I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.

I yelled “ohmygod” so loud after opening the mail, my husband had to come investigate. The new @mcsweeneys.net quarterly is unbelievable. Their design team is *chef’s kiss*

#Caturday (observed)

Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math

Jumping on the Lonesome Dove resurgence. I heard an interview with Tana French where she cited it as an influence on The Searcher (omg one of favorites), so I read all 850 pages of it this week and holy shit I have a new obsession. It’s so good.

in Paris, I had to see a same-day doctor & I found one. was gravely warned that, as a foreigner, I’d have to pay 32 euros & I laughed & laughed a friend there said “make sure you get X kind of doctor, not Y, because the Y kind charges 74 WHOLE EUROS” & once again I bitterly, bitterly laughed 😭

I think I'd make a really good ghost. wandering around aimlessly at night and groaning are already some of my favourite activities

The kitten hasn‘t yet noticed the neighbor cat giving him a death stare. #caturday

Edinburgh castle failing to render, likely thanks to the AWS outage

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

Can we lower the flags for Jane Goodall?

Look closely. I estimate over 100 pollinators on this one native calico aster in my city yard. #nativeplants

A beautiful Sleepy Orange butterfly on a giant orange Zinnia 🧡🧡 #Photography99 📷🌱 #Butterflies 🦋

you never know where you’ll find inspiration

One of my favorite fun facts is why the TMNT are named after artists (it’s because the type of turtle they are is a “painted turtle”). I told my nephew about this and he immediately replied that there should be a Bob Ross turtle. So rather than explain the renaissance movement to him, I-

It is fucked up what they did to the headphone jack

Loved this story by @nadiaborn.com in this morning’s Commuter (@electricliterature.com)!

1) Crickets and cicadas in the fall 2) New record from an old favorite band 3) Costume dramas 4) Sleeping in 5) Tea with honey

Tiny cat with tiny amp.

Make a band singular: The Stroke

Dollhouse nap.

@pghcitypaper.com reprinted my @mcsweeneys.net piece. Unfortunately still highly relevant here!

I would love someone to make a global streaming service where I could watch shows from other countries. I would pay whatever for that. Let me see Survivor France or whatever!

My neighbor Wayne – a truck driver and former roughneck – is cranking Juice Newton’s Angel of the Morning Right now and while I think that’s adorable, I’m also going to give him some space today

Saw my first monarch cat in my city yard. Can’t explain how worried I am about this dude. He’s so small! There’s just one! Monarchs are endangered! My milkweed is a little sparse so I bent a frond from a nearby one to make a bridge for him and he’s using it! So proud.

Ooh. @offassignment.bsky.social is reading me. Link to essay (involving waking up surrounded by deer carcasses after a long night in the wilderness) in first comment.

pulling out my Chase debit card to buy something stupid online

Nice little urban #nativeplants corner if you can ignore the knotweed looming over it all from the next property

Swamp Mallow on a swampy day. #nativeplants

Quietly exploring the night on their outsize feet, the smallest of the kiwi family has defied the odds to survive on mainland Aotearoa/NZ - not lost for half a century as folks believed. Kiwi pukupuku stomps back onto the stage to bring new hope for conservation - and clever sniffer-dogs. Kia kaha!

💯💯💯 Many ancient homes all over the world had no private kitchens/food prep spaces, period! Especially if you were poor! This is why the discovery of a largely-intact "fast food" shopfront in Pompeii was such a huge deal, a few years ago. These places rarely survive the passage of time.

Great article on urban micro forests!

Depending on your childhood, this hat may stir powerful memories. IYKYK. #corningware

I use the em dash so heavily I'm turning into a robot. @mcsweeneys.net

Le country canadien s’ouvre enfin aux artistes francophones

My four favorite butterfly photos from the week… (It was a tough call) Eastern Tailed-Blue Pearl Crescent Spicebush Swallowtail Clouded Sulphur (White form) #Photography99 📷🌱 #Butterflies 🦋

I love Bobbie Gentry

A man (30s?) strides into a craft shop with a small human (5?) at his side. He says "Right. We're going to keep on track here today. What's the one thing we're here for?" Small Human grins and shouts, "Sparkles!" Dad nods decisively. "That's right. Sparkles. Nothin' else, okay? Just sparkles." (5)

Read of the week:

Goodnight. The Great Comet of 1843, Charles Piazzi Smyth, 1840s.

Khruangbin at Stage AE last night! They are committed to the wigs, even in 90 degree swelter

So let’s just all agree that Brian Wilson’s arrangement of a cappela voices in the final third of Surf’s Up is one the most beautiful things ever conceived in music and has thrilled me since I was a teen listening over & over in my room (and that group intake of breath as it starts is beautiful)

Wine Cup closing for the night #nativeplants

Making It Safer To Bike Gets More People To Ride Bikes, Shocking Study Shows

Impatiens pallida out in my yard after a rain shower, showing off why they call it "jewel weed." 😍😍 #nativeplants

Do any plant people know what’s up with this rose bush? Is this black spot? It’s been SO rainy here.