Still here

Sometime around 2022, I realized that most of the posts I wrote for this blog and sent out via MailChimp ended up in spam folders. In hopes of fixing that problem, I began writing on Substack instead (personal stuff here, work stuff here). I kept paying the domain registration for this site, mostly because it contains a lot of writing I’m still proud of, and if it didn’t live here, then where would it live?

I’ve recently started to think about this blog again. Two reasons. I realized that Austin Kleon still maintains his blog even though most of his writing is on Substack. And Substack began to feel more and more like social media, even if it’s still Twitter for literary dorks. Substack is a private company, after all, and they’ll enshittify if they have to.

All of that said, I’m still planning to do most of my writing on Substack. After all, the point is to be read. But I also feel like I’m building a home on rented land. I want my own space, too. And yes, it still relies on a hosting provider (GitHub) and a registered domain I pay $20 a year for, but it’s as much mine as anything on the Internet is able to be, and that makes me happy.

Our 2022 in Pictures

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When I was growing up we would occasionally receive a cards around Christmas-time from old family friends and former neighbors with pictures and a brief explanation of what they’d been up to in the past year. Some people still do this. I like this tradition and have attempted my own version below.

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The Books I Read in 2022

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I went on a bit of a tear this year. I’m not sure why but I suspect that it’s at least partly related to reading a lot about writing, reading more chapter books with Idara, and also reading while I eat lunch.

Now that I’ve pasted in my notes from all of these books this post has ballooned to nearly 8,000 words, which is way too many, and I don’t expect anyone to read it all, or even most of it, so I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing here. That said, these posts have been well-received in the past, and I like keeping up the tradition, so here it is.

Next year I might do something different, like just list what I read and then go into more detail on my favorites. I’d like to make this more readable than a phone book.

Stars (★) mark the books that I liked the most. Please let me know if you have thoughts on any of them or recommendations for what I should read next. Here are the lists I posted in 2021, 2020, in 2019, and in 2018.

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Oren at Three

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"Papa you big so you need a big hug. And a kiss."

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Idara at Six

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Some heavy stuff, some light stuff.

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Oren at Two and Three Quarters

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A bunch of pictures and captions of Oren.

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Idara at Five and a Half

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Growing up too damn fast.

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Oren at Two and a Half

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Potty training, putting things in rows, and smiling. Lots of smiling.

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The Books I Read in 2021

Stars (★) mark the books that I liked the most. Please let me know if any of these resonated with you too or if you have recommendations for what I should read next. And here are the lists I posted in 2020, in 2019, and in 2018.

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Oren at Two and a Quarter

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Mostly he's just shouting.

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