1. Books I want to read: Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, and Inciting Joy: Essays. I just finished Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and You Could Make This Place Beautiful and really enjoyed both.

2. My Taste Is Basic. So What? “In an essay from her new book ‘Quietly Hostile,’ author Samantha Irby explains how three simple words can stop judgmental friends in their tracks.”

3. How to be more creative, according to psychology. “From keeping dream diaries to using particular emotional regulation strategies, here’s the research on how to boost creativity, digested.”

4. Depth. “Personalized journal prompts to help you understand and navigate how you feel. Powered by AI, built by Reflection.app.” Y’all, I’m still so unsure about how to feel about AI. In related news, Professional human loser and AI as intern from Austin Kleon. Also this, Man Fakes His Entire Life for a Month With Convincing AI-Generated Photos.

5. The Benefits of TikTok’s Latest Really Good Idea, ‘Soft Hiking.’ Or an alternative title for me, “When What You Were Already Doing Becomes A Thing.”

6. Mary Ruefle on the joy of blackout poetry from Austin Kleon. Also from Austin, The thing that sticks out.

7. Keep Going: sustaining a creative practice. “Austin Kleon’s little books are packed with wisdom for creatives. Keep Going is about sustaining a creative practice – with kindness and fun.”

8. Rachel W. Cole’s latest newsletter includes a really great question to ask yourself: “If I didn’t need to take any action (maybe if action was prohibited), the hunger I would admit to having is…”

9. 12 Things to Remember When You Are Overwhelmed from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

10. The Story of Why I Decided to Become a Mom from Alexandra Franzen. I could write a similar piece about why I decided not to.

11. A Primer on Growth by Gretchen Schmelzer.

12. Maya Angelou on Writing and Our Responsibility to Our Creative Gifts.

13. Fight, Flight, Freeze, & Fawn Response: What’s The Difference?

14. Fresh, Solid, Calm, Free from Kaira Jewel Lingo’s latest newsletter.

15. “Trust Your Experience” from Robert Jones, Jr.

16. How Dare You, America: Bearing witness to the lynching of Jordan Neely in New York City from Frederick Joseph.

17. Patient Quick Guide To Talking About Weight with Healthcare Providers from Ragen Chastain.

18. How to respond to willful ignorance from Patti Digh. “A curated list of possible responses to choose from.”

19. Recipe I want to try: No-Bake Cranberry Oat Energy Bites.

20. The unlikely (but welcome) return of Everything But The Girl.

21. Here’s why you need to be cultivating awe in your life. “Research shows that people recently exposed to awe are kinder, more environmentally friendly, and better connected to others.”

22. Hyper-realistic vegan needle-felted animals by Elizabeth Perez.

23. The Plastic Horse.

24. Sculpture Honoring the Life of Freya the Euthanized Walrus Is Unveiled in Norway.

25. She ripped up her manicured lawn and challenged the norms of gardening stories. “In Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, Dungy describes her years-long project to transform her weed-filled, water-26. hogging, monochromatic lawn in suburban Fort Collins, Colo., into a pollinator’s paradise, packed instead with vibrant, drought-tolerant native plants.”

26. Making People Uncomfortable Can Now Get You Killed on The New York Times from Roxane Gay.

27. How To Plant A Lemon In A Cup: Make Your Home Smell Fresh And Boost Your Mood.

28. Photographer Documents How People Live in Cramped Rented Rooms in Seoul.

29. Lyrical Illustrations Celebrate the Diversity of Wildlife and the Joy of Observation.

30. Perfectly Drawn Tattoos Look Like Stickers Placed on the Skin.