1 min read

Neither here nor there

  • To my amazement, waking early, then doing a medium amount of work on Project A, then a small amount of work on Project B, seems to be working. (On weekends I do a large amount of Project A, and stick with small amounts on Project B.)  
  • Sea of Tranquility is a lovely novel. Lovelier if you have read Emily St. John Mandel's two preceding novels, Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel. They are all worth your time; the intersections between them, though, really enhance the experience.
  • I'm perpetually unsatisfied with my handwriting. I successfully changed the way I write my Es last year; presently I'm attempting to write better Ds.
  • With most American pencils, I most enjoy writing with F-grade hardness. But with Japanese pencils, 2H is the real sweet spot. I'd have never found this out if not for John, who runs Kamikokuen, a terrific vintage pencil shop.
  • Bobby Truby, who runs Brand Name Pencils, started producing stickers inspired by vintage pencils last year. I generally do not care about stickers. I love these stickers.
  • I'm rewatching Better Things. This is a nearly perfect television show.
  • I've been on a minor short story kick recently. I'm presently working my way through Laura van den Berg's collections, like I Hold a Wolf by the Ears and The Isle of Youth. (This is all because I discovered her short story "Antarctica" in The Best American Short Stories, 2014.)
  • I've begun using Obsidian to manage both my current writing projects. Will it stick? Unsure. But it's keeping me very organized at present.