Isak's Blog

Happy Friday,

Cue the music, brew that pot. When did summers get so busy, and how is it already late July! I’m trying to soak in some sunny days, but they’re passing me by.

Here are 10 interesting things worth sharing this week:

1. “Writing is hard because your human brain, the one that’s been running and updating the biological human survival software for roughly 200,000 years, is genuinely convinced that putting words on a page might kill you.” There’s neuroscience behind why our brain sees writing as quietly dangerous and how meditation can help.
2. Hot people read books, as it turns out. It’s funny how we collectively lament the end of reading thanks to social media and AI, but simultaneously there are so many book clubs and buzz over new subgenres.
3. The Lo-Fi Cinema YouTube channel have the best video essays about the creative process and identity, and their latest about uncertainty and rigidity in your artistic path really hit home for me. It reminds me of a Rumi quote I stumbled upon this morning, serendipitously: “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
4. Everyone’s talking about “The Odyssey,” and I’m waiting until Tuesday to see it at our old three-screen theater (cheap movie night is the best night!), but it has me remembering this great interview with Emily Wilson, the first female translator to put The Odyssey and The Iliad into English. (Tyler Cowen quickly jumps between topics with guests, which is jarring at first but youg et used to it).
5. Emily Wilson also knows how to have fun: When we were all quarantining over the summer of 2020, she decided to read and act out a bit of “The Odyssey” every day, complete with wigs, sunglasses, and other props she had in her home. Having fun with your work is important!
6. That reminds of of Austin Kleon’s chapter “Don’t Take Things Too Seriously” from his new book “Don’t Call It Art”: find who’s having fun, pretend it’s all a comedy, and play the fool. “Ask yourself frequently, ‘Am I having fun?’ The answer needn’t always be yes. But if it’s always no, it’s time for a new project or a new career,” says Stephen King.
7. I’ve lifted a few pens from restaurants I love as a memento to a good memory (a few restaurants of which have now closed), so this tight essay about pilfering restaurant ephemera is very relatable. (I also share a love for Field Notes, Pilot G2s, and abhorring Bic Clic Stics)
8. Brendan’s latest video about why we run is really about why we do anything: to keep doing it. (See: writing, reading, lifting, going for walks)
9. Nearly every day, Kent Peterson types up a short, interesting essay or thought on his typewriter, pushes a few hand-carved ink stamps onto the paper, snaps a photo, and uploads it to YouTube — and this recent post “Lessons in Slowing Down” gets at why, I think, and also shows off a particularly old typewriter (he has a big collection!).
10. Finally, a watch that tells the time and also shows exactly how I plan to spend my weekend.

See you on down the dusty trail,

Happy Friday,

Cue the music, brew that pot. I spent my evenings this week pressure-washing my concrete and listening to Stephen King narrate his book “Bag of Bones.” Recommend!

Here are 10 interesting things worth sharing this week:

1. Really enjoying Austin Kleon’s new book “Don’t Call It Art” and was delighted to find a short sub-chapter about having fun — which pairs with a question I’ve been asking myself this spring: What if this were fun?
2. I’m always fascinated by how writers spent their days before the internet (both the constant procrastination and the endless barrage of information), so this article with Louis L’Amour’s typewritten weekly to-do lists (nevermind the title) was so fun to read. It feels simultaneously so similar and yet dissimilar to modern routines.
3. Isn’t it fun to learn a new word for something you already do? I decided to blog more often this year about what I’m reading, thinking, and doing, and turns out that’s a “digital garden” of exploring and connecting ideas.
4. There’s a plethora of “the internet has made it harder to read” articles, but I found this article interesting because it wondered if having a job where you read bad writing (emails, reports, social media, etc.) all day makes it harder to wind down with a good book.
5. Meanwhile, here’s a guy who reads good writing every day for his job: “Not every executive can read every book,” he explains. “Everybody’s busy and they don’t have time to read everything.” Clark Speicher works for Hollywood reads a book every day or two (especially Lit), surgically breaks it down beat by beat, and recommends how it be adapted.
6. Every since I started percussion in band in fifth grade, I’ve been tapping on surfaces around me. So I decided to level up and learn the sticking for a tough song: the drum intro for Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher. There’s something satisfying about working through how a song works, it feels similar to doing a Rubik’s Cube in my opinion.
7. There is SO much energy in this Die Spitz show on KEXP, this is a blast.
8. Fela Kuti was a big inspiration for David Byrne and Brian Eno for Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light” album, but I didn’t know Hanif Abduraqib was a creative producer for the recent podcast mini-series “Fela Kuti: Fear No Man.” Plus Jad Abumrad from Radiolab!
9. Love this Instagram account from Nicholas Triolo sharing 200 books about ecology and justice in 200 words or less.
10. With summer heating up, now’s a perfect time to watch an old movie that pairs with higher temps.

See you on down the dusty trail,

In the 2010s, I heard Tim Ferriss share a phrase that guided his work: what would this look like if this were easy?

A question I’ve been asking myself this spring is: What if this were fun?

Most of my best work has come from doing something fun. It’s the rule of cool! Having fun is fun, and fun is contagious. You can tell when a writer is bored by their subject and putting no effort into making it more engaging or readable. You can also tell when a writer is having fun, like Bill Bryson or Hunter S. Thompson or Charles Portis.

Happy Friday,

Cue the music, brew that pot. It’s officially summer, and I’m soaking up LONG and HUMID summer days here in Minnesota and making plans for the summer solstice.

Here are 10 interesting things worth sharing this week:

1. A new PBS documentary about the Mississippi River looks SO good, can’t wait for this to come out.
2. I love following Dave Fogler’s YouTube channel for his time-intensive, pointless house modifications — but also for the midcentury vibes and fun vlogging, and his latest on eliminating corporate logos on his truck is a fun watch.
3. “I have faith that these typewriters are going to lead me somewhere. I don’t know where, but I hope somewhere interesting.” In which Ruth Ozeki discovers the joys of a typewriter. I also enjoyed learning about her writing process journal to aid her writing process.
4. If you’re having trouble writing, try reading, watching movies, going to a museum, or going out with a friend. Austin Kleon’s book “Don’t Call It Art” came out this week, and Chapter #7 is “Problems of output are problems of input.” (He’s making the book tour rounds, and I was happy to see him on the “A Reading Life” substack, too.)
5. I’ve been carrying a Field Notes journal in my back pocket since 2019, and I immediately ordered both sets of their new “Explore America” series, which reminds me of their fantastic “National Parks” series.
6. Larry McMurtry would write five pages a day on his Hermes 3000 typewriter, even stopping in the middle of a sentence to avoid going over his daily limit. I loved reading the Tracy Daugherty biography on him last summer, and the new “Western Star” bio is on my desk now.
7. My Big Summer Book pick right now is “Bag of Bones” (my version is 736 but it’s a small mass market paperback), and I am loving the eerie, summery tension laced throughout this one. I’m only 20% in, but I’m curious why this hasn’t been held up as one of his better books?
8. Resonated this TikTok about how creative backlogs can be a block. I’ve had a bunch of creative ideas rattling around in my head for too long, and doing them and moving on sounds easier and more fun than thinking “I really should do that soon.” Should!
9. There’s a plethora of book clubs and read-alongs on Substack that I’m finally going to give one a try and join Many Meetings on a read-through of The Silmarillion — a book I’ve read a few times but never feel like I quite grasp! Third time’s a charm?
10. “Doing the thing every day is easier than not doing the thing every day.” I regret that rigid consistency helps me do the things I want to do but I do wish I was less all-or-nothing about it.

See you on down the dusty trail,

Happy Friday,

Cue the music, brew that pot. We’ve had some gorgeous spring weather this month, but I think it’s about to feel like full-on summer next week — so I’m squeaking in more time outside before the bugs come out.

Here are 10 interesting things worth sharing this week:

1. My favorite part of big book round-ups like The Guardian’s 100 best novels of all time is how many people react with that old internet adage: why wasn’t I consulted?
2. I agree with David Byrne that creativity comes from following what you’re passionate about. I can tell in my writing what I’m finding interesting and not!
3. Cal Newport’s book “Deep Work” had a big impact on me, and his latest op-ed about how social media has shrunk our attention spans so people are relying on AI to do their thinking for them seems on the mark.
4. New American Masters about Mary Oliver coming out in August looks very good. Wild Geese is of course one of my favorite poems of hers, along with Sleeping in the Forest. I have a CD of her reading her poems in my car that instantly chills me out.
5. I wasn’t familiar with Brad Neely but his typewriter interview with Austin Kleon is my favorite in the series so far.
6. Still thinking about this woman who lived alone in a cave for 500 days, lost count of the days after a few months, and whose response to completing the challenge was “Already? No way. I hadn’t finished my book.”
7. New Olivia Rodrigo song reminds me of Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins and I will not patiently wait for some loud live versions to confirm.
8. TV and movie adaptations are never as good as their books — but there are still adaptations I love (Little Women, Lord of the Rings, Fight Club), and the new East of Eden miniseries looks pretty good.
9. While I haven’t yet started a Big Summer Book, I am enjoying Crime & Punishment (which should really just be called Crime & Overwhelming Guilt) — but Raskilnikov’s guilt and misfortune is actually just really funny to me? I must not be alone because apparently they made a comedy stage adaptation in 2023.
10. I love how many people are into birding these days, and I loved the Listers documentary and am very, very excited the duo is working on their next documentary about the ivory-billed woodpecker.

See you on down the dusty trail,