These Are a Few of My Favorite Links: 07/05/22
Every other week, I send an email that solely features great links for you to peruse throughout the week and weekend. Enjoy!
“Louise Penny Is Still Killin’ It” — I quickly became a Louise Penny fan over the holiday weekend, having started (and nearly finished) the first book in her Armand Gamache detective series. Naturally, I looked for some online profiles to get a sense of Penny the human, and enjoyed this short one from last year. This quote seemed particularly apt — she writes about human psychology as well as any mystery author I’ve read:
All of Penny’s works [are] more concerned with why [murder] was committed rather than how.
“Writing about murder doesn’t interest me,” Penny says. “Murder is a terrible act, but that’s all it is. What it allows me to do is explore emotions and themes, ideas and philosophies. I’m interested in what characters do and how they struggle.”
“The Golden Age of the Aging Actor” — Top Gun: Maverick, The Old Man, Only Murders in the Building, the list goes on. The starring characters in your favorite movies and TV shows are getting older. An entertaining and informative read.
“The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life” — I’m not convinced that the AI has come to life, but it’s sure interesting. The line is becoming more blurred seemingly by the day — which isn’t all that pleasant to think about.
The Greatest Tennis Match of All-Time — In the midst of Wimbledon, it’s worth revisiting the 2008 final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, which is often considered the greatest tennis match of all-time. I’ve been watching a few minutes here and there for the last few weeks, and nearly every point is pure tennis gold.
On War and Literature — I didn’t really enjoy the writing style of this one, but I did appreciate the scope and wide variety of books mentioned. It’s a list I may return to now and then.
“What it's been like as a writer of color trying to sell a book that isn’t all about trauma” — I always enjoy inside-scoop pieces about the publishing industry and this one is no exception. Goes well with the New Yorker piece — “The Case Against the Trauma Plot” — that I’ve referenced a few times here and still think about somewhat regularly.
That’s all for me this week! Thanks for the time and inbox space.
-Jeremy