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Hey there,
We wrapped up The Great Gatsby in my English class this week, and I was reminded how even though thereβs no character to root for, itβs a depressing ending, and the themes are bleak, itβs one of my all-time favorite novels because of just how good the writing is βΒ and how good writing can carry a sad story because it conveys the timelessness of it all. Those characters in the early 1920s can be copy + pasted into 2020, I tell you (just replace βold sportβ with something ...more current. Iβve got no examples, which shows how hip I am).
Also, weβve been having some WEIRD weather here in central Texas! Highs in the mid-70s all week, muggy as heck... It feels like a solarium at an indoor water park. Nothing like mid-January. I hear weatherβs weird in a number of spots in the world right now. How about where you are?
5 Quick Things βοΈ
1.Β I made a BIG announcement Iβve been sitting on since September. It feels so good to finally let you know! And Iβll share more in-depth throughout 2020 about how I feel about all this.
2. Andrea lists 10 artists she loves following on Instagram βΒ now this makes the app redeemable to me. I love finding good artists!
3.Β In this weeksβ The Good List episode, I share an unassuming Twitter account all about micro-storytelling βΒ and why I love it so much. (p.s. New episodes officially drop on Thursdays, so make sure you subscribe!)
4.Β The New York Public Libraryβs shared their most check-out books of all time (it took me a million guesses to name number one βΒ I ended up naming almost all of 2 through 10 βΒ and then my teen daughter called it!).
5. Wasnβt Tom Hanksβ Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech just a delight? βShow up on timeβ and βYouβre a dope if you donβt steal from everybody you work withβ is just the best advice ever.
Quotable π¬
βIf every event which occurred could be given a name, there would be no need for stories.β
Β βJohn Berger
Time Machine β°
Three years ago (has it really been that long?), I wrote about making friends and partial solutions.
Have a great week!
xo, Tsh
p.s. On my current reading wish list: this, this, and this. Read βem yet? And Iβm super excited for the release of this one.
5 Quick Things, #123 π₯
Tsh, The Immoveable Feast is wonderful. I'm converted to Catholicism as an adult and a year or so ago gave it to friend who has been looking into the Catholic faith. Another great adult conversion story is Jennifer Fulwiler's "Something Other Than God" and her follow up book "One Beautiful Dream."