August 10, 2018

Sorry this post is a little late – I’m in Athens, GA for Athens PopFest and we got back to our rooms at 1:30 AM last night. I might be getting too old for this, but it’s been really fun to see a bunch of shows and walk around in the hot hot GA sun. Here are some brief reads I squeezed in earlier this week, between reupholstering some one-man’s-trash dining room chairs and snuggling my dog nonstop:

1. How Publishing’s Floral-Print Trend Came to Rule the World’s Bookshelves, Vanity Fair. “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

2. The 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century. How many have you watched? This list made me revisit the How I Met Your Mother episode “Slap Bet,” and it might lead me to some other walks down memory lane. I think this list skews a little bit too much toward DRAMA and ACTION, so now I want to make my own (shorter) list of best TV episodes…

3. How To Give A Better Pep Talk, the Cut. “You’ve got this,” while dripping with pump-up optimism, is not a line
   that accomplishes that. Instead, try something like: “Your talking point
   about that thing on your résumé are so well-rehearsed!” Or maybe:
   “You’ve prepped so many good questions to ask his mom about, it’ll be
   easy to keep the conversation going.” They’re not the flashiest
   compliments, but they’re grounded ones. They’re based in facts. They’re
   steadying. And for someone awash in a sea of nerves, it’s a relief to
   have something to grab on to.” Good, short thought!

4. 11 Writers on Their Most Embarrassing 13-Year-Old Memories. OUCH at some of these stories…Most of my embarrassing middle school memories involve my own tender, overthinking brain and the infinite potential romance of my inner world. I think I was a little weirdo.

5. Things to Do Before You’re 30: The Try-It-Out, Get-It-Done, Live-It-Up List!, Jessica Misener. I thought this book was going to stress me out, especially since I am aware of several areas of life where I’m pretty “behind” where I “should” be for my age (but I guess this is all subjective), but in fact this colorful little checklist of a book wasn’t all major milestones like Buy A House and Get A Promotion, but included a lot of personal growth steps like Apologize Well or Quit Smoking or Go to A Family Reunion. It was a fun way to think about dreams and goals, and to remember some of things that I have managed to do in my 20s. Like float in the Dead Sea, or spend all day in a bookstore.