Off the road again

10 things worth sharing this week

Hey y’all,

I am back home in Austin, Texas. Here are my 10 things worth sharing this week:

1. Don’t Call It Art is officially a national bestseller! Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this book. Austin, Nashville, and Cleveland were such fun events — great questions, fun signing lines. BookPeople, Parnassus, and Mac’s Backs have signed copies now. (Easy Father’s Day gift!) I’m delighted by the reader response so far, but especially by how many kids have apparently stolen the book off their parents’ coffee table and read it? (I heard from one parent who said their teenager discovered they have aphantasia from the ending of the book? Amazing.) If you got the book and love it, a 5-star review on Amazon or Goodreads goes a long way.
   
   

2. “If you’re in a rut, kids can show you the way out.” Elle Hunt did a deep dive into my work for The Guardian.
   
   

3. Cartoon pilgrimage: I spent a good part of last week visiting friends and family in Ohio, but I slipped away for a few hours to see the absolutely incredible Chris Ware and The Story of Comics exhibits at the newly-redesigned Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in Columbus, Ohio. Here’s a little sneak peek inside and behind-the-scenes look at Ware’s installation. I really cannot recommend this place highly enough.
   
   

4. Podcasts: So many fun conversations I had with lovely people dropped this week! I talked to Walter Martin about the raw power of demos, Gretchen Rubin about punk rock and being bad, Jason Chatfield about Jungian mid-life stuff, Joanna Penn about paper reference books, Andy J. Pizza about the opposite of depression, Tim Bogatz about setting up a summer practice that can sustain you throughout the year, and Brendan O’Meara about Metallica and Marshawn Lynch. (We talked about my book, too, of course!)
   
   

5. After writing about my 4 notebooks for Noted, I thought it would be fun to share an unvarnished look inside my book tour diary:

   

6. Peak Gemini season: ”Hello, Syracuse and the world. My name is Prince and I’ve come to play with you.” Prince & The Revolution, live in Syracuse, 1985.
   
   

7. Book recommendations: I was so exhausted and busy traveling that I didn’t read much this week, but I did call into The Sound of Ideas to plug Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop and I helped my friend Ryan Holiday pick some big books for summer for Morning Joe. (I recommend Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove.)
   
   

8. Plane music: Nine Inch Noize. Rental truck music: Sturgill Simpson’s Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1.
   
   

9. “I believe there’s a charm in having something tangible to hold in your hands…” Tom Hanks visits Berkeley Typewriter, Japan loves zines, and fans turn to physical media.
   
   

10. “You don’t know for sure what you’re getting and that’s part of the excitement… not knowing and surprising myself.” RIP photographer Duane Michals, who “considered himself lucky that he didn’t have to ’unlearn’ what was taught in art school.” I love what he said about seeing Magritte for the first time: “That’s the great response: ‘What the hell’s this?’”
    

Thanks for reading! This hand-rolled publication is made possible thanks to the kind support of readers like you. The best way you can support my work right now is to buy the new book. Liana Finck says it’s a “smart and joyful book” and Alan Jacobs says it’s my best!

xoxo,

Austin

P.S. Shout-out to Ruby and Cleo in Cleveland, Ohio, who gave me drawing lessons, showed their work, and, for the brief hour we spent together, made everything in my book come true: