#36: Am I an iPad kid? 🫣

Plus, a few good newsletter recs, my favorite books from 2023, and the sweet treat that I can't stop making

I’m facing a TikTok dilemma. TikTok is my primary source of pop culture context, as I imagine it is for most people my age. I come home from work, brain-dead and in need of some mindlessness, and the only thing I want is a mind-numbing scroll. I want to watch a split-screen video of a Chicago Med scene on the left, a smile tutorial or soap cutting video on the right. My neurodivergent brain that’s always looking for something else eats that content up. I lose two hours a day to the FYP.

So I think about this too long and come to the conclusion that I need to delete TikTok. That I’m losing valuable time I could use to do something. I could probably read a book a day if I didn’t have a smart phone. I could walk to the library that’s two miles away from my home and back in that time. I could finally do something with my sourdough starter that’s been sitting on my kitchen counter for two weeks.

As a writer, that disconnect feels fatal. Most of my ideas for articles, newsletters, etc. (like this one I wrote for Allure) are, in some part, inspired by social media conversations. Am I willing to sacrifice this feeble connection to the zeitgeist?

Beyond the “work” of it all, I like having inside jokes with the rest of the 25-year-olds who are also moderately addicted to TikTok. When an obscure video surfaces out of the ether and we all spend 10 business days quoting it unrelentingly, I like to feel included. Social media has the ability to connect beyond the physical spaces we are forced to occupy. In some ways, TikTok is a form of telepathy. We’re all communicating ideas without having to speak them. We can transmit our little brain waves through the atmosphere.

I’m still not sure what the answer is, but as least I got some pretty language and a good metaphor out of the reflection. And writing this newsletter got me off TikTok for a few minutes; maybe that’s good enough for now.

“Required” reading:

Could TikTok tarot readers fix your broken heart? (Dazed)

A fascinating article on how the development of AI is changing how we judge gymnastics (MIT Technology Review)

Did you know: tampon absorbance studies don’t use blood to test their products. Here’s how the field of menstrual care is changing to address that ( Nia at Not Controversial )

Calling all writers: The Sub Club Newsletter shared another great list of lit mags that are accepting submissions

Clara so eloquently talks about why the internet is too monetized ( Hmm That's Interesting )

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2023 best in show:

After squeezing out my 100th book, I finally met my 2023 reading goal. Here are my favorites from a year of reading.

Best in show: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Romance: Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

Poetry: Couplets by Maggie Millner

Classic: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Magical realism: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Memoir: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Science fiction: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar

Horror: Bunny by Mona Awad

Young adult: Wilder Girls by Rory Power

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Recipe box:

I’ve been trying drink one mug of this and another of this every day; apparently they’re supposed to be great for balancing hormones. I ain’t no scientist, but they taste pretty good.

Found in my search for some new brunch recipes: how decadent does this take on a breakfast classic look??!? Also eyeing this and this.

In addition to earlier efforts to balance my hormones, I’ve been indulging in my go-to PMS treat: homemade chocolate fudge sauce. It’s a can of sweetened condensed milk and as much cocoa powder as your soul tells you to add. Plus a pinch of salt to balance all that sweet. Eat plain or over ice cream.

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Miscellany:

Marta from compiled alllllll the Feb 2024 releases to look out for on Litulla

Love a screwed-up ballet book, so I’m definitely adding this to my library holds

NYT Games fans: this leveled-up version of Wordle is a great addition to the daily games rotation

Sometimes I think I was destined to be a theater kid, but just got a little distracted along the way. Anyways I’ve been loving these indie covers of some of Sondheim’s greatest hits

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From the archive:

#29: Pop the champagne