Good grief, it’s December. We lost at least 3 legends this week. Here’s what I thought was worth sharing:
This is the time of year I start working on my big “100 Things That Made My Year” list. I’ve done this since 2014. Each one requires a fair amount of retrospection, going back through old notebooks, newsletters, my blog, and social media. I just opened my January diary and saw my 2022 resolutions: see the Pacific Ocean again (done!), get a bicycle (yes!), build a studio (finally!), and write a new book (oops!). I guess I still have 29 days left, but 3 out of 4 ain’t bad…
RIP artist Tom Phillips. I wrote about his work, what it means to me, and an email he sent me that traces his pupil Brian Eno back to Raphael in 20 moves.
RIP cartoonist Aline Kominsky-Crumb. (Here’s a nice remembrance by Drawn and Quarterly publisher Peggy Burns.)
RIP singer-songwriter Christine McVie, who either wrote or co-wrote half of the sixteen tracks on Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits. (I love “Everywhere.”)
I’m in a bit of a reading slump again, but it’s a good time of year for that, as everybody posts their best-of lists. The New York Times lists 100 notable books and NPR’s Books We Love lists 400! Some of my favorites from these lists are Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Ada Calhoun’s Also A Poet, Dan Charnas’s Dilla Time, Julie Phillips’ The Baby on the Fire Escape, Antoine Wilson’s Mouth to Mouth, and Chuck Klosterman’s The Nineties. (Feel free to send me your lists!)
For the sixth straight year, Vanity Fair interviews Billie Eilish. (Also: Kottke is back!)
Mike White on his creative process. (Someone I know questioned whether they can satisfactorily wrap up season two of The White Lotus in just two more episodes. “I have faith in Mike White,” I said. “The man helped write Nacho Libre!”)
On Tuesday I wrote about making collages out of the flumes from Hershey’s Kisses and weaving personal meaning into your art. Next Tuesday I’m going to do part one of a two-part tour of my new studio. (Now would be a great time to subscribe!)
Christmas mix: I wrote this newsletter to Matthew Perpetua’s “Jazzy Christmas, Baby” playlist. He’s got more great playlists on Spotify and Apple.
The Idler’s Tom Hodgkinson on the importance of merriment this season.
Thanks for reading! If you are looking for a unique holiday gift, consider a stack of my books or a gift subscription to this newsletter! It’s easy to give via this link:
My studio gift guide still needs to be updated, but it might give you some stocking stuffer ideas.
xoxo,
Austin
New subscriber as of today because I've been mooching off of Austin's generous and awesome blog and Friday newsletters for years! I've been in a reading slump too - thanks to the numbing powers of Twitter and Instagram - but of the 30 books I've read this year, I have several that got my 4-4.5 star rating (no one got a 5, but Ocean Vuong for "On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous".) I LOVE humorous travel writing and I also love cold stark climates (I'm a Minnesotan in Tex-ile) so "Artic Solitaire" by Paul Souders was a solid delight full of great photos too. For the Texans among you, I really liked the seemingly cheesy collection of essays, articles, stories in "Being Texan" that was published by Texas Monthly. Those folks can really curate. I had 2 random picks that I grabbed off of the new books shelf at my San Antonio library that blew me away this year: "I Will Die in a Foreign Land" by Kalani Pickhart is an incredible lyrical story about the 2013-2014 battles in Ukraine. I was transfixed and need to read again!! "After Parties" by Anthony So moodily brought to life a culture (Cambodian) and experience (as a young gay man in that culture) that was super transporting. Maybe for the last 29 days of December, I can finish strong by setting up my apps to shut down by 8pm so I can read like I used to!
I like the blue pencil sharpener in your studio gift guide. I got an Amazon gift card for my birthday last year and purchased it. My kids also love it :) Anyways, it has been a fun thing to have around, and really does a good job “sharpening the pencil, with the pencil sharpener”.
So when you update your studio gift guide be sure to keep that one on the list!