What I Found Interesting This Week - August

From one man to another - this brilliant gentleman address the dudebros in the literary scene and explicitly coaches them on how NOT to act towards lady authors. It's nice to know there are other men in the literary scene who appreciate their women peers and are willing to lend their voice to support us.

It helps that his tone is hilariously vulgar - meet 'em on their level, right?

Barnes and Noble

Since we're on the topic, have you been noticing lately that so many of the recently published works of fiction have flower-themed cover art? Me too, and apparently some other folks have noticed this. Check out Vanity Fair's take on this publishing trend, which has been dubbed "bouquet books."


Remember the last time you had no weekend or weeknight plants? What did you do with that? How did you feel? Your answer likely depends on your scheduling style and how you view "time" - are you a clock-timer or an event-timer? The Cut breaks down this paper from the Current Opinion in Psychology into more digestible chunks.

For the record, I'm definitely more of a clock-timer. Which one are you?

Women's Health

Can I be really frank for a moment here? I have yet to try "zoodles" - the zucchini spirals that a lot of healthy food bloggers and lifestyle influencers are trying to pass off as a tasty alternative to regular ol' wheat pasta. I like zucchini, I really do, but as a noodle in a pasta dish?

This article on Women's Health really nails that skepticism - and while I can't agree with her that zucchini is just plain bad, I can understand her frustration with a noodle that just doesn't cook up like a noodle should.

(I still plan to buy some zoodles from the local grocery store just to see what I can do with 'em. Maybe in an Asian stir-fry...?)

Fashion Lady

In Learning How to Dress in Your 30's, as a Woman, Sarah Raphael discusses the interesting mental shift that she and a lot of other women sliding in their 30's seem to experience regarding "age appropriate" fashion and their sudden discomfort with denim cut-offs and crop tops.

While I definitely see the disconnect between 20-something Instagram fashion icons and the more modest lifestyle bloggers settling in their 30's, motherhood, and entrepreneurship - I guess I walk the line between them. Sure I'm 30 and I hold down a pretty nice office job where I'm expected to adhere to business casual - what does that even more anymore! - but as I get a bit older, become less self-conscious and have more focus on taking care of my body I feel that I have more confidence in risque or interesting fashion choices. In my early twenties, I would have been terrified to leave the house in a cute crop top and a pair of highwaisted denim shorts. Now it's almost my go-to summer weekend look.

Everyday Health

According to Everyday Health, being left-handed may be the reason I am number dyslexic and prone to suffering from mood disorders. And while we may not be definitively better artists, we are better at divergent thinking and seeing lots of different possibilities and potentials, which probably contributes to artistic creativity. The downside is that we're also more susceptible to fear and showing PTSD-like effects after a fright.

Maybe that's why I hate slasher films and thrillers so much. Jump-scares can kindly f*** off.

What did you find interesting this week?