artists going analog, zines, and a small-town bookshop
I picked up the book You Don't Need a Smartphone by August Lamm at the library and finished it in two sittings. I enjoyed it! Her guidance on navigating life without a smartphone felt doable, and her candid experience with quitting tech/socials kept me turning the page. I did a little deep dive on her website, and I've been reading samples of her fiction stories along with some of her interviews. The tiny notice she wrote of her leaving email in late 2026 fills me with utter curiosity and excitement. Her postal newsletter feels fun and mysterious. I love witnessing people go hard-analog. I love hearing about people making it as an artist with nothing but their website. It gives me hope. There's just one thing that I can't stop thinking about. When she left Instagram a couple of years ago, she left behind around 200, 000 followers. That's huge. When Cody Cook Parrott left IG, she left behind around 80, 000 followers. Again, this number is astounding. My point is, they didn't start their artistic and writing careers at ground zero. They brought a large dedicated fanbase along for the ride towards their analog journey. It makes me wonder: if you're a writer/artist without a big following, trying to make a living without socials, can it actually be done?
We visited an art gallery yesterday in Port Perry called Meta4 Gallery. I picked up the loveliest zine by Sue Munderich, a printmaker from Pickering, Ontario. I also visited Books Galore and picked up a couple of used books. As I was puttering through the aisles, I came across a picture on the wall of a young couple signing some sort of papers, looking into the camera as they commemorated the occasion. I asked the man at the front if that was him in the picture. He beamed and said it was. That he'd been there for 31 years. wow. I left feeling strangely proud of him, knowing that he'd stuck it out in a small town, realized his dreams, and was still doing what he loved after all these years.
heart-ons
slowerliving.club a list of things to read
delayed gratification the slow news magazine
Start a fantasy book thick enough to suggest you will be unavailable for some time. You have problems in another realm now. —Lida Pavlova