Coming to this late but I wanted to throw out to your mom reader that I release an extraordinarily occasional newsletter that curates stories of creative mothers and keep a related reading list.
Loved the work/life balance article--it’s wonderful you are including your children in your creative work. It will be fun to see where they go with their own creativity. My children are all grown and it’s so rewarding to see who they have become. For my firstborn who loved legos, electrical experiment kits, piano, art and ended up becoming an architect and now has a sustainability software startup along with his programmer brother--good friends now. (Not to mention my LARP, costume designer daughter following her dreams! And my other daughter majoring in animal science!) enjoy the “ride”. :)
I have thoughts for your new reader/new mom! I remember thinking Operating Instructions was the funniest thing I'd EVER read, when I read it during my first kid's first year. So even though it's definitely her processing some hard stuff, it's totally poignantly wonderful, in true AL fashion.
Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller is just wonderful. You don't need to be Buddhist to appreciate her take on the preciousness of early motherhood (or how it sometimes resembles the ego dissolution you might experience at long, intense Zen meditation retreats)...
Again, not purely "upside" but it doesn't get more fun than Amateur Hour: Motherhood in Essays & Swear Words (2018) by Kimberly Harrington. And new mom's can definitely use a good laugh!
My "mother studies" list is about 50+ books strong, but now I'm looking to add more novels that center on the experience of motherhood/parenthood, if anyone else has recs!
My comment is in response to #10 on your Friday list. The theme of Motherhood in the artworld has been pretty trendy in the last 3-5 years, In my opinion. Maybe through this lens, women can relate to their own lives and choice in being a mom. A book that looks promising is "How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood by Qiana Mestrich and Michi Jigarjian (rediculously expensive on Amazon). The authors have a Tumbler site for the book inviting posts. It was interesting. https://howwedoboth.tumblr.com/#:~:text=How%20We%20Do%20Both%3A%20Art%20and%20Motherhood%2C%202nd%20Ed.,the%20power%20of%20individual%20choice.
Hi Austin, speaking of Instagram, I would love to see your posts, but my account was suspended. I wouldn’t provide my birth date (as if social media really cares about how old a user is). I do miss seeing your posts, but I do not miss Instagram in the least. Thanks for your latest newsletter which is always fun and interesting to read.
This is written by an economist but it’s definitely positive on the upside of having kids. And I think he has a bunch of kids. Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids https://a.co/d/bGeDDCc
The Husband and I stumbled on “Barry” and were delighted to find something that keeps us guessing. Especially by the way he satirizes Hollywood and acting.
Love the notion that the internet is the past. It reminds me that when you read my assurance that "I'm going to ..." it has already happened if I told the truth. But in most cases, I didn't and you're not surprised. Why we're surprised by the internet is a mystery to me.
Thanks for the graphic novel recommendations! I love reading graphic novels during the summer time, maybe because it makes me feel like a kid on summer vacation. The upside to not being a kid: when the clock hits 6, I too am pouring myself a spritz. I have been rotating through Campari, Aperol, and Punt e Mes variants of what you described. All go great with a blood orange. Cheers! 🥂
Ironic, I know, but All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior is a great book about how to go back to the everyday simple reason of why having kids is worth it. Like most huge life changing events, it’s a project that changes and evolves and requires internal and external noticing! And yes, to my mind, very much worth it!
Isabel Reitemeyer! Amazing. I know from experience that a prerequisite to finding uncanny/interesting/hilarious combinations of images is to have a TON of source material to play with. Not to take away from her knack for juxtaposition, or her talent. Only to say that those kinds of happy finds don't occur when you only have a few magazines lying around. You have to be a collage-material-packrat.
Add this to the files: Ann Patchett’s wonderful new essay collection These Precious Days has an essay called “There Are No Children Here” about her choosing not to have kids and her experience of being questioned for this decision when male authors often aren’t.
I second this recommendation! Was coming here to add it to the list. I just listened to the audio of Patchett’s collection, and as a woman without children I found it so relatable. The essay about how Snoopy taught her to be a writer may also be of interest to this group.
Coming to this late but I wanted to throw out to your mom reader that I release an extraordinarily occasional newsletter that curates stories of creative mothers and keep a related reading list.
Sign up and reading list here: https://kimberlyhirsh.com/genetrix/
Archives here: https://buttondown.email/genetrixletter/archive/
Some more books for creative moms (I'm always on the lookout for them too!!) 1.Good Mom on Paper
2. In Their Mothers Eyes; Women Photographers and Their Children.
Loved the work/life balance article--it’s wonderful you are including your children in your creative work. It will be fun to see where they go with their own creativity. My children are all grown and it’s so rewarding to see who they have become. For my firstborn who loved legos, electrical experiment kits, piano, art and ended up becoming an architect and now has a sustainability software startup along with his programmer brother--good friends now. (Not to mention my LARP, costume designer daughter following her dreams! And my other daughter majoring in animal science!) enjoy the “ride”. :)
I have thoughts for your new reader/new mom! I remember thinking Operating Instructions was the funniest thing I'd EVER read, when I read it during my first kid's first year. So even though it's definitely her processing some hard stuff, it's totally poignantly wonderful, in true AL fashion.
Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller is just wonderful. You don't need to be Buddhist to appreciate her take on the preciousness of early motherhood (or how it sometimes resembles the ego dissolution you might experience at long, intense Zen meditation retreats)...
Again, not purely "upside" but it doesn't get more fun than Amateur Hour: Motherhood in Essays & Swear Words (2018) by Kimberly Harrington. And new mom's can definitely use a good laugh!
My "mother studies" list is about 50+ books strong, but now I'm looking to add more novels that center on the experience of motherhood/parenthood, if anyone else has recs!
I’d be interested in your list if you’re able to share.
Books on motherhood and art: Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott; Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons, both by Shirley Jackson.
My comment is in response to #10 on your Friday list. The theme of Motherhood in the artworld has been pretty trendy in the last 3-5 years, In my opinion. Maybe through this lens, women can relate to their own lives and choice in being a mom. A book that looks promising is "How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood by Qiana Mestrich and Michi Jigarjian (rediculously expensive on Amazon). The authors have a Tumbler site for the book inviting posts. It was interesting. https://howwedoboth.tumblr.com/#:~:text=How%20We%20Do%20Both%3A%20Art%20and%20Motherhood%2C%202nd%20Ed.,the%20power%20of%20individual%20choice.
Hi Austin, speaking of Instagram, I would love to see your posts, but my account was suspended. I wouldn’t provide my birth date (as if social media really cares about how old a user is). I do miss seeing your posts, but I do not miss Instagram in the least. Thanks for your latest newsletter which is always fun and interesting to read.
This is written by an economist but it’s definitely positive on the upside of having kids. And I think he has a bunch of kids. Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids https://a.co/d/bGeDDCc
The Husband and I stumbled on “Barry” and were delighted to find something that keeps us guessing. Especially by the way he satirizes Hollywood and acting.
Love the notion that the internet is the past. It reminds me that when you read my assurance that "I'm going to ..." it has already happened if I told the truth. But in most cases, I didn't and you're not surprised. Why we're surprised by the internet is a mystery to me.
Thanks for the graphic novel recommendations! I love reading graphic novels during the summer time, maybe because it makes me feel like a kid on summer vacation. The upside to not being a kid: when the clock hits 6, I too am pouring myself a spritz. I have been rotating through Campari, Aperol, and Punt e Mes variants of what you described. All go great with a blood orange. Cheers! 🥂
That’s a good idea I need to get some of that San pellegrino blood orange to mix
Ironic, I know, but All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior is a great book about how to go back to the everyday simple reason of why having kids is worth it. Like most huge life changing events, it’s a project that changes and evolves and requires internal and external noticing! And yes, to my mind, very much worth it!
Isabel Reitemeyer! Amazing. I know from experience that a prerequisite to finding uncanny/interesting/hilarious combinations of images is to have a TON of source material to play with. Not to take away from her knack for juxtaposition, or her talent. Only to say that those kinds of happy finds don't occur when you only have a few magazines lying around. You have to be a collage-material-packrat.
This writer shares the gut punches of parenthood well and what she wears while doing it. https://leandramcohen.substack.com/p/i-had-no-idea-how-much-being-a-mother?r=1ys4g&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
Add this to the files: Ann Patchett’s wonderful new essay collection These Precious Days has an essay called “There Are No Children Here” about her choosing not to have kids and her experience of being questioned for this decision when male authors often aren’t.
I second this recommendation! Was coming here to add it to the list. I just listened to the audio of Patchett’s collection, and as a woman without children I found it so relatable. The essay about how Snoopy taught her to be a writer may also be of interest to this group.