 3 photos of her walk and 1 photo of the food she’s eating/making/sharing and it is the most wholesome thing I have seen on Twitter in like 15 years. AND EVEN BETTER it has inspired so many other users to do the same, so now we get to see photos of daily walks from literally all over the world. I love it so much.

The Book Review Podcast | Brandon Taylor on his novel Minor Black Figures : Taylor is a must-buy for me always. I preorder the kindle version and then get the paperback when available. I adore him. He’s so smart. He also has a Substack ( Brandon ) and writes introductions to new Edith Wharton reissues and so much more. He’s everything. This new book was released on Tuesday and I love it.

(Also from Brandon) Are you excited : “I think that responding with gripes and grumps and complaints when someone asks if you’re excited about something objectively good is a form of ingratitude and it’s also anti-social and borderline rude. It feels like a failure to recognize the position in which you now find yourself. This is difficult. Particularly if you were raised under a certain kind of Protestantism that requires self-negation and self-denial. A total disavowal of one’s accomplishments and achievements and a crediting of those accomplishments and achievements to God’s grace. But also a strain of Protestantism that teaches you to be suspicious of rewards and acclaim and to view every success as but the next opportunity to work harder and more diligently. This is not humility. This is the total destruction of the self.”

(Ben Folds on) Hayley Williams on Jimmy Fallon : I have loved Ben Folds since like 1999, and his recent taking on of President Chaos and speaking out about politics makes me love him even more. “Having gotten my start in the 90’s, I feel I was part of the “Shut Up and Sing” era and I’m not proud of that. We were feeble enough to be scared away taking a musical, personal or political stand for fear we’d run off half our audience. That was underestimating audiences to assume we’re all so fragile that we can’t hear another viewpoint. I had the honor of being on stage with Dixie Chicks just after they took on Bush. We looked out a 3/4 empty stadium, and they played their asses off just the same. They were willing to lose audience to keep their dignity, and in the process they probably immortalized their band. That’s the cloth we all need to be cut from. No matter what side of things we believe. Take a stand. Like Hayley in ‘True Believer.’”

To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allan Poe : “Imagine that you’ve been buried alive. Don’t question the specifics, whether you’ve been kidnapped or unfortunate enough to fall victim to poorly trained pathologists and morticians, for either way you’ve been entombed in the cold earth while still breathing. Just imagine it—you’d abruptly awaken in the darkness, a blackness that’s so all-consuming that your eyes could never adjust beneath the earth’s chill frost line.”

From the archives: Wish I’d Known Five Years Ago : This November will be 8 years that I’ve been self-publishing books. “I have a hard time thinking of anything I’ve done for my career as a real mistake. Every single step has been the best thing I knew to do at the time, and every single step has gotten me to where I am now: Happily making a living writing books I enjoy writing.”

WATCHING :

The Walking Dead S4-6 (comfort rewatch); Friendship* (v Spencer coded); GLOW S2 (rewatch to show Spencer. Love this show); The Strangers Chapter 2 * (terrible, I’ve never considered writing screenplays more than after watching that movie); Good Boy* (heartbreaking); Paranormal Activity* (still holds up)

READING :

Don’t Let Him In* (good, but there are better books from this author); The Housemaid* (bonkers, best-selling thriller); Night Circus* (audiobook. Reread. An all-time fave); Wild Dark Shore* (gorgeous setting, but the story wasn’t as compelling as I expected)

( *these are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through any of these links I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you )