Sexting at 60 and Take Off Your Pants with Donald and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Election

Some delicious reading for the shortest days of the year

a pair of bookish hound dogs

When the year has been fraught with dreadful news, a pesky case of COVID shows up only days before the holiday, and the kitchen range goes kaput while the step children remind you how much they still loathe you, sometimes, the very best solace is to find some light reading. Here, in no particular order are a few offerings to consume and to share.

The Sybarite Essayist and publisher Adeline Dimond has put together some of the snazziest pieces you will read anywhere on the web. From how to cook a freaking steak to the power of purple sunglasses, these stories have the power to charm and delight you.

Sexting at 60. Valerie Anne Burns’ modest albeit steamy account of a brief encounter between genuine grown ups is the perfect, vicarious visit to passion with an almost stranger.

Middle-Pause are the folks who produce the publication where Valerie Anne’s piece appears. Snippets of wisdom, humor and experience provide readers with vibrant relatable articles. Middle Pause also did me the honor of publishing My Fond Farewell to Viagra which has, to date, enjoyed an incredible reception.

Take off Your Pants is Libbie Hawker’s pithy, go-to classic of a primer. If you’re a writer, this manual on plotting vs. pantsing helps de-mystify the process of outlining when putting a novel together.

The books of writer Jacqueline Vick are an absolute tonic for mystery enthusiasts who just need a laugh and some diversion. She currently has various promotions for her e-books now through the end of the year. I cannot recommend Jackie’s Frankie Chandler and Harlow Brothers series highly enough. Enjoy! and you’re welcome.

The Substack for Kit’s Musings and Doodles is where the wickedly funny Kit Irwin promises to tickle your funny bone, right, there.

An American from Paris is the Substack of my pal, Noemie Andrusier and offers an unlikely combination of erudition and coziness. Check out her ruminations on Proust, on family and all things which interest her. I love everything Noemie writes. I think you will, too.

Finally, Donald and the Terrible, Horrible, no good, very bad Election was how I met the amazing Jackie Pick. Originally published by McSweeney’s during the 2020 election, the ex-President’s current travails make this brilliant piece more relevant than ever. You can find Jackie’s Substack, The Word Monkey Chronicles here.

There are no writers without readers. Give the readers in your life something to read. The writers will thank you for it.