Austin Kleon - When I share, I learn

Hey y’all,

I can’t imagine any of my beautiful, intelligent readers need reminding, but just in case: If you are eligible to vote in the US election and you haven’t voted yet, please stop reading this newsletter, right now, and go vote or make a plan to vote on Tuesday. I voted early and I’ve never been so happy to cast a ballot. It matters. DO IT. 

Okay, here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. When I share, I learn.
    
2. I’ve fiddled with a Rubik’s Cube almost every day of quarantine, so you know I was going to pick up Ernő Rubik’s book, Cubed: The Puzzle of it All. So far it is as odd and wacky — and interesting! — as advertised. Parts of it remind me of my conversation about writing with Peter Turchi, who wrote the book A Muse and a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic. (And now I want to buy a Soma Cube and some Tangrams!)  
    
3. Martin Gardner: the most interesting man in the world?
    
4. The story of Dover books.
    
5. How Pippi and the Moomins served as an antidote to facism. (This piece reminded me of Orwell on hobbies.)
    
6. When Spongebob Squarepants was just a sketch on a beach in Baja. (Ordered two related books for the boys, which they’re devouring: this treasure chest of comics and The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom.) 
    
7. Parents: when it comes to Halloween specials, we adore It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but don’t miss Room On The Broom! The book is so much fun to read out loud. (HBO Max just made a special out of The Monster at the End of This Book, but I haven’t seen it yet.)
    
8. Ear candy: It was a good week for synth-pop! I listened to Yaz(oo)’s Upstairs At Eric’s on repeat. New Order’s Substance finally hit Spotify. (“Your Silent Face” is a big autumnal mood for me.) I re-watched the great Synth Britannia and discovered a Spotify playlist of all the music included in the documentary. (Related: “2,000 days of #DailyBleeps”)
    
9. Will animators inherit the post-pandemic Earth?
    
10. RIP The Amazing Randi. (I enjoyed the documentary about him, An Honest Liar.) RIP Jerry Jeff Walker. RIP my aunt Becky.