Our November book club selection is The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis. We will be in conversation with Ayana on November 30th, and registration is open.
I was on Australian radio talking about Opinions. And while at the Texas Book Festival, I was in conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea about free expression and you can watch it on C-Span. If you enjoyed Opinions, you can vote for it in the Goodreads Choice Awards!
Hot Springs Drive is one of the twelve best thrillers of 2023. You don’t want to miss this one.
Elliot Kukla, the child of a Holocaust survivor, on how the people of Gaza will be living with the trauma of what they are enduring for a very long time.
Advertisers are fleeing Twitter after Musk said antisemitic things and so did many other assholes he seems to want to align himself with.
Protestors in the Bay Area shut down the Bay Bridge, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza,
The Los Angeles Times editorial board has called for a ceasefire.
Anne Boyer has resigned as the poetry editor of New York Times Magazine. A closer look at Jazmine Hughes leaving that same publication.
The National Book Awards happened and many of the finalists came together to call for a ceasefire. Before the awards, Zibby Owens pulled her sponsorship from the awards because she was worried about “hate speech” such as “Free Palestine.” As ever, motherfuckers have completely lost the plot.
Meanwhile, in the Sudan, the dire situation is worsening.
A characteristically wonderful essay from Lauren Hough in Texas Highways.
Paul Wall has aged like a fine, robust wine.
RIP Casey McIntyre. RIP Rosalynn Carter. May her memory be a blessing. RIP Dex Carvey, a beloved son and brother.
Ashlyn Harris has some thoughts on the onslaught of public scrutiny she is facing in the wake of her divorce and rumored relationship with Sophia Bush.
A small Louisiana town making all kinds of money on traffic fines.
Drump, still a fascist.
Cassie filed a federal lawsuit against P. Diddy and he settled in less than a day. Rumor has it he paid her $100 million. The mind boggles at what all he has done, to pay that much that quickly just to save face. Separately, LA Reid has been accused of sexual assault by Drew Dixon. And let us acknowledge what Megan Thee Stallion accomplished by standing up for herself and calling out abuse despite the intense, completely unwarranted criticism she faced.
Why do so many men in Hollywood disavow the thing that made them successful when it suits them?
Just sharing this for the… unique pictures.
Open AI fired one of its founders, Sam Altman. And now, he might get hired back? Tech drama is so dramatic.
George Santos spent campaign funds on Hermes and Sephora and other nonsense. Anyway, he is no longer running for re-election because even he knows he has no chance now.
Do to Eric Adams’ budget cuts, NYC public libraries will close on weekends.
Is Beyoncé going to do a Vegas residency?
A former friend of Will Smith’s has alleged that Smith had sex with Duane Martin. And like, first of all, not our business. And secondly, who gives a fuck? And thirdly, Smith is probably going to sue and WIN.
A profile of Fantasia Barrino. A conversation with Little Simz. A profile of Andre 3000 and check out his new album New Blue Sun which is beautifully orchestrated and so unexpected. I love it. A profile of Meghann Cuniff. A conversation with Greta Gerwig. A conversation with Andrew Wylie.
It’s deer season.
New Scrabble words and not all Scrabblers are happy about it.
Once in a while, a company does something nice.
Stay hydrated.
Warner Brothers is reversing its dumb decision to shelve a finished movie before releasing it. Sort of.
On being held in solitary confinement, which is inherently inhumane like prisons themselves, for FOURTEEN years.
Postal rates are going up again, but let’s be real. Postal mail remains quite a marvel and for less than a dollar, you can mail a letter and your recipient will have it in their hands in a matter of days.
A look at Barbra Streisand’s new memoir.
This is… an unexpected ending.
The FDIC is a toxic mess which isn’t confidence inspiring when it comes to our money.
Oh look! Consequences.
I guess Jared Leto climbed the Empire State Building.
Time lists the best 100 books of 2023. And Vulture’s best books of 2023.
This coming week is Thanksgiving. I hope you all spend the holiday in ways that nourish and fulfill you, with a minimum of heartache or strife. I am grateful for your readership and thoughtful engagement and general presence in the world.
Every week your roundup pops into my life like donuts in the break room.
Also, the ratio of Real Important Mail to "waste of trees/resources" is terrible and I hope that raising prices means a slowdown to the junk mail onslaught.
I really appreciate that you linked to the article about Mwalimu Shakur.
And in general, grateful for your whole newsletter each time.