#20 I Read Too Many Books in January

And that's something I never thought I'd say. Also: something to watch right now to lift your spirits, a different way to think about creative time, and a chair for my aching back!

⭕️ Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music is a documentary about a 24-hour immersive theatrical experience offered in a one-time-only performance. Watch it for a much-needed refresh of the United State’s complicated history and the wildly elaborate costumes — and for fun!¹

⭕️ A book Ban Isn’t a Badge of Honor Project 2025 promised that Trump would turn a national focus on banning books under the guise of making our children safer, and last week, amid a frenzy of other soul-crushing pronouncements, the Department of Education issued a press release declaring book bans a hoax.²

⭕️ Minimum and Maximum Creative Time A reminder that there will be many days where you will do the bare minimum amount of creative work and that will be okay.³

⭕️ HÅG Capisco Adjustable Desk Chair For those of us who store all stress in our necks/backs/shoulders and need to be able to change sitting positions every 20 minutes or so.⁴

Last month I read 12 books.

And by books I mean novels. Most were in the 250-350 page range. The shortest was 160 pages. The longest was 444.

I didn’t set out to read 12 books in January. For some, that may be a normal number of books read. I haven’t read at that pace since grad school, over a decade ago now. I typically average 4-5 books (novels) a month, with maybe one non-fiction audiobook in the mix, as well.