Vacation mode
Unplugging
Hi friends. If you haven’t heard from me in a while, that’s by design. I’ve been out of pocket for the last five weeks, doing a mix of book research, editing, and vacationing. Each stop in a new city has given me something to be excited about — a new beach or mountain to explore, a great restaurant, museum, or bakery to visit.
And yet, there’s always a moment where vacations tip into stress. That early vacation glow wears off as we realize that we are just as anti-brunch as we are at home, or that we’re hangry, or too hot, or still stubbornly jetlagged, or lost and over it, or really, really, miss our favorite drink or meal, etc. Being on vacation can be exhausting in its own way, and it’s easy to lose sight of the relaxing bits if we aren’t paying attention.
So this trip, I’ve tried to slow down and appreciate the little things. A well-marked city bus route. A glass of ice water. The joy of taking pilates classes in a different language. Sending postcards. Getting lost. Reconnecting with old friends. Living like a local. Forgetting the exchange rate.
What are small things can you appreciate on vacation? Little moments you can hold onto, despite getting turned around in a new city or getting tired of eating out all the time? Wherever you travel to this summer, I hope you can carry small moments of gratitude with you. Here’s to relaxing, inspiring vacations wherever you go.
✨Book update
- The audiobook version of Rest Easy is on sale at 50% off through August 11. Want to hear me lead you through some meditative activities, and help you find the right rest activities for you? Get your copy now and tune in.
📚 What I’m reading
This has been somewhat of a start-stop month of reading for me. Since I’m traveling, I haven’t been able to make my twice weekly trip to the library to make it through my holds list. Honestly, it’s what I’m most looking forward to when I get back home. That said, it’s always a treat to see what new books you can find while traveling, especially abroad. Below, a memoir, an article, and some international novels that caught my eye.
- Paris: The Memoir, by Paris Hilton. Think what you want about Paris Hilton, but until you have the full story, you can’t really judge. There is some lighter fare in the book, but there is a surprising amount of depth, too. Hilton is unsparing in her recounting of her traumatic experience as a victim of the troubled teen industrial complex, for which she has become an outspoken critic. She is also clear-eyed about the way she and other female celebrities were unfairly treated by the paparazzi in the age of TMZ. The voice, captured in collaboration with her ghostwriter, feels very of a piece with Hilton — on the surface easy and breezy, but cuttingly honest beneath all the sheen. Recommend on audio (read by the author).
- “Their Water Taps Ran Dry When Meta Built Next Door” (NYT). Tell me again how much you like ChatGPT and are excited about AI after reading this piece about the devastating environmental impact Meta’s data centers have had on a local family — now ten X that and maybe we can start to understand the real damage. I’m no luddite (my previous career, as readers of this newsletter know, was spent in the tech industry), but the environmental impact of AI is pretty devastating, and IMO, we’re not taking it seriously enough. I’ve read a lot of think pieces about the use of AI in creative fields like writing (and yes, agreed, it’s a cop out — if you’re going to write a novel, you do it, not the computer), but I’m not seeing nearly as much passionate discourse about the ethics of AI from an environmental standpoint. Let’s change that!
- I was also drawn to this collection of international airport bestsellers while on layover in Germany, many of which I hadn’t heard of. If you’d read any of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
- Butter, Asako Yuzuki (Japan)
- The Night House, Jo Nesbo (Norway)
- Guilty by Definition, Susie Dent (UK)
Also, the UK covers for at least two of the books are wildly different than the US editions. I love to see how each market approaches their covers. See below!
💸 Currently coveting
- A book on cursive for my kiddo. It’s strange to me that cursive is no longer taught in school — not that I liked working on penmanship as a kid (I used to cheat and only ever fill in the first line, never the additional practice lines, and call it a day), but I do think it’s important to be able to read cursive (and also, like, sign your name on a passport, license, check, or other important document because yes, they all still exist in physical form). My son’s been reading like crazy but guess what? Reading in cursive is a different beast. If you don’t know how to identify each individual letter, everything starts to blend together. Not only is cursive still prevalent in books (even if it’s just chapter titles, you need to know how to read it!), but also, a lot of brands use cursive! Menus, storefronts, the amount of cursive you see day-to-day is easy to miss if you already know how to read it. If you’re just beginning? Good luck! Spending time in Spain, it’s clear they’re still teaching cursive here — nearly all the workbooks for kids include instructions in cursive (and expect responses in cursive too). So, um, yeah, call me old-fashioned, but I feel like if the rest of the world is still teaching it, it’s not dead yet. Off I go to see if I can find a beginner cursive workbook for the kiddo! 🖋️
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