grazing the internet, August edition

Some things I read on the world wide web in August, about everything from berries to divorces, cats to money (and more).

Lately: On Sunday, I woke up, finished the essay collection I’d been reading all week, immediately started a short novel, finished it before 9 p.m. and started a memoir I’ve been looking forward to reading before bed. I roasted a chicken and then fried rice and vegetables in the fat rendered in the pan and drank one can of beer late in the evening, and I dare you to tell me about a better way to spend the middle day of a holiday long weekend. … Anyways, here’s some (non-book) stuff I read in August. I tried to draw a bit more from farther-flung corners of the internet (which is to say: a bit less legacy media), and some of my favorite pieces were actually published right here on Substack.

clockwise from top left: a novel I read in eight hours, my Monday morning walk, it's football season, a cat nap

What to read …

The Tail End, by Sloane Crosley in the New Yorker … read this if you’re interested in:

• great writing

• cats

• crying today

The Machine in the Garden, by Emily Sundberg in Feed Me … read this if you’re interested in:

• the internet

• the line between content and writing

• how algorithms (and other factors) flatten creativity online