The Listening, Watching, and Reading Roundup
A monthly(ish) summary of what I found inspiring, intriguing, or just plain fun
Dolly Parton on the Smokies, in National Geographic
I live in East Tennessee, smooshed up against the foothills of The Great Smoky Mountains, and one of our most beloved ‘locals’ is, of course, Dolly Parton. She lives in middle Tennessee now - near Nashville - but comes back home regularly and shares her love of the Smokies in this article. What an absolute legend she is. Her project ‘The Imagination Library’ (alone) has gifted over 178 MILLION books to kids. I believe you can have a few ‘free articles’ in Nat Geo before you have to pay to subscribe.
The Carbon Almanac, Seth Godin and others
This is a project developed by over 300 contributors and is designed to provide a collection of facts and knowledge on climate change that are easy to understand and share. I will share more about this soon, but I will have a few copies of this to GIVE AWAY!
Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport
If you’ve read my post on social media and fast food, you’ll know, in part, why I’m reading this book! But it’s about more than just reducing the time spent on Insta. It’s also about understanding how we develop and use our attention. I believe that our insistence on being so busy and always ‘on’, let alone always online, is leaving our offline selves bereft of the communication we need (human and nature-based) to remind us what a healthy present and future looks and feels like. And, we fail to make our most important contributions. Newport’s book ‘Deep Work’ has also been a huge influence for me in recent years. I am in the process of reinstituting his ‘shut down’ routine at the end of the day, which, during WFH, is even more important.
The Grown Ups Are Losing It, by George Packer in The Atlantic
Though you have to subscribe to get this article, I at least suggest a trial. This was the most eloquent article I have read on how our kids deserve more than our yelling and misbehaving at school board meetings (and much more).
An article on trans sports in The OMG Bulletin by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell makes it so obvious in everything he writes, that he loves to tell the story. In this one, he very straightforwardly exposes the absurdity of limiting younger trans kids in sports, and explores the complexity of including older teens or elite-level trans athletes. He also talks about why certain groups of people are so narrowly focused on this issue. See also Gladwell’s articles on the recent scandal of Columbia University fudging its rankings. Fascinating.
Dolly Parton is an AMAZING human being!
Drinking my coffee, half wake, and wondering why Dolly would chose those book for the little children. Ah, I get it. lol I promise read more closely next time. Hey, Ann.