I’m a big fan of what you call “human-created content,” which we used to call “writing.” It’s like listening to vinyl instead of Spotify, I guess. Some of us get it. Some of us don’t. I contend that more of us should vote on this subject with our feet. Ears. Eyes. You know.
As slop takes over our lives the value of human-created words is going up. People are scanning for AI-written content now. Your credibility is on the line. Good job you kept your writing sharp for the last two years and didn’t rely on ChatGPT, eh?
Eh?
So. To write well, you must keep your practice up. It’s like going to the gym or playing squash. You can’t expect to step into the arena after having done nothing for months and perform well. That’s why I write for an hour every weekday morning before I get out of bed. I finished my first novel in July and I’m working on my second. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to write again during the day once I’m out of bed. I’m blessed to work in a field, “communications,” where writing is important. Although it might surprise you to hear that a lot of my job is about talking people into being clearer. More persuasive. It’s less often about actually doing that myself.
Every evening I read 50 pages of a book. It can be nonfiction or fiction. I’m not picky. I often read while my son is in the bath or while I’m making dinner. Reading like this is the best way to keep my writing sharp. It means I avoid scrolling, or consuming content that isn’t helping my brain to somehow make sense of…2026.
On Sunday I finished reading a friend’s memoir and offered him some notes. I also finished Bill Browder’s book, Red Notice, about corruption in Russia. My friend Dmitriy recommended it and I was grateful. Mr. Browder has a compelling narrative voice and I turned the pages fast towards the end.
These are the next books in my queue for the fall:
Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead. It’s a heist book, the last in a trilogy about Harlem. I love heists and I’m intrigued by the premise. I’ve got to read all three, I realized, so I’m starting with the first and second books before I get to this one.
Lords of Serendipity by Randy Boyagoda is a satire of the university system. The more I hear about contemporary academia the more I cannot wait to read it.
Crossing the Wine Dark Sea by Emily Wilson is a collection on Greek myths by the writer who slammed The Odyssey. The movie version. She said the food all looked bad and there was no sex. That’s a person with the ability to call a spade a spade.
Switzy by Emma Cline is a book about a man on the way to Switzerland to die after a dementia diagnosis. The reviews have been persuasive and since that’s my plan if I get such a diagnosis, I’m intrigued.
Redwood by Ben Macintyre is a cold war spy history and I’ll never tire of those. The author wrote Operation Mincemeat, which I also enjoyed.
The Colossus of Maroussi is an ancient book by Henry Miller. I have no idea how it made its way onto my reading list, but despite that, I’m going to read it, because it’s there.
The Disappearers by Marlon James is about gay life and violence in Jamaica. It’s going to win the booker and cannot live up to the hype. Still it can’t be that bad, can it?
Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton is about the resurrection of an italian village by a giant truffle. I have a feeling I’ll need cheering up after the previous book!
What’s on your reading list for the fall?
