#19 From the bookshop to library sciences
And the dreaded algorithm
Hey there! I'm glad to have you here.
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I hope you enjoy what I found this week. It's a blend of seriousness and good humor. Some fine discussions and some simple delight and joy in the small things of life.
Because of changes on the Substack platform, it is getting harder and harder to find authors with a lower number of followers. On the desktop, the "Search” and “Explorer" tabs have become completely useless. I hope the new changes to Notes will not obliterate the only way left to discover new people; otherwise, it will be impossible to keep The Substacker running, which is incredibly sad.
Anyway, here are some nice reads for you!
Sorry I'm Late - I work in a London bookshop now
Welcome to the sequel to Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come
While cooped up at home in London, I thought so much about my interviews with the psychologist Nicholas Epley during this time. He’s one of the “extrovert mentors” I interview in the book and it is no exaggeration to say that my conversation with him, documented in the book, completely changed my life, even to this day.
Adult Blondes
This at least started as a love letter
I was a chubby Filipina girl that loved stringed cheese and talking in weird voices. My affinity for blondes and dairy likened me more to Cinderelly’s mouse Gus-Gus than Serena Van Der Woodsen. To complicate things even more, I was mixed race, which meant that I’d move through the world a bit like a chameleon. As a man once crassly put it, I looked “white but not quite.” At that age, I had no concept of internalized Western European beauty standards or why I didn’t always fit them. I just knew that Melissa, Abby, and Kaila were considered the prettiest and most popular girls in school. They moved through the world, our middle school hallways (which are the world), with ease. Their common denominator: they were blonde.
The Trouble with Willpower
Needing a different skill in the face of a NO.
There are for sure certain qualities and skills that can serve as necessary boons to the hard work of building a business: a penchant for unreasonable optimism. Being able to intuit a corner and an opening when everyone else sees a wall. The ability to summon deep resolve in the face of many signals that you should just give up already.
Which brings me to willpower.
Everyone is Traumatized
understanding the puritanical stances of the younger generation
If there has been a film released in the last ten or so years depicting any form of physical intimacy, one can be sure that it has faced controversy amongst a specific age group. Most recently, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things (the latter which has yet to be released in theaters) are facing backlash by what many individuals feel are gratuitous sex scenes.
And while I don’t necessarily agree, I am unsurprised.
How Making a Joylist Made it Easier to Relax - Plus an Invitation!
If you struggle with taking a break or relaxing, this might be for you.
Leading into this summer, I decided to make myself a Joy List. Unlike the common ‘Bucket List’ that you hear about (they seem a bit too morbid to me) a Joy-list focusses on becoming aware of the things that bring you joy and then encourages you make time for more time those things.
Well, that’s what I hoped anyway.
Fortnight One
A two weeks-into-library school dispatch
Anyways, I’ve made it through two weeks of library science classes and both new jobs and have seen some things that, naturally, I want to show you. So, without further ado, here are my favorite library school sightings thus far.
Before you go…
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See you next time! :)
The Substack staff really are only interested in metrics, particularly high numbers of paid subscribers. Yet a huge number of Indy writers continue to write and connect on here. Well done for persevering and finding - and sharing! - some gems!!
This was a particularly great round-up! Love the idea of a joy list, and Gabby's essay on being blonde was incredible!