My favorite niche thing in biographies

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It’s pretty common for cradle-to-grave biographies to open with a few chapters of the subject’s parents or grandparents so readers have a full picture of background. But my absolute, favorite niche thing in two biographies I love is when the author decided that to really understand their subject, they had to go way, way back.

That in order to truly understand a person, you first need to understand the geologic history of where they grew up.

In praise of mass market paperbacks

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There’s something special about vintage mass market paperbacks: those small, cheap books that could fit in your back pocket if they weren’t so thick. Titles with large fonts, a simple cover — the ones often used for the season’s best romance and thriller books, or retro horror. Yellow, dried out paper with a three-dimensionality that grips your finger. Dark typeface that’s easy to read. The ones you see on the rack of grocery stores, Little Free Libraries, and hotels and resort lobbies for bored visitors who didn’t have smartphones.

Friday Favorites 21

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Happy Friday,

Cue the music, brew that pot. It’s been a long, hot week and I could use a lake.

Here are 10 interesting things worth sharing this week:

This New Yorker owns so many books in his studio apartment, his landlord is trying to evict him. (Goals?)
“I always loved this slogan used by the New York State Lotto: ‘Hey, you never know.’ As someone who’s taught writing for many years, I don’t know a better mantra for anyone involved in the arts.” This George Saunders article has so many good nuggets in it. Another: “Someone might have to live a long time before the thing they were born to say becomes fully formed and accessible to them.”
You can now browse every Criterion Closet pick in a virtual closet on this cool web app.
Today is the last day to bid on the American Library Association’s iconic READ posters of celebrities holding their favorite books. (Of course Nicolas Cage’s is Siddhartha.)
I like when people a) make arbitrary stupid goals, and 2) use them as an interesting hook for doing something, so I’m still thinking about how Beau Miles ran a marathon from home by running one mile around his house every hour for 24 hours straight and fitting in as many chores as possible in-between.
I wrote about Henry David Thoreau’s Type II Fun trip camping in the woods, foraging for food, and using some old lumber as a sleeping bag to stay warm at night, which reminds me of this old Dirtbag Diaries podcast episode about the three types of outdoor fun.
How I work isn’t all that different from a Large Language Model: I read a bunch, let the ideas simmer, and then draw on them all — consciously or not — to write. The problem is that now a bunch of stuff I read is AI-generated whether I know it or not, which is affecting the whole process like a genetic mutation.
I’ve been missing the fried bologna sandwiches and classic country bands of Robert’s in Nashville from this time of year last year, so I’ve been listening to this Vintage Country playlist on Spotify a bunch this week.
My Stephen King kick continues with “Different Seasons,” a collection of novellas including “The Body” — which is probably better known for its adaptation into the movie “Stand By Me.” I loved this movie when I was younger: a group of boys hiking, telling stories, getting into mischief and adventure — and I’m delighted how well it was adapted and sad it was banned in Utah schools this week. (I guess they also banned “Bag of Bones” which I also just finished?)
I like this idea of using a typewriter to write a cover of an essay/book you like, like a shorter version you make for yourself.

See you on down the dusty trail,

Books on Isak's Blog

My favorite niche thing in biographies

In praise of mass market paperbacks

Friday Favorites 21