A Book Better Than its Title

Of the Week: What I'm reading, writing, and eating

I missed publishing the last two weeks! And will be moving away from a strict essay every other week schedule into something that allows me some more flexibility. Basically, a short note weekly until I have the essays ready to share. Keeping this newsletter going has only increased in importance to me over the years, and I see the need to keep it evolving/sustainable. I want to write more about art and publishing, and needing to make space for that here. Over the next two weeks I’m looking forward to attending the openings of “Notes on Motherhood” at ASU’s Art Museum tomorrow and “Safety Blankets: Discourse on Neurodivergence” at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum Sept 13. More to come and I hope you’re all taking care.

Reading

I just finished “Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them” by Karl Pillemer and thought it was a much better book than the prescriptive title led me to believe. That book sat on my shelf for a few years, and when I picked it up in August, I found it to be more a compilation of stories from Pillemer’s years of interviews than self-help. I’m still reading “A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance” by Hanif Abdurraqib and am just starting “Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them” by Dan Saladino (in preparation for Alicia Kennedy’s las bookclub discussion of the year.)

From newsletterland, I’ve been grateful to read Reading for yourself by

Cameron Steele

, Let’s Talk About Tofu (Part 1: Unseasoned Block Tofu) by

Xueci Cheng

, and LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be caregivers, at a detriment to their health by Fitzwilliam Anderson.

Writing

I’m making a zine series out of this newsletter! For Phoenix Zine Fest (which I’m tabling at on Sept 14 — come say hi if you’re local), I’m picking a few essays and working on a simple template. Having a physical version of The Good Enough Weekly is something I’ve been thinking about for a while and zine fest is the time to try it. Will report back.

Eating

Vegetarian potato, pepper, and cabbage tacos made by Nica of TheRemedy were zine-binding fuel last Sunday — just what I needed. A salted plum spritz from Cuentos Café inside Palabras Bookstore. Bucatini in roasted tomato and eggplant sauce. Romaine salad with a balsamic dressing on repeat is getting us through the continued 100F days.

---

The Good Enough Weekly comes out on Fridays, alternating essays and shorter updates. I also take on freelance editing and writing projects. Reach out if you’re looking for help in those departments — I’ve worked on everything from zines to textbooks. More info here.