Is Anyone Reading This?

A survey is attached!

Happy Sunday! I’m cold.

I have asked my husband at least six times over the past two days, casually: so, do you think we’ll have in-person school on Tuesday?

CAN YOU STOP ASKING ME THAT?! has been his most recent response. That and: I HAVE NO IDEA!! WHY DO YOU THINK I KNOW?!?!

I’m sorry, geez, I’m just curious.

Mmmmm, a balmy high of 3 for Tuesday

I hope we do have school, honestly. The thought of conducting my own eLearning lesson while simultaneously having to think about my son’s kindergarten eLearning is frankly giving me heart palpitations. How did my fellow employed people do this during Covid with young-elementary school kids at home?!?! Horrendous.

Enough about the weather.

As mentioned last week, I began graduate school and gosh I’m learning a ton from the assigned readings! What has become abundantly clear to me since January 6th (ew, bad date, just ignore the negative connotation), is that I learn best through reading and annotating. It is truly a sweet spot for moi.

Discussing is fine, listening is fine, formal writing is fine. But reading?!? And some casual annotations?!?! This lady is LEARNING.

I’m also getting a lot of RoundTable column ideas from all this newly acquired information.

Which brings me to my next point: I’m assuming there might be some overlap between people who are reading this newsletter and people who may, occasionally, dabble with my RoundTable column.

Would you kind people consider taking the survey linked below? This will give me a better idea of what readers would like to see next month in the paper. If you’ve never read my column, that’s fine. You can start today!

The survey I’ve included has three possible topic ideas.

Other things that have been on my mind: When is it okay to abandon a book? (Correct answer: literally always). And is being physically unable to put a book down a symptom of my untreated OCD? (Correct answer: most likely).

I’m referring to Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, her latest. If you don’t know already how I feel about Rooney’s Normal People, please consider reading this piece. But due to my undying love for Rooneys’ previous works, specifically Normal People and Conversations With Friends, I feel like a terrible super-fan abandoning her latest. However, I just cannot make myself care about these characters!! I really can’t.

Admittedly, I did not love her third book, Beautiful World, Where Are You. Am I moving beyond an author I used to love and admire? Why does this feel on par to a dying friendship?

When it comes to Intermezzo, the protagonists are two men. Is that why I can’t attach to this narrative? Am I prejudiced against bros?? Ugh, that would be very bad, because I have a son. Can someone, please, recommend a book that features a male narrator that they loved?!?! I need to prove to myself that I like dudes who tell stories!!

I’m spiraling.

Anyway, I will attempt to maintain this newsletter in the coming months. Despite being in grad school. Despite my column. Despite my actual home life. Despite this thing I sometimes do every day called teaching. And because of all this, I’m assuming the quality and thought-provoking-ness of my essays will probably be deteriorating. Apologies for that.

Expect more pieces that resemble the ramblings of a slightly insane person than cohesive works examining an important topic or question.

Maybe it will become a true newsletter now.

Here’s the news: I am busy. I’m overbooked. I’m burned out. But I’m still here, writing, my friends!

Last thing, my niece Sophie’s newsletter on behalf of Nameberry landed in my inbox this morning and had me cackling.

In it she writes: “At 11 years old, I received a set of novelty fortune-telling books as a gift — one of which was about names.” Check out the image she includes and the caption!

My fortune, literally, could not be more inaccurate!!! Thanks, Sophie, for the morning chuckle.

Alright friends—I’m out. As always, thanks for reading! You’re all gems.