In 2026, I will be visiting a Nebraska or Iowa book store every Tuesday. Each week, in addition to my own finds, I will be buying a book to support one of my colleagues and help them keep their shelf space here. What do you have out that might be in Midwest book stores? Keeping a list starting now.

What do I want out of 2026? Universal Healthcare Ranked Choice Voting Universal Basic Income Just like I've wanted every year since 2010.

The year 2026 began in Kiribati five hours ago. That's good enough for me! 🎉🎉🎉 No late night for this old man.

I'm never going to make it to Midnight. It's 9:45 AM and I'm already tired. 🥱

Me: Maybe I should have been a political commentator. Her: Absolutely not. Me: Why not? Her: Remember that guy who said your economic takes were scare tactics so you spent months meticulously building a more complete data set to prove you were right? Me: Yeah. Her: We don't have time for that.

Nah, my search history wouldn't get me arrested or put on a watch list. It's just evidence that I'm too old to keep up with slang anymore. -"What does raw dog mean now?" -"How did it evolve to that from what it used to mean?" -"What does it mean when a young person calls you a walking beige flag?"

In the last Life on the Midlist of 2025, we get a surprise visit from "I-do-everyting" talent Jenny Slate. The tiny man inside the computer machine sends it to all the inboxes individually in about an hour, but you can still get on his list. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist

Her: Hey, somebody's mad at you on socials just to warn you. Me: Uh...yeah. Basically every day since I cleared 10k. I think it's just a Pareto Principle meets Law of Large Numbers thing. Her: You could try being nicer. Me: I could still be an accountant with a 401(k), too, but here we are.

Crap. I bought an aquarium. That's how it starts.

I don't always need to block somebody, but sometimes it would be nice to be able to give them a rating.

I know I've whinged about mortality before, but there's been another wave of people my age dying and it's getting in my head a little bc of flaws around the ways I think about accomplishment, memory, legacy, and the value of a human life. Plus many, many folks in my family die violently, so...😨

I get the impulse to hold back critique inside our community but if you're reviewing, say what you mean. If it didn't work, say it didn't work as long as you've considered carefully enough to also say why or how. Not advocating for "let's all be jerks to each other" but literary criticism matters.

There are a few A-words that seem dangerously close to fashionable for self-diagnosis. I’m not running Diagnosis Court. I’m just saying: if you can explain the social norm, clock when it applies, and still steamroll it in ways that hurt or offend unnecessarily, we’re in accountability territory now.

I'm still on my flashback Stardew Valley kick. Did I tell you what I named my place? It's called: First, Do No Farm Get it? Get it? You get it.

Her: I thought you were writing today. Me: I am. Her: By playing video games? Me: I'm studying interactive storytelling. Her: ...by playing video games? Me: Yeah. Her: Maybe later you can study culinary arts. Me: I'll probably just pay somebody to take the test for me. Her: So DoorDash? Me: Yeah

I made it onto a non-relative's TBR for the first time! If that's not a debut author milestone, I don't know what is. He only has to wait 10-ish months before he can run right out a get a copy! 😆#booksky

I've become obsessed (whether momentarily or more long term only time will tell) with aquascaping and building community aquariums (out of nowhere) so we're headed out to browse non-land animals and equipment. I'm leaving all my cards at home, but that doesn't always stop me so wish us luck!

We did have a slow "spend time together morning" so that was some of it timing-wise, but DAMN what a tough day to break stasis and move forward. Sleep in, caffeine, meal, shower, minor meltdown, caffeine, healthy snack and now I finally feel ready for the day - at well past it's halfway point.

Tell me you have an unhealthy obsession without telling me you have an unhealthy obsession.

I know I'm starting to sound a little cranky. NONETHELESS FYI If I see your "Who's writing a book in 2026?" status, I'm blocking you automatically. I'm mildly tolerant of engagement baiting bc some platform goals matter BUT YOU ARE POSTING IN A COMMUNITY OF WRITERS. The answer is everyone. Duh.

I still think about the time I saw a fiction author agonizing over what to do with their characters. I made the joke they should come to nonfiction bc with real people the decisions come premade. They burned me down with an angry tirades about how their characters are real people. Authors, man. 😏

Writing work day update: I swear to all that is holy, that IS NOT how 'their' is spelled. 🤔

There was a moment there where it looked like we were going to hold Substack accountable for their craven pursuit of profit at the expense of any form of moderation and to the disproportionate benefit of white supremacists, but it seems to have passed. We just got real cool with their BS, I guess.

Thanks for all the "did you see this?" feedback about the 10 Dems on my way-to-early-primary-candidates list. Based on stuff you pointed out that I had in fact missed, I'll be keeping a close eye on supporting one of these six survivors: -AOC -Whitmer -Khanna -Moore -Warnock -Ossoff

Promise to let it go BUT Even if I'd said crazy stuff (I didn't) or attacked you (actually you attacked me), how did I ruin your Christmas? Use the block button or don't read my replies. Or or or or don't show up in my post and accuse me of targeting you when I don't know you. You're who again?

I know these family holidays can be lonely. E and I were fortunate to spend it together, but most of both of our families have died in the last few years so we've both spent plenty alone. I used to go into work every year to keep my mind off it. If that's you, I'm here. I'm glad you are, too. ❤️

Man, alt-right trolls on Christmas?! Gross. I guess it serves me right for "ruining" that poor BookToker's day with my wild authors-are-people-too takes this morning. It's karma. 🤷‍♂️

Really pondering a senior bonded pair adoption for the obvious reasons, but also because placing a bonded pair of 10-year-olds out of the shelter will be damn near impossible. Even we are given pause about the emotional impact for us of loving this duo when we know they won't have many more years.

The thing itself isn't funny at all. More about that another time. But I sorta love this guy - drug smuggler or not. "The pilot...was yelling about people now being on naughty lists as ICE/CPB pushed him into a detention facility."

I wasn't going to post today, but I've apparently changed my mind. There is WAY more emotional labor involved in existing in public as an author than I anticipated. I've worked in creative fields for much of my adult life and there *might* be more anger here than I saw in visual or performing arts.

Maybe folks are just holiday cranky, but I'm pretty sure I just experienced DARVO in probably the lowest stakes way possible. They even leaned into the idea that my opinion and (I thought) polite discussion made their Christmas worse. That's okay, they managed to call me a few names so - evensies.

Side post: I shouldn't comment on folks' opinions of my own book and I should stay out reader spaces are not the same thing. I've now agreed to the former, not the latter.

Here we are mid-award season. I don't have anything eligible this year, but I will next year and the year after (bc we can't standardize anything in this business. 🙄) It's got me thinking about how the last thing I won was probably the red Ingloo cooler teenage me scored from a club raffle. 🤏🧵

My Q3 GDP numbers would be great, too, if I fired the actual data scientists and my Commerce Secretary didn't understand macroeconomics. Just sayin'.

When do all the '2A cannot be abridged, restricted, or regulated in any way (even though well regulated is right there in the text) bc it we must be able to prevent federal tyranny' folks show up again? I don't want to miss it.

Since I spend as much time visiting their website and recommending their services as I do any other single org, my additional 'All I Want for Christmas' is to stop forgetting I still need to join @authorsguild.org when I'm in front of a computer with my debit card etc.

Folks seem to be talking about this tradition/phenomenon more than usual this year and I'm here for it.

I complained about this last week, too, with his 600% explanation. Not sure if he's performing for the President or if he's not sufficiently educated in macroeconomics to run the Commerce Dept.

"Growing my platform" has been lots of work in 2025. It's gone pretty well, all things considered. We've got a little crowd of bookish smartasses together. I like them. One day, I hope even my publisher will follow me. 😬😁 (You gotta be big time to make it on the @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social radar.)

I've started blocking the "audiobooks aren't reading" crowd. It's either rage-bait or it's unnecesssarily exclusionary and ableist and, either way, I don't need that in my life.

What I REALLY want for Christmas is nationwide Ranked Choice Voting. 🎄

My "arbitrary" requirements for who I'll back in primary season: -Not over 60 -Smarter than me -Not on the Forbes 400 -Didn't actively enable this *gestures broadly* -Is FOR something, not JUST against this *gestures again* -Not willing to vilify democratic socialists for "centrist" votes

Some people do “gratitude.” I did “data.” This week’s newsletter is my 2025 acceptance and rejection totals plus the financial bottom line of writing professionally. The drawing isn't actually related, but I found it charming. SUBSCRIBE: www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist

I just listened to a @sebastiancastillo.bsky.social interview and then cruised over to his website and was like: Who's that guy? That can't be him. I dunno why. Maybe the mustache? 🤷

So you know these fine folks? You should. Now you can.

This is why it's irresponsible for us to collectively rely on private philanthopy to close funding gaps in vaccination delivery, disease eradication, maternal and child health, early medical research, food banks, shelters, domestic violence services, disability services, the arts, and so much more.

All I want for Christmas is clarity of purpose, unshakable concentration, and the creative productivity of L. Ron Hubbard (minus the cult.) Is that too much to ask?!