I hope you’re all staying safe! This is the perfect time to get caught up on all things Internet, and if you’re done with this round-up and need more, there’s always the complete archive here. I know it’s an extremely topical round-up, but hopefully there’s something for everyone. Enjoy, stay safe, spread love, have faith xo
Easing in, why walking helps us think. I return to this over and over.
The first lines of 10 classic novels, rewritten for social distancing, via LitHub.
Why you need a good cup of coffee. (How many coffees is too many coffees, asking for myself?)
Lessons from Albert Camus’ The Plague, which I am currently reading. Most of my current reads are escapes, but this seemed like a necessary read.
Robert Frank was a favourite American photographer, and this is a lovely bit about one of his most famous, if imperfect, images.
Yan Lianke on community memory and what happens after this.
Keeping the fear at bay, via The Paris Review.
The past week has been not so good on my sleep schedule, but it hasn’t gotten any worse than 2am and I’m up by 10am so…some insomniac assistance? Seriously though, a strong, consistent sleep schedule is the only way to improve mental health. Sleep is the wrong thing we should ALL be prescribed, whether we have coronavirus or not.
I don’t think we should compare the current situation to wartime, but that doesn’t mean history and the London Blitz doesn’t hold lessons for us. (See Queen Elizabeth’s televised speech.)
In case you need some book medicine, courtesy of LitHub.
Coronavirus and influencers, via the New York Times and via Vanity Fair. Empathy, everyone, that’s all I’m saying…
The more you study delight, the more delight there is to study. (BrainPickings generally has been a darling thing to follow right now.)
Why you should read books you hate. (See empathy, as above. It’s why I find it so hard to NOT finish a book.)
How coronavirus is changing donations.
More literary history and pandemics. I did warn this was a very topical round-up…
Why the plague skipped Poland.
An ode to old Jewish restaurants of New York.
On writing story shape, rather than plot. (Side note: Diana Gabaldon writes progressively more complex shapes in her Outlander series she openly talks about.)
On solitude and creative work (this has been a bounty time for me…).
On slow reading (since everything is slowing down…although I’ve been doing almost more reading than ever).
There’s lots of talk of economic recession. But let’s think about social recession for a minute.
And finally, a calming, intentional playlist:
little miss maudlin 