Hard copy
The value of the printed word, plus my weekly shareables: an OnlyFans empire, a novel on evangelicals, and zoo animals weigh in
I hope all of you Shedheads had a peaceful Thanksgiving and are enjoying a blissful Friday of leftovers. This might be an even better day than Thanksgiving itself.
This week I had a few copies of my DOGLAND draft printed up—one for me and the rest for a few folks who agreed to be early readers. Like most people, I do almost all my work electronically these days, from first draft through final polish. But at some point it’s essential for me to look at my words on paper. There’s something about the medium itself that makes you read a little differently. Maybe just turning the pages slows me down. Whatever the reason, I always catch things on the hard copy that I didn’t catch on the electronic version.
I find it also helps if you’re struggling with structure … you can literally take the pages and move them around in a way that gets confusing if you’re doing it electronically.
Things are moving pretty fast now with DOGLAND. I’m gathering blurbs (more on that next week, maybe); we’re thinking about some photos; and there should be an edited manuscript for me to look at in a couple of weeks. We’ll be making lots of decisions and it’s an exciting time. But for now I’ll quote the New Yorker dog cartoon notepad: “It’s the naps you don’t take that you regret the most.”
Enjoy those post-Thanksgiving naps, y’all.
10 things I wanted to share this week:
My guest on this week’s SOUTHBOUND is historian Johnny Smith, whose new book JUMPMAN explores Michael Jordan’s delicate dance with racial issues. Johnny has thought about this deeply and it’s a fascinating conversation.
My weekly for WFAE was about giving thanks for all the folks who keep our world spinning on Thanksgiving Day.
The most interesting story I read this week was Drew Harwell’s profile of the Florida couple who run an OnlyFans empire, churning out sex videos with an amazing amount of business savvy. (WashPost)
The sneaky fame of Mike Birbiglia. (The Atlantic)
DOG NEWS: From now until DOGLAND comes out (April 2024!), I’m devoting this slot to dog stories. This week: Thanks to Shedhead Melissa L. for pointing me to this piece on a Harvard neuroscientist studying canine brains. (Harvard Gazette)
Jason Kirk, who some of you know from the brilliant Shutdown Fullcast, has written a very cool novel called HELL IS A WORLD WITHOUT YOU, which comes out in February but is available for preorder now. I got to read an early copy and wrote this blurb: "Isaac Siena’s brain is full: normal teenage angst, memorized Bible verses, lustful thoughts, a thundering voice telling him to purge those lustful thoughts, a bottomless catalog of Christian rock, and a dead father who everyone believes is burning in Hell. As Jason Kirk juggles all those voices and dozens more, HELL IS A WORLD WITHOUT YOU is so quick and funny and smart, you almost forget he's trying to square the unsquarable contradictions of hardcore Christianity along the way."
David Sedaris with a piece on rams that is itself like a ram: short and powerful. (New Yorker)
My friend Wright Thompson on Jason Isbell’s soundtrack for the South … connected to the latest episode of TrueSouth, about pain and hope in Dublin, Georgia. (GQ/ESPN)
The New Hampshire man who rode a lawn mower and harbored a big secret. (Associated Press)
Video of the week: Zoo animals, weighing in. (WashPost)
Have a great week, everybody.
Hi Tommy,
Has anyone yet told you about Black AF History? It’s a new book by Michael Harriot.
You should check it out. As a Georgian, you get a pass, but we Carolinians do not. Emphatically do not.
Heard the author interviewed on NPR and bought the hard cover. I can’t put it down.
Another great piece, Tommy. Belated Happy Thanksgiving to you and Alix.