When we’re not writing about sidecar savings accounts or why you shouldn’t quit Facebook, Lifehacker staffers can usually be found reading through their Pocket lists, scouring Reddit or catching up on the latest best sellers. Lucky us, reading is a big part of the job.
There’s a ton of good writing and reporting out there, but these are articles and books that stuck out to us this week. Bookmark a few for leisurely weekend reading if you’re interested, and do let us know what caught your attention this week.
Editor-in-Chief Melissa Kirsch
I read and recommend “Does Recovery Kill Great Writing?” by Leslie Jamison in the New York Times Magazine. She looks at famously drunk writers’ post-recovery work in search of proof that drinking isn’t essential for creativity. Like so many of Jamison’s best essays, it’s equal parts personal and reported, and it made me excited for her new collection out this year.
Managing Editor Virginia K. Smith
Late to the game, but I finally read this New Yorker profile of the gun lobbyist who’s behind Florida’s insanely lax laws (which then get copied in other states). Disturbing, but so well written and reported, and really helpful insight into how policy actually gets made in this country.
Senior Tech Editor David Murphy
I read this New York Times story the other day and it really got me thinking about the future of housing in these kinds of locations (San Francisco, New York City, etc.), and how dangerous of an idea it is, tbh. What happens when you get laid off? Fired? Life is a lot more catastrophic when you ALSO lose your house/apartment/whatever, too.
Health Editor Beth Skwarecki
I’m reading The Subversive Copy Editor. It’s not about how to edit, but about all the interpersonal stuff that happens in that and many other jobs. Like: how to give and take criticism, how to have good working relationships with difficult people, how to stay on top of your shit when people are counting on you, and how to break rules and get away with it (when that’s the right thing to do).
Staff Writer Nick Douglas
This week I read King James’s book of Demonology. He wrote it as a Socratic dialog, explaining why sorcery and witchcraft are real and bad, and it reads a lot like Daniel Mallory Ortberg’s “Two Monks Invent Western Art” series (sadly offline right now). I’d quit three books in a row before this, but I burned through this skinny ebook in a couple of days.
Personal Finance Writer Alicia Adamczyk
This collection of diary entries from students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school is so poignant and moving, and made me tear up no fewer than four times. I’m also a big fan of writer and podcaster, Jocelyn K. Glei, and really appreciated this interview she gave that’s filled with good advice and insight into creating.
What are you reading?