About this blog post: Each month, I send an email newsletter to friends on my list. Below is a condensed version of last month's letter.
Here are some things I'm reading, thinking about, and working on this month:
What I'm Reading
I'm at inbox zero with my stack of physical books, meaning—I'm fresh out of library books, post-vacation. I finally finished the Six Figure Freelancer. I'd highly recommend it for anyone sending invoices for their writing work. I also picked up a subscription to the gorgeously illustrated magazine for creative kids and their grownups, Illustoria, which I discovered thanks to writer & editor Heidi Fiedler, who shared a pic of Issue #1 on her lovely and helpful Instagram feed. Some other things I read and liked this month: Hobart Book Village is a cluster of bookstores in the Catskills (and is now a must-visit for me thanks to the recent article on And North). I re-read this gem about an extended family's commitment to pile into a summer house together for a whole 7 days. ("I was present. It was because I was there.") I want to send every parent who has enrolled their child in this class a copy of this book. And finally, this essay in the New York Times which looks at perfection through the lens of Michelangelo's David, the iconic statue that happens to be crumbling at the ankles.
What We're Reading
We took these books on our family trip to Vermont, and read them over and over: Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury (for my preschooler), The House in the Night (for my toddler), and My Autumn Book (for both of them).
What I Wrote
Honoring Your Commitment to Your Creative Work on Dear Handmade Life.
What I Heard + Saw
Winona in Stranger Things! (Obv.) And, planning on tuning in tonight to Jill Soloway's pilot on Amazon, which I won't name here for fear of this email getting filtered from your inbox. The Bindercast is back! My favorite podcast of 2016 is (surprisingly, to me) Off-Message with Politico's Glenn Thrush. This month, he talked to Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy in an interview that I listened to while walking in the morning mist of the Northern Vermont mountains and I am frankly, still haunted by it.
Stuff We Did
Hung out in Stowe, Vermont with the kiddos. Hopped onto the Story Stop, Random House's traveling truck of books and visiting authors. (We caught the truck at the Montclair Public Library last week.) Inspired by my daughter's evolving artwork, I'm recording some of our favorites on Instagram at #SophiePittsOriginal.
