Hello from sunny San Francisco!

It’s been another big week, post-move. We have a place to live, I have a car, and Evan and I are currently having a lovely trip to the Bay Area and Monterey to wind down from the moving stress, see a couple of baseball games and, in my case, shop. We’ve been to a Giants baseball game, had martinis and delicious seafood at the famous Tadich Grill, and I bought some books at Alexander Book Company and at Book Passage in the Ferry Building. It’s always fun to visit this city and this weekend I feel like I’m seeing California anew as it becomes my new home all over again.

Though it’s lovely to be squeezing in a weekend away, there are so many home comforts that I can’t wait to get established when we move into our own place in a little over a week. Before we moved there were so many little things we had to hold off on buying or doing, and right now I’m itching to establish a new space to call home – though it will likely be temporary too. I can’t wait to buy a bed, and a kettle, and to put some pictures on the walls. I’m excited to finally buy a new reading chair (I’ve been without one since February), a couch that doesn’t poke your butt with springs, and a dining set that isn’t rickety (yet).

Til then, though, I’ll be off enjoying the coast for the weekend. I hope you have some lovely plans too.
 

 

–– GOOD INNINGS ––

Our parents discovered leisure. We killed it. Ever think about how the baby boomer’s generation could have been a historical blip in terms of wealth, workers’ rights, and leisure time? If yes, read this. If no, read this.

Highlights From Freelance-Writer Fashion Week is hilariously accurate.

I’m loving the proliferation of archival photos on social media lately. Here’s one, ‘We Liked it, but Not Too Much’ – Photos of Glasgow in 1976 by Ed Sijmons.

Kinda related, I enjoyed The weird tale behind ice cream jingles. Though the structure of this piece drove me a bit mad. Like hearing an ice cream jingle over and over. I’m not sure that was its aim.

I really enjoy Molly Young’s work: here’s a nice wee feature on her on Into the Gloss.

 

 

–– POLITICAL LEANINGS ––

I’ve been reading bits and pieces about American politics and having a weird cultural whiplash of realising that they apply to me now. To wit:

Doctor Tracey Wilkinson writes about how Obamacare was supposed to make all birth control free. As a doctor, I see it’s not happening. Even the smallest deterrents can massively decrease that efficacy of healthcare – and this sounds like a big deterrent.

California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the bill that would have abolished the tampon tax. He said that the seven bills would have cut state revenue by around $300 million over the next two years. But equally, he’s ok with placing such a tax burden on half of the population.

June Eric-udorie asks, What Actually Makes White People Scared of Talking About Race?

 

 

–– BOOKS ––

I haven’t been reading as much as I’d like this week, but I have been reading in line with the DiverseAThon readathon which Joce and a bunch of other BookTubers started as a positive response to a very negative moment.

With that in mind, I’m reading Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue – which is by a Cameroonian debut author and follows a Cameroonian immigrant family in New York Who come to work for a Lehmann Brothers executive right before the 2008 economic collapse. It’s solid but I’m finding it a little simplistic and predictable.

I’m also reading Teju Cole’s new essay collection, Known and Strange Things, which has essays on all his key passions. I’ve just finished the section on books and poetry.

I’ve also bought a few books, as pictured, with the money I finally got refunded from the awful transatlantic shipment company that lost a bunch of my books. Bittersweet purchases, but I’m looking forward to reading them.

Which books are on your nightstand?

–– LONGREADS ––

How Elizabeth Holmes’s House of Cards Came Tumbling Down – an exclusive by Nick Bilton for Vanity Fair. Really shows the creepy side of these Silicon Valley cults of personality.

The Great Recession by Shonni Enelow in Film Comment looks at the current climate in movie acting and how it reflects our culture.

A Swarm of Controversy: a longread about how Monsanto has come to care about bees.

 

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Your turn! Read anything good this week? Hit reply or tweet me, won’t you?

Have a lovely weekend!
Nicola x
 

Happy Friday! Welcome back!

Thanks for bearing with me for these past couple of weeks. It’s been overwhelming. I’ve been calling on a lot of stored up resilience, and the existence of words like agathism, as pictured above.

The arrival in California came with a bumpy landing. Two of our suitcases didn’t make the connection, and a box that I shipped arrived torn to shreds. All but one of my favourite childhood books got lost in transit, along with a bunch of my favourite and signed editions. It was rough.

But I’ve established a new business, put a deposit down on a car and am working on getting my new life on track here. As with all of my big life moments so far, I’d intended to journal or blog or write about the experience but, in the moment, there’s so much admin and so many miniature anguishes to deal with on a moment to moment basis that I haven’t succeeded on that front. Some things are better viewed in a longer lens.

All this to say, I’m back, and life is getting there, and I hope you’re well too.

So, how’s about some links for your weekend?
 

 

–– SUMMER’S END ––

The Guardian reports Gloom in Hollywood as reports indicate top blockbusters lost $1bn this summer. I think the massive shrink in my personal average summer cinema trips is indicative of this trend.

In related, Manhola Dargis on The Race to Save the Films We Love – covering a topic that the industry panicked about 5 years ago. I hope they’re making good progress.

I sometimes wonder how much I’d charge, or how much people would be willing to pay, for my services if I were a man. Then this week I learned that the Gender Wage Gaps in the UK Arts Sector is wider than the national average. So, probably more.

On the brighter side of Scottish arts and culture, my friend Rosie covered some lovely and surprising Women’s histories in Glasgow’s place names.

De-Monetization began in 2012, but YouTube only began notifying creators this week. Does that make things better? Or does it make things worse? Super inside baseball, but, ooft, yeah.
 

 

–– BOOKISH DELIGHTS ––

Eimear McBride: ‘Writing is painful – but it’s the closest you can get to joy’.

I’m super keen to read Sons & Daughters of Ease & Plenty soon, and really enjoyed The Saturday Rumpus Interview with its author, Ramona Ausubel.

In a recent Bookends feature, Leslie Jamison and Ayana Mathis answered the question, Why Do Debut Novels Command So Much Attention?

Speaking of debuts, Katie Khan’s new novel, Hold Back the Stars, is forthcoming. She wrote this charming little piece for Penguin about choosing the perfect name for a novel.
 

 

–– RECENT READS ––

Despite almost losing one of these in the move, I’ve managed to finish both of these books for review: The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick and The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride. One was one of the most rapturous reads I’ve had in some time; the other was pretty good. You’ll find out more in the next issue of The Big Issue ?

After that, I’m thinking Sons & Daughters of Ease & Plenty, as mentioned above, and maybe some Jenny Diski essays. You? Which books are on your nightstand?

 

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Your turn! Read anything good this week? Hit reply or tweet me, won’t you?

Have a lovely weekend!
Nicola x
 

Happy Friday!

It’s been another one of those decluttering, shipping, working weeks and I have absolutely nae chat. But I did go to Millport, hang with friends and enjoy one last book club before we ship off. My husband’s and my Bon Voyage party is tomorrow night and when the reminder pinged on my phone I freaked out a wee bit. Friends and Freecyclers are coming to collect furniture. It’s getting real.

 

 

–– IT’S ALL MISCELLANEY ––

When someone kindly points out my knack for sharing thoughtful reads, I accept it not in a self-deprecating, “oh gee thanks I don’t put that much thought into it” kind of way, but more in an, “I spend most of my time reading so I’m really relieved you think that” sense of honor.

If you read Rosie Spinks on why Reading lists are the new mixtapes via this newsletter, it might give you something like déjà vu.

ICYMI, on last week’s Bookish Blether: How to Declutter Your Book Collection.

Kate’s advice on how to support a friend who is transitioning, including how to avoid deadnaming and misgendering.

When there’s a heat wave, I often wonder about life Before Air-Conditioning. Thankfully, New Yorker re-published Arthur Miller’s piece on the topic.

Austin Kleon and Corita Kent on Seasons and their role in the creative life has calmed my nerves today.

I really enjoyed Jane’s recent review column on The Seamstress and the Wind by Caesar Aíra (which I loved) and Don’t Let my Baby Do Rodeo by Boris Fishman (which sounds great).

This Is What’s Missing From Journalism Right Now – and how Mother Jones funds groundbreaking longform articles like My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard.

 

 

–– READING UPDATE ––

This past week I read Play it As it Lays by Joan Didion for book club. It was a great book that I hated the experience of reading. But I came away from book club having discussed it at length and… I kind of what to read it again.

Next, I’ve two books on the docket for review: The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick and The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride. They’re both gorgeous editions, which doesn’t hurt.

In the coming week, I’m heading to a few events at the Edinburgh Book Festival to see Álvaro Enrigue, Tom Gauld, and Eula Biss. I might do some damage.

Which books are on your nightstand?

 

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Your turn! Read anything good this week? Hit reply or tweet me, won’t you?

Have a lovely weekend!
Nicola x