Comfort and Joy
Finding a little respite in an unrelenting era
In my last newsletter, which was far too long ago, I talked about how everything is awful. So, as a corrective measure, I’m going to try to drop a couple of things that have been giving me comfort and joy (comfort and joy.) Which, by the way, we are allowed to have. Obviously, it should go without saying that if you’re here and reading this that reading brings us all pleasure in bleak times. But what else?
Crochet. I think I’ve mentioned before in this newsletter that I started to crochet as a way to create a barrier between my hands and my phone. I started by making tiny stuffed animals, and how I’m off to the races with blankets, dog sweaters, hats, and more. It’s so nice to have a tangible, though often flawed, item at the end of a project, which satisfies the Capricorn rising in me. It’s also a nice measurement of how anxious I am, since the amount of stitches has been pretty proportional to the amount of stress I’m feeling. Note that this was also a skill I learned on my own from videos and easy patterns online. Yes, the internet may have destroyed democracy, but at least I can still learn a skill or two from it. If I can do it, you can too.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary had left the WJM station by the time I was born, but I became vaguely acquainted with her through old Nick at Nite reruns (look it up, kids), and as a lover of pop culture of course I know that it’s pretty much the blueprint for workplace comedies. But I’ve never attempted a watch of the whole show until now. This era has me feeling nostalgic for other times, even ones in which I didn’t exist, and there’s no better way to explore that than with some comedy, most of which kind of holds up. The first season was fine, but you can see that where I am now in the second season is when the show starts to hit its stride. You can recognize all of the characters’ DNA in our favorite sitcom characters for the past few decades. Can’t recommend it enough as a comfort watch, and you’ll want one of everything she wears. See below. Plus, best theme song of all time?
One Second a Day. If I must be connected to social media, then I’ve got to find a way to make it remain fun for me. This year, I got the One Second a Day app to compile one second a day that feels special for me and post them as a video. I did one for January and February. Stay tuned for March. It’s been a nice way to make me reflect on the parts of the days I love.
OK, books. I read a bunch of good ones. Here are a few!
Oh, and happy Trans Day of Visibility!
THE LIBRARY IS OPEN
Mothers and Sons
by Adam Haslett (2025)
Sad, literate gay boys everywhere felt a tingle up their spines when we were alerted to a new Adam Haslett book on the horizon at the beginning of this year. Those of us in the know have been following along since You Are Not a Stranger Here, a collection of short stories that managed rip readers’ hearts to shreds and convey fully formed characters in 30 pages or fewer. Plus, some of his characters were gay, and somehow his book appeared on the general Litfic shelves at Borders (RIP) rather than the Gender and Sexuality shelves. Imagine.
Several grim and genius novels followed in which gay men were tasked with navigating complicated families and psychologically deep plots. So, while the novel was a lovely surprise, its plot was not. And thank goodness. Peter is an overworked and under-appreciated lawyer in his 40s, handling a far too many immigration cases at a boutique firm run by mentors of his. Single and not looking for love, he lives a life of solitude and fleeting encounters. His semi-estranged mother, Ann, married a woman after the death of her husband and moved to set up a women’s retreat center in Vermont where she helps ease the trauma of its visitors through conversation. Ann wishes Peter would visit, but he’s always too busy and finds it easier to live a life apart from her. Awkward communications ensue!
One day a young, gay client breaks through Peter’s emotional barrier, and he’s faced to confront his past in a way that involves reengaging with his mom. We flashback to Peter’s youth and a series of events that explain his shaky relationship with his mother and why this particular client has pierced his icy clinical veil. After the first part of the book guides us through a crazy cycle of court cases which feature - you guessed it - mothers and sons, the rest of the book unfolds slowly and leads to a lovely but untidy emotional climax. Plus, it’s timely as our legal aid lawyers in the immigration space are working overtime. Adam Haslett rules. Get into him if you’re not already.
Read it if you like: mother and sons stories, gay protagonists, legal proceedings written by an actual law school graduate, bittersweet reunions, books that are better than their covers, jeez.
Nicked
by M.T. Anderson (2024)
Clever title alert! We’re dropped into eleventh century Italy where a young, idealist monk, Brother Nicephorus, has had a dream of Saint Nicholas, which he decides is a calling from above to care for the sick and disaffected. But who hasn’t had a boss that’s taken a simple idea, interpreted it in a way that serves their own goals, and created a bog old mess? Our lowly monk’s dreams according to his superiors and the men who pay them are a sign that Saint Nicholas’s holy and decomposing body must be put on display in the city of Bari, since it’s lacking a saint, and of course to cure the plague that has befallen the people there. Rather than delivering presents, this Old Saint Nick’s bones weep a liquid that heals the sick.
Enter Tyun, a bounty hunter for treasure and strapping gentleman with strong appetites, who comes to town to offer to manage the voyage to steal the bones of Saint Nick. He'll only charge an enormous fortune, but at least Bari will be able to outbid those monsters in Venice who also want the bones. His crew of marauders will need a guide to help them, so of course they’ll bring the dreamer himself, Brother Nicephorus, along with them on their ship. And off to Myra (currently in Türkiye) they go! Thus, Nick is about to be nicked. Or is he?
What follows is a heist novel, a war novel, a dark comedy, a historical fiction tale, and a slow burn gay love story all at once. And Anderson does it all in 223 pages. Not a word is wasted either - the clever dialogue is so funny. I kind of can’t believe this book tries to be so much and gets away with it. On top of everything else, it’s based on real events. Check it out. You’ll never think of Santa the same way again.
Read it if you like: heists, 11th century comedies, lies and treachery, monastic flirting, the weeping bones of an 800 year old saint.
The Talent
by Daniel D’addario (2025)
I’m still sitting with how I feel about this novel to be honest, but I wanted to include it here because a book could not be pitched more down the middle to someone like me. As an avid Oscar watcher, of course I understand that the best part of award season is watching the actresses (whether lead or supporting.) And this novel imagines the behind the scenes drama of award season through the lens of the Best Actress race, where all the good drama seems to accumulate. Like this year, when Mikey Madison, a young ingenue burst onto the scene to win over a Hollywood legend with the role of a lifetime (Demi Moore), an international icon whose home country would fight a war for her (Fernanda Torres), the first trans woman to ever be nominated and whose tweets you should absolutely not read (Karla Maria Gascón), and an ethereally talented Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo.) Every year, it’s what we live for.
In this novel version, written by a Variety writer and longtime entertainment journalist, we also have five actress vying for the prize, all with various characteristics that you can map on to real life actresses. We’ve got differing POVs per chapter, including all out nominees: a multiple prize-winning grande dame of the screen back to set a record, an up and coming star whose penchant for the bottle is equally as bad as her choices in love, the child star making a big splash in her first adult role, the charming Brit storming our shores with a powerful performance, and the perennial nominee who can never quite achieve victory. What do they owe each other? Or themselves? Or us?
It’s a frothy and fun ride, and if you like the Oscars, you’ll be happy to receive some gems about the season. It’s hard to land a plane at the Telluride Film Festival! It’s impossible to recover from a bad night on SNL! No one enjoys putting together the actress roundtables that appear on the covers of various magazines! Best news of all: the author doesn’t leave you hanging, and there’s an actual winner at the end of book. A quick read that will tide you over until the next Oscar season dawns.
Read it if you like: awards drama, being an actressexual, thinking about Meryl Streep and Glenn Close more than the average person, Oscar trivia, distractions from things that are important.
AND BY THE WAY
Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything
by Collette Shade (2025)
A bonus book this week. I don’t have a ton to say about it, but I really enjoyed this essay question about the first decade of the millennium and all of the many things it created. For example, as its blurb says: AOL Instant Messenger, the Hummer, bling era rap, and low-rise jeans, to McMansions, anti-Bush chain emails, Abu Ghraib, and the subprime mortgage crisis. (By the way, the Y2K era in this book is described as 1997-2008 for very good reasons.) If you’re looking for some comfort in the relatively less evil days of W, I’d recommend reminiscing.
LIGHTNING ROUND
By the time this newsletter is released, either Martyr! or James will have won the Tournament of Books! Strong finalists!
A wonderful roundtable about books is something you should read.
Are you watching The White Lotus? Are you having some feelings you need explained?
Until next time…happy reading!