Eat Your Heart Out, E.T. 👽
a case for Threads, a Middle-earth book hike, aliens
Before I get into today’s free post—I send these every Thursday!—I want to say hello and welcome to the new faces that have showed up here lately. You’re not a number, you’re a person and I'm grateful you’re here.
Today’s post is divided into three things that have been on my mind lately. Have a read and be sure to say hello in the comments if you haven’t yet. I love “meeting” you here!
i. Threads, the shiny new text-based app Instagram created to supplant Twitter, has been out for a whole three weeks. I have thoughts.
When I first heard of Threads (in a Substack comment thread, ironically) I was intrigued but skeptical. I didn’t need more social media in my life, but the idea of a stripped down, simplistic approach to communicating online definitely interested me.
I’ve been using it for around 21 days and, while it hasn’t changed my life dramatically, watching the discourse crop up around it has been fascinating. Most shockingly, the pretentiousness I’ve seen from people choosing not to use Threads has been jarring. More on that in a minute.
I’m not arguing that anyone should implement more social media in their life when they want less of it, but here’s where I’ve landed (for now): I like having differing formats of social media. As someone who lives with a chronic illness while raising two kids and zero childcare, my capacity from week-to-week is wildly unpredictable. Each platform I’m on for my work (TikTok, Instagram, Substack and now Threads) requires varying levels of energy to show up on.
Does this mean I put effort into all of these platforms all the time? Of course not. I’m not a machine. What it means (for me anyway) is that I take stock of my wavering capacity week-to-week and show up the platform I have energy for that day.
If I’m in a high energy place, I show up on those apps. If I’m experiencing a flare of PMDD and bedridden from the symptoms, it’s nice to connect with others in a low-energy way on Threads.
This is why I’m staunchly against the pretentiousness that has leaked out when I’ve seen people declaring they won’t be joining Threads. To be fair, I’ve seen a handful of people saying, “It’s not for me.” and respectfully moving on with their lives.
But what I’ve seen more of—especially here on Substack—is an approach of, “I won’t be joining Threads because I’m not a mindless pawn sucked into every new thing like everyone else. I have a Substack Publication, which thus infers my intellectual superiority over the masses.” *pats self on back*
Just a reminder: you can make personal choices on where you want to invest your time without being condescending to those choosing differently than you.
If you choose to abstain from Threads, I respect that. If you choose to use it for the tool it can be in your life, I respect that too. It’s not hard.
ii. We’re returning to Middle-earth this September.
This will be the third year in a row I’ve hosted a read-through of The Lord of the Rings. As more people join every year its becoming my favorite fall tradition.
But why do I call it a read-through and not a book club? Because it’s not a book club. There are no deadlines or schedules or weekly zoom meetings you have to show up for while trying to keep the kids quiet. My goal is to make the intimidating works of Tolkien accessible and inviting. I do this with the most laid back approach possible (deadlines and schedules make me itchy anyway).
How it works:
We’ll all start reading on the same day (September 22nd). After that, I encourage everyone to read at their own pace. First timers and audiobooks are all welcome!
For some gentle accountability, I’ll be hosting Middle-earth Mondays every week (on social media as well as on another super secret undisclosed space where I’ll be giving you additional resources, videos and community hangouts, eek!).
There you’ll be invited to join in and share where you’re at in the story—ask questions, share perspectives give insights! Much like a mug of ale at the Green Dragon, this story is richer when enjoyed with others.
My aim is for the weekly check-ins to be casual, informative and fun. And if you don’t have the capacity to read these books come fall/winter but still want to engage in the community surrounding the 2023 read-through, you’re more than welcome to come hang out with us!
So, it’s not a book club, it’s more of a book…hike? Think of reading Lord of the Rings with me like going on a trail with someone who’s done it many times versus venturing out on it by yourself. Sure, you’d probably be fine, but you’re going to have a much more enriching time with other people who know the path, know how to get to the best views and what to pack to get the most out the adventure.
Side note: if you want to pregame your Lord of the Rings read-through with me by reading The Hobbit and/or The Silmarillion, you have just under two months to make that happen. I’m currently listening to the The Silmarillion on Audible with a 3 months free promo (offer ends July 31st, I’m not an affiliate). The version narrated by Andy Serkis is glorious.
I read The Silmarillion for the first time this year and I can’t wait to see how it adds even more dimension to the familiar story of the Lord of the Rings this time around!
A Middle-earth book hike starting September 22nd, you’re coming, right?
*Elrond voice* “We shall be the Fellowship of the Read-Through.”
iii. News flash: there are possibly aliens among us. How are we feeling about that? Everyone ok?
I don’t know what to say except it’s weird. Everything is weird. Who knows what’s real anymore? Am I real anymore?
The older I get, the less I know and the more I’m ok with that. Meanwhile, I’m going to be over here recovering from the world’s worst haircut, making killer smoothies, and enjoying the memory of throwing my kids a Crocodile Hunter birthday party this month.
The aliens may or may not be coming for our nuclear weapons, but they can’t steal the joy of dressing our family in khaki to have a pretend crocodile expedition with our summer babies.
Eat your heart out, E.T.
What a time to be alive right? Headlines like these make this famous quote by C.S. Lewis feel continually relevant:
“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.” -C.S. Lewis
This is what’s been on my mind lately.
What’s something you’ve been thinking about?
I love this! I’ve got a physical copy of the LOTR books headed my way so I can read along with you for the very first time!
Reading the Silmarillion sounds like a great way to end the summer. I'm toying with the idea of joining the reqd through and making it a slow and steady read. I read the books back when the movies were releasing so it's been a minute.
Also, the UFO talk is surreal. It feels like a clip from Independence Day or Roswell or maybe the History Channels many series on UFOs. That coupled with AI fear... are we living in a sci-fi novel? It's a weird time to be alive.