Hey y’all,

Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:

1. The best thing this week was my firstborn turning 10. Holy moly. The second-best thing was speaking to his fourth grade class this week about book cover design. (I made them a zine called ”How to judge a book by its cover.”)
   
   

2. Darwin’s diagrams of plant movement.
   
   

3. “Your talent becoming unmonetizable could, in theory, be liberating rather than (or as well as) ruinous.” Tim Kreider on the threat of AI and the genius of filmmaker Phil Tippett and his stop-motion masterpiece, Mad God. (If you haven’t seen the documentary Light & Magic yet, it’s worth your time.)
   
   

4. George Saunders on harnessing ambition, avoiding social media, and the value of literature. (He just released his latest short story collection, Liberation Day.)
   
   

5. Tree Abraham’s behind-the scenes look at how she designed the cover for her own book, Cyclettes. (I don’t think I’ve ever been inspired to buy a book before by the author’s mood board — a great example of the power of showing your work!)
   
   

6. “More folds mean more connections, more speed, more power…” This excerpt from an Elisa Gabbert book review made me think a lot about the magic of folding up zines.
   
   

7. Heads up! I’m speaking at the Texas Book Festival next Sunday, November 6th at 1:45 p.m. and I’ll be signing copies of the 10th anniversary edition of Steal Like an Artist afterwards.
   
   

8. Ear candy: the new Dry Cleaning, the new LCD Soundsystem, and Sofia Coppola’s “Morning on set” playlist.
   
   

9. Movies: Our latest pizza night hit was The Creature From The Black Lagoon. (I’m intrigued by the story of Milicent Patrick, the artist who designed the creature.) We wrapped up our spooky season viewing with our old favorite, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
   
   

10. RIP art critic Peter Schjeldahl. Take some time this week to read his essay, “The Art of Dying.” (I just started reading Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father and Me, a memoir by Schjeldahl’s daughter, the writer Ada Calhoun.)

    
    

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is a reader-supported publication. The best way to support it is to buy my books, hire me to speak, shop for some of my favorite gear (I get a cut), or become a paid subscriber:

xoxo,

Austin

PS. If you’re having trouble right now, don’t forget I wrote a book for you: