1.Documenting the war in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll passes 25,000. “A report from the United Nations found that women and children are the main victims of the conflict.” In related news, List of Charities Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in Israel and Gaza from Charity Navigator, “Since 2001, we’ve empowered millions of donors by providing free access to data, tools, and resources to guide philanthropic decision-making. With more than 200,000 charities rated, our comprehensive ratings shine a light on the cost-effectiveness and overall health of a charity’s programs, including measures of stability, efficiency, and sustainability. The metrics inform donors of not just where their dollars are going but what their dollars are doing.”

2. ‘My life will be short. So on the days I can, I really live’: 30 dying people explain what really matters.

3. The Surprising Gift of the “Old Age” Filter, “And what a PetScan cannot see.” A health and heart update from Andrea Gibson.

4. Sanctuary founder rehabilitates animals removed from Puerto Rico zoo closed after years of complaints.

5. Being Emotional Doesn’t Make You Weak, It Makes You Strong.

6. ‘So Amazing’: These Are Our Favorite Luther Vandross Songs. “With a new documentary chronicling the music legend’s life, we’re revisiting some of his unforgettable classics.” In related news, ‘Luther: Never Too Much’ First Look and ‘Luther: Never Too Much’ Review: Dawn Porter’s Tribute To An R&B Icon.

7. Sixty years ago, 17-year-old Randy Gardner broke a Guinness world record by staying awake for 11 consecutive days. I can barely stay awake for 11 consecutive HOURS. 

8. Recipe I want to try: Oatmeal breakfast cookies.

9. Trooper enlists Traverse City man’s dog to help rescue him from an icy lake. Good girl, Ruby!

10. N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer winner and giant of Native American literature, dead at 89.

11. Charles Osgood, veteran CBS newsman and longtime host of “Sunday Morning,” dies at 91.

12. My Parents Both Died By Suicide — On The Same Day. I Haven’t Been The Same Since.

13. This Woman Deconstructs 100-Year-Old Books To Restore Them. (video)

14. “Little Women” author Louisa May Alcott was a transgender man.

15. Why Substack is at a crossroads. “Some thoughts on platforms and Nazis.”

16. In the World’s Largest Cypress Forest, Surf Durrani Captures Atmospheric Autumnal Colors. Swamps are spooky, but these pictures are gorgeous.

17. Winners of the People Photography Award Embrace the Diverse Beauty of Humanity.

18. Inspiring Wildlife Winning Photos From The Drone Photo Awards 2023.

19. Is Your Yard Undergrown? “For too long the lawn care and pest control industries have normalized meaningless, divisive terms like ‘overgrown.’ We need to take the language back.”

20. Change by Hugh Hollowell.

21. This, a gorgeous poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

22. this little life from Karen Walrond on Chookooloonks, because this: “in a world that capitalizes on our horror and discouragement, sometimes loving our little lives can feel like an act of rebellion.”

23. Lucian James’ The Kō Strategies, “a series of 24 newsletters based on the Japanese microseasons that make up the year. They are written to help you stay present, focused and creative in a tense world.” I really enjoyed this series, and Lucian is leaving the full archive of all 24 newsletters available until February 20th. I especially loved this final contemplation:

“There’s one big lesson from this season, and it’s the same lesson of all the 24 seasons we’ve covered. It’s been implicit all year, let me spell it out. The natural world is always changing, always in process. And so are you. You are not a thing, you are a process, a magnificent kind of process. And in some way you already know this. But when you really consider it, it can set you free from regret, from stuckness, and from hanging on to things.

We get broken, we can start again, bruised but better.

We get complicated, we add too many things, we can let go.

We can always rebegin. To set everything back to zero. The whole cycle renewed.”

24. Yellow Boat, a short but gorgeous piece about loss on Short Reads.

25. The Stories that Save Us on The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad.

26. The social media star helping people fall in love with libraries. “At a time when public libraries are threatened by funding cuts and even book bans, librarian Mychal Threets sings their praises with infectious enthusiasm. Everyone belongs in a library, he says, and a library card can unlock a world of magic and possibility.” In related news, Mychal Threets Wants Everyone to Experience ‘Library Joy’ on The New York Times (gift link).

27. Social Media has made harassment acceptable. “And we should absolutely not be okay with that” from Nikita Gill.

28. Learning to love January from Rita Ott Ramstad on Rootsie.

29. No, you are not hysterical from Patti Digh. “On this, the 8th anniversary of my heart attack, a note to the women.”

30. Endangered Attention: The Relentless Distraction Tyrant Requires Trickery from Jill Badonsky on The Muse is In.

31. tree.fm, “People around the world recorded the sounds of their forests, so you can escape into nature, and unwind wherever you are.”

32. From Sky to Sky from Jena Schwartz.

33. The White Inevitability of Donald Trump: How complicit whiteness kept Donald Trump in power from Frederick Joseph. “In essence, the battle against Trump and what he represents is not just political; it is cultural, social, and deeply personal. It demands a relentless commitment to truth, justice, and a willingness to disrupt lives. It requires a radical reimagining of societal structures and a profound transformation of our individual and collective consciousness. Only then can we hope to truly divest from the ideologies that Trump espouses and forge a path toward a more equitable and just society.”

34. How To Slow Down: 97 Ways To Enjoy Your Life This Year on Be More With Less from Courtney Carver.

1. I’ve been CEO for 17 years. Here’s what the most emotionally intelligent people do to be more successful in life.

2. 12 Reasons To Ditch The Diet Mentality. “Restricting yourself ultimately doesn’t work. Here’s why.”

3. Pitties People Watch From Their Window Perch All Day. (video)

4. This tiny NYC apartment goes for $687 a month! (video) “New York City comes in all shapes and sizes. In this new series, I explore interesting spaces and apartments. Today we tour $687 tiny NYC apartment and tour the famous 368 started by Casey Neistat.” What I found so interesting about this video isn’t so much the apartment or its size but what the person who lived there had to say about what is important to him, and in life. I have to say, however, I had anxiety the whole time about the possibility of his cat falling out the window.

5. Embracing the Dark Pleasures of Dystopian Literature: 10 Novels That Inspired Me To Write My Own. One of my favorite genres, although in the past few years they’ve all seemed less and less fictional.

6. Writers, Ink Podcast: Author Jami Attenberg Helps You Hit Word-Count Goals and Get Your Book to the Finish Line. I started following Jami on her Substack, Craft Talk, a few years ago, and have learned so much from her.

7. ‘Sort Of’ Review: The Max Show Is Back For Its Final Season. This show is SO GOOD.

8. Lauren Groff on Opening a Bookstore in Florida. “The Lynx, which Groff aims to open this spring, will feature banned books, an act of resistance in a state where more than half of school districts have seen book banning activity over the past two years.” In related news, here’s a link to their fundraiser, The Lynx, A Bookstore in Gainesville, FL.

9. Homeless man rescues puppies, leaves them at shelter with touching note.

10. A Simple Sacred Pilgrimage from Gretchen Schmelzer. “A pilgrimage, practiced, no matter how small, is a chance to see the sacred in the ordinary— to see the newest growth in yourself and a chance to greet yourself as a long lost friend.” Also from Gretchen, The bitter and the sweet in transitions.

11. Manjula Martin Tells Us: About Trying Slow from Cheryl Strayed’s series “in which I invite an author to tell us five things—not only about their most recent book, but about their life too.”

12. For the introverts: 5 Signs You’re a People-Pleasing Introvert and How Introverts Can Show Themselves Love on Their Toughest Days.

13. Failing into the New Year, “on things dead and not dead.”

14. From Lion’s Roar: Lessons on the Three Poisons from Barbie and Ken (“Following the Barbie film’s win for best song with ‘I’m Just Ken’ at the 2024 Critics’ Choice Awards, associate editor Mihiri Tillakaratne explores what Ken’s journey teaches us about Buddhism’s three poisons: craving, anger, and ignorance”) and What Do You Really Want? (“Take time to discover your deepest desires, says Brother Phap Linh. By shining the light of mindfulness on your volition, you’ll find more freedom”).

15. The Sound of a Thing Carrying Doom on Short Reads.

16. A Few Good Questions, “On the value of our time and energy and more” from Jami Attenberg.

17. This pay phone is free, but you can’t make a call. It only plays birdsongs.

18. Gezellig: How to be cozy like the Dutch.

19. Close-Up Photographer of the Year Showcases Mindboggling Macro Images of the Natural World.

20. 365 grateful days on A Grace Full Life.

21. The Guilt of Feeling Joy, “On allowing yourself to be happy.”

22. Incredible Vegan Dinner Recipes to Put on Your Menu ASAP.

23. The Ezra Klein Show: How to Discover Your Own Taste. “Kyle Chayka, a staff writer at The New Yorker, has written a whole book on it, the forthcoming “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture.” We talk about how today’s internet encourages everything to look more the same and is even dulling our ability to know what we like. And we discuss what we can do to strengthen our sense of personal taste in order to live a richer, more beautiful life.”

24. Against Self-Criticism. 

25. 10 surprising psychological and physical perks associated with regular reading.

26. This Is What Happened When I Didn’t Buy Any New Clothes for a Year.

27. Feeling Stuck on a Task or Problem? Tons of Science Says You Should Take a Walk.

28. I deeply loved my time in Nebraska, “Until I didn’t. Life bends in unreliable directions like that, and then something breaks” from Patti Digh. Also from Patti, You are Beautiful.

29. ‘It will be the end of democracy’: Bernie Sanders on what happens if Trump wins – and how to stop him. “He’s the leftwing outsider who nearly became the Democrats’ candidate for president – twice. As his position on the Israel-Gaza war threatens to upset his support, the veteran senator says he’s tired but determined to fight the return of that ‘ bitter, humiliated man’.”

30. Not the end of the world: nine data-driven reasons to look beyond doomsday headlines. We need good news too, if for no other reason than it might keep us from giving up.

31. Let Go Of These 8 Things For A Happier Life from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

32. Let’s go small together, “An invitation wrapped in an origin story” from Rita Ott Ramstad. “It can mean that we don’t have to find or live out a great purpose. We can simply live our small lives the best we can alongside other, similar beings. It doesn’t mean we don’t or can’t or won’t or shouldn’t care for others and the places we live, but it means we don’t have to do that caring in big, unique, changing-the-world ways. It means we can recognize and be OK with the idea that we are all just passing through, and the things we do and make and love will pass with us when we’re gone.” And this line really got me, “as it turns out, I want a lot less than I thought I did.” Amen, Rita. ❤