Please take three minutes to fill out the CSBC reader survey! Itās been two years since I last asked you for a favor, and your input means so much to me.
For Tribeza, I asked the Texas Book Festival Literary Director Hannah Gabel for her essential reading list. The event has passed, but these are still really good book recs!
Itās Giving Tuesday! I donated to Trans Santa, delivering gifts to trans youth in need, through Anne Helen Petersen ā if you Venmo her @annehelen sheāll match all donations up to $1000. I also donated to the Palestine Childrenās Relief Fund. Anti-Racism Daily suggests donating to Emergency Relief for Gaza, the Palestinian Youth Movement, or Anera. You could also donate to Doctors Without Borders and the National Network of Abortion Funds.
On to the links!
What Iām Reading
Last weekās edition of Ann Friedmanās newsletter was a doozy.
She revealed sheās taking time off to have a baby, but also that her past 15 months have been full of extreme twists and turns including an unplanned pregnancy, a miscarriage, and getting hit by a car. Sheās taking all of us along for a serialized essay while sheās on maternity leave, and Iām so excited to read her story. Start with part one.
The writerās holiday survival guide by Caroline Donague
āYou don't have to forfeit writing for the rest of the year.ā Itās all about setting boundaries and protecting your time, as usual! Iām going to try my best not to give up on my art during the busiest time of year.
Donāt reply to your emails by Taylor Lorenz
She means, like, never. Could you do it?! š¬
The boundary ladyās 2023 slow gift guide by Melissa Urban
How to introduce a No Gift policy into your family, or if youāre not ready to take that plunge, how to limit the cost and scope of the holidays and curb rampant, thoughtless consumerism and stuff-buying.
When war sells serum by Jessica DeFino
The modern beauty industrial complex is also a descendent of the modern military industrial complex. Some historians believe bullet-shaped lipsticks became standard after World War I, when bullet-manufacturing facilities, now less necessary,Ā were transformed into lipstick-manufacturing facilities. During World War II, the U.S. War Production Board affirmed that cosmetics were ānecessary and vital to the war effort because of their potential to boost morale.ā Plastic surgery as we know it was invented to reconstruct soldiersā wounded faces. In a certain sense, the concept of cosmetics as āarmorā rings true.
Links, resources, and reading on Palestine:
I was moved and comforted by stories of hostages safely reunited with their families, and Palestinian prisoners freed and welcomed home. It is important to find joy and hope where you can, and celebrate wins. But there is still much work to be done for permanent peace. Letās keep learning, taking action, and doing what we can.
Fiza Piraniās list of reading and resources in her newsletter centering immigrant and refugee experiences, Foreign Bodies.
Actions for Palestine:
Download the 5 Calls app to easily dial your representatives and demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Forty-eight members of Congress have now called for a ceasefire ā these calls are working.
Join this webinar: How to take action on Palestine Solidarity Day ā hosted on Nov. 29 at 1pm ET by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
Contact Austinās City Council members by 11/29 to add the Gaza ceasefire resolution to the 11/30 City Council meeting.
Iām listening to:
This episode of
ās podcast resonated to my core. I will have a lot more to say about it in the future. Read more in their newsletter.Questionable Self-Care Advice
Support System
Itās safe to be wrong. Itās safe to be correct. Itās safe to not know. Itās safe to let people down. Itās safe to practice living your values. Itās safe to fumble. Itās safe to trust what you know, to trust your gut response. Itās safe to be a beginner. Itās safe to be wise. Itās safe to have unformed opinions. Itās safe to grieve. Itās safe to try. Itās safe to quit. Itās safe to surrender. Itās safe to listen to your intuition. Itās safe to hold multiple truths at once, to let them swirl into something confusing yetĀ still true.Ā Itās safe to be uncomfortable.
Vision Board
Obsessions
š Some things I loved over Thanksgiving break: Lucky Charms. Cooking at a snailās pace all day long. Watching all of Lord of the Ringsā¦again. Watching all of Fleabagā¦again. Rotting. Going on chilly walks and listening to the leaves chime in the wind. Saltburn. Talking about outer space with friends.
š I signed up for Skillshare, in large part to take Marlee Graceās class Success on Substack. Hereās my referral link if you want a month free plus 40% off your subscription!
š» My friend Brittany Gowan is publishing her first book! Pre-order Turn to the Sun: Your Guide to Release Stress and Cultivate Better Health Through Nature now!
š Austin Kleonās gratitude zine, plus a printout template for yours!
š«¶ Remember, even your less successful work has been appreciated by someone.Ā
āļø Reminder that this is the perfect time to start reading Wintering by Katherine May (or go ahead and wait till things quiet down in January, I get it).
š Abortion rights have won in every election since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Donāt forget to celebrate wins: Jessica Valenti lets āem know abortion rights win win win win win in Fuck You, We Win.
šļø I adore New York magās Secret Strategist newsletter
šÆ Why you need a hype file (I keep one)
š These artistic beaded bags make me emotional
š¤ Harry Potter in Berlin makes me excited
ā Millennial math. Checks out.
āļø What you clicked on most in the last Compendium: Ta-Nehisi Coates on his time in Palestine and Israel this summer and the segregation he witnessed there. Here are clips/the transcript from a recent discussion between Coates and Palestinian-American author Rashid Khalidi.
Thanks for the shoutout! I love the ultimate cozy fall/winter vibes in this edition.
Disco balls are my feng shui