ask me some questions

enjoying saying nothing and loads of reading recommendations

I’ve been having a bit of time off and it’s been wonderful. As I posted on Notes, I’ve been enjoying having Nothing To Say.

But I’m slowly coming back. And while I’ve got things on, I’ve also been putting some thought into what I’ll be making moving forward and much of it will be here on Substack.

I’m looking forward to experimenting on here and yesterday you might have seen my short meditation on memory and paid subscribers received a smattering of poetry readings beyond the paywall.

poetry recital

At some point, I’ll give this letter full podcast functionality so you can listen to it on whatever player you tend to use but today…

I’m going to take this opportunity to gather questions from you.

And while I’ll consider most topics fair game, readers of the outlier or of my books will have some idea of what I tend to write about and consider (you can check the newsletter archive here) but I have previously written for work about topics you might not associate me with. Some suggested avenues for exploration could be:

• Books and reading

• Writing books and other things

• Professional sport and its lessons

• Habits and staying healthy

• ‘Influencing’, TikTok and being online

• Career change

Whatever your question, post it in a comment on this piece or email me a response if you’d prefer it not be public.

three substacks

Nothing To Say by Sophia Efthimiatou

To have nothing to say is liberating. For one, you immediately notice that everyone around you has yet to reach that conclusion.

The irony of someone who makes digital noise for a living enjoying this piece is not lost on me but to be fair, Efthimiatou is not calling for people to stop creating but for ‘a shared silence’ to enable everything to be properly received. I tend to agree with her.

Eating In Bed by Jo Hamya

A piece of bread with black truffle butter, a fistful of blueberries. Roasted pork, bowls of scotch broth. Little kisses we bring to each other’s mouths. I care about you, is what they represent. I want you to know that I care.

One of my favourite recent reads by the writer of one of last year’s best novels, Hamya’s paean to taking your food to bed is beautifully done.

A wild scandal rocks the slow-clothes demimonde by Blackbird Spyplane

One of my favourite letters for its incredible narrative voice, the Plane discuss how Zara copying a small, independent designer’s work isn’t limited to the clothes themselves but to the context they exist in.

three books

In between bouts of Brothers Karamazov, which I’m increasingly enjoying but have not made mountains of progress with, I’ve polished off a couple of books.

All Fours by Miranda July is an odd book. It’s extremely well written, frequently funny, shocking and honest but it’s also quite irritating. The central character enacts a selfishness that could be read as radical but I found much of the book affected rather than kooky. I know nothing of July and her work so any autofictional context was lost on me and while I’m pleased to have read something so singular, I’d hesitate to say it was good. If you read and enjoyed All Fours I’d be interested to hear your reasons!

I’ve never read John Boyne before but his new book Earth jumped off the shelf at me in Hay-On-Wye. It quite bravely details a trial where footballer Evan and his teammate, two extremely different characters, are accused of a grim sexual assault. Evan makes for a compelling narrator for all sorts of reasons I won’t spoil and Boyne handles a recognisable and difficult topic with sensitivity. It’s the kind of short book you wish was a bit longer.

a listen

I’m reading out loud here or if you prefer, here’s Dylan Thomas reading his most famous poem.

a quote

Say goodbye to urgency culture. You don't have to reply to that message now. Your email can wait. You don't have to live with anxiety because of the weird expectations of others.

– Cory Allen

lastly

Thanks for reading! My work is made possible by you so if you’d like to support me you can buy my books, hire me to do something or you can become a paid subscriber using the button below.

If you want to help me out for free, you can share this letter with someone who might enjoy it, either on social media or by directly sending it to them using the button.

I’ll see you next time.