Choose your own longform journalism adventure
Monday reading #38
Monday Reading is my weekly recommendation of something I’ve found thought-provoking or fascinating. Sometimes it is about something I have read. Sometimes it is about television or food or music or projects I care about supporting. Sometimes I do not send it on Monday. Please share with anyone who might like the vibes!
As you probably know, the perfect is in fact the enemy of the good for me, so instead of trying to craft the perfect newsletter, I’m collecting the stuff I’ve been saving in Pocket. I think you’ll find something you like here!
“In the Cemetery Where Jenni Rivera Is Buried,” Myriam Gurba, Alta Journal: Myriam Gurba on a pivotal time spent in queer spaces and places in Long Beach, California
“Losing a Beloved Community,” Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker: an excerpt from a forthcoming book about the collapse of an evangelical left church, Circle of Hope, in Philadelphia
“Against Women’s Writing,” Andrea Long Chu, New York: A review of Rachel Cusk’s new novel Parade and a meticulous untangling of Cusk’s—this sounds blunter than it is—ideological project as a novelist.
“My Father and the Withering of Liberal Zionism,” Ayelet Waldman, New York: Complex, devastating piece about Waldman’s family history and her recent participation in a Rabbis for Ceasefire protest at the Gaza border.
"The Broad Appeal of the Elsa Dress,” Abigail Covington, New York Times (full version here!): A great story about kids’ affinity for the Frozen character Elsa’s dress, which, full disclosure, includes a mention of my family :)
Like I said, I think you’ll find something here to enjoy.
See you soon!
Some related recommendations:
PS: In response to the very reasonable question “what’s up with this newsletter,” I’m … working on it. If you are a paid subscriber, thank you. It makes a very big difference to me. I’d love to send you a copy of my latest essay on a bizarre midcentury law enforcement experiment. (You can also buy it here!)
I always enjoy reading your perspective.