Go for a Walk
Crypto’s take on publishing, your go-to summer reading roundup, and ‘Crawdads’... for murder?
I knew this day would come sooner or later, so I have a confession to make: I don’t know what to write about this month. It’s mostly due to the fact that there’s no way this past July actually contained thirty-one days. (How is it August already???) So in lieu of a planned thesis, let me instead share with you a habit that’s become one of my favorite daily activities: my afternoon walk.
This summer has been busy. Raising two kids is no joke, and my son has recently entered the pre-walking stage where he can pull himself up to standing next to coffee tables and couches but doesn’t know how to sit back down. His solution? Scream until he’s tended to. Like I said, no joke.
On top of that, I’m a product manager for a software development company and a freelance writer/editor (holla at me). If I’m not intentional with my schedule, the day is eaten up before I know it. Since I work from home full time, I decided I needed some space to get out of the house and reset from the pace of work. So I started taking a walk around my neighborhood during my lunch hour while listening to an audiobook.
Now, you may have heard that Texas has recently adopted the climate normally reserved for the surface of the sun, so I didn’t pick the best time to begin this new habit. But it has changed the way I go about my day. It’s upped my energy levels in the afternoon, quieted my mind for better focus, and helped me grow familiar with the neighborhood my family calls home.
It’s also let me step into fictional worlds for the companionship, insight, sobriety, or whatever else I needed in the moment. I’ve survived a global apocalypse, hacked the human genome, solved a gruesome murder, built a counterfeit handbag empire, and witnessed the strength of humans in the wake of tragedy—all during my lunch break. And when I return to my desk, I know I always have tomorrow to look forward to.
This evening, my daughter and I made a quick run to the library where I let her pick out her first two loans, a proud moment for us both. One of the two she chose was actually called Book. As we read it together, I found myself feeling grateful for the gift of books so many authors have labored to create, allowing us to step away from our world, take a breath, rest our weary bones, and return renewed. This bit in particular struck me:
When your time comes to a close and the other world begins to call, don’t worry. You can say goodbye without feeling sad, because you know you can come back as often as you wish.
This life is ever so finite, and moments slip away from us easily. But don’t be discouraged by that reality. Instead, fill those moments with intentionality, with beauty, with truth.
And go for a walk.
July Reads
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin—The world could use more stories about friendship, and if Zevin’s latest is the start of that trend, even better. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow traces the friendship of Sam and Sadie from chance encounter in a hospital to developing world-class video games and facing the burdens of adulthood. In her trademark voice, Zevin will have you laughing, crying, and warding off the final page for as long as you can.
Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li—Will Chen is a senior at Harvard when he’s offered a deal—fifty million dollars for stealing five priceless Chinese sculptures looted from Beijing centuries before. With his team in place, this heist tale trots the globe in a high-stakes plot about the true price of history.
Walk the Vanished Earth by Erin Swan—Stretching from 1873 deep into the twenty-first century, from New Orleans all the way to Mars, Walk the Vanished Earth is a story about the end of the world and the hope we all hold within for a better future.
Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor—Set in small-town Denton, Arkansas, Don’t Know Tough follows a high-school football coach, the star of the team, and a volatile home life that threatens to tear both of their worlds apart. I admire writers who can capture the South in their writing, and Cranor is a worthy new name to add to the list.
August’s Most Anticipated
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid—Transformation is at the heart of Hamid’s new novel as his characters wake up one morning with the pigmentation of their skin having darkened overnight. I ate up Hamid’s last release, Exit West, and can’t wait to get a copy of this one.
Raising Lazarus by Beth Macy—Journalist Beth Macy follows up her acclaimed book Dopesick with a new entry in confronting America’s opioid crisis through the eyes of the ordinary people fighting to secure accountability for a devastating national tragedy.
Celebrities for Jesus by Katelyn Beaty—If you’ve paid any attention to the evangelical world in recent years, you’ve noted the falls from grace of many a pastor. In this timely work, Beaty examines the church’s relationship to fame and celebrity with the hope of reclaiming a vision for ordinary pastoral faithfulness.
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah—War and displacement take center stage in this loaded novel set in east Africa. Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, Gurnah delivers a sobering journey into the effects of colonization and the bonds forged through loss and love.
Reading Roundup
The Crypto Revolution Wants to Reimagine Books—Ever wanted to invest in the success of a book? You may have your chance soon.
Apparently, those who read literary fiction—but not other kinds—have a more “complex worldview.”—Now that science is on my side, I’m officially never reading any other genre.
Where the Crawdads Sing Author Wanted for Questioning in Murder—The title pretty much speaks for itself, and, yikes.
Why America needs good books—and lots of bookstores—In one of her recent newsletters, Tish Harrison Warren shared a love letter to bookstores and how they promote depth and ideological curiosity far more than online marketplaces.
Ingrid Rojas Contreras on Writing the Real and the Surreal—Last month, I recommended Rojas Contreras’s brand-new memoir, and this interview will give you a taste of why her writing is worth your time.
Afterword
Tertulia is a brand-new app aimed at helping bibliophiles discover new books. Plenty of those exist already, but this one takes a unique approach by scouring social media, podcasts, newspapers, journalists, and more to collect a diverse set of book chatter in a single place. And the more you interact with the app by noting the books you’ve liked/disliked, the better its recommending power becomes.
The platform also allows users to opt into community ownership, investing in a portion of the company as a buoy for Tertulia’s success as well as an incentive for said owners to champion the platform and enjoy the benefits it affords. I’ve only been using the app for a few weeks, but I’ve already discovered a number of new books and I’m enjoying the fresh take on its presentation and user experience. Give it a try and let me know what you think.