Links of Note: September 22, 2023

Snoopy, Faces in Toast, and More

Sep 22, 2023

This is my last week of work before taking two weeks of PTO. I’ve never taken this much time off for a break–parental leave is not a break. I am looking forward to a relaxing yoga retreat, to working on a book-shaped project, to a few banned books related presentations, and a whole lot of reading, walking, and basking in one of the best times of the year. My birthday is on Monday, too, and so I’ll be crafting a day doing only the things I would like to do (& I’m grabbing delicious Ethiopian food for a birthday meal this weekend, too).

That introduction probably is enough to explain that the newsletter here will likely be a little erratic for a few weeks. I’m not going to be writing as much, but I will keep using the “notes” feature here as appropriate. I’m still working to find a balance and pace that fits with my life and lets me write and share thoughtful work that is value added, rather than a tick in a box. So far, it’s been meaningful, and I want to keep it that way.

Onward to links!

My Work This Week:

This week’s
Literary Activism
highlights several student led groups pushing back against book bans. The roundup of links is also extensive.
PEN America released their report on the state of school book bans in the 2022-2023 school year. They’re up 33%, but the thing standing out to me is that the average age of the most banned books is…18.
Dripping Springs Independent School District in the Austin, Texas, area, has implemented a new policy where no 6th or 7th grader can borrow books labeled as “YA” from the school library without parental/guardian permission. This means they cannot even borrow Fahrenheit 451.

What I Consumed This Week:

I finished up Counting The Cost by Jill Duggar and all I can say is there is a special place in hell for Jim Bob. The book is good, Jill is brave, and I hope this helps her heal and helps other people in her family and beyond get out from the thumb of IBLP.
Why is Snoopy suddenly everywhere? It’s interesting this is being linked to Gen Z nostalgia when Snoopy’s been cool forever. Snoopy for life.
This one is just interesting: those who have just given birth are more likely to see faces in objects.
I suspect folks who get this newsletter already listen to the You’re Wrong About/Maintenance Phase/If Books Could Kill slate of podcasts, but if you don’t, I think this week’s episode of If Books Could Kill on The Four Hour Workweek is great. There’s a moment Peter talks about how Ferris goes back and forth between pretending to write for a manager and pretending to write for the average person that captures a really good tension in ‘self help books’ that are actually books for rich, privileged people who live in fantasy land (I say this as a noted self help book lover!).

This has had me laughing all week long–