We're halfway through 2025: summer reading vibe check & inspiration!

Charge your kindle.

I hate a disclaimer. I hate needing to “address something” before getting into the meat and potatoes. I hate the knack for compartmentalization that you hone after years of existing on the internet. I hate that when you pause to address one horrific thing, you look like a big asshole when you don’t address every single horrific thing happening on the planet— but we all know if you did, you’d be, well… the news.

I hate all of that. But I feel compelled to tell you that this has been a horrible, awful, no good, very bad week. My heart has been stretched in a hundred different directions. I’ve been worried about my remaining family in Tehran. I’ve been thinking about all the people who aren’t my family but could be, who are lost, hurt, suffering. I’ve been thinking about how I watch it all from this dystopic place, run by a freaky orange king— but also a place where I’m safe, where I actually don’t worry every night about a bomb dropping. And then there’s ICE.

I sort of wish I could dun…