Thank You Subscribers!

Trying to get my new Substack off the ground. It’s a far better platform than my old Facebook page, for so many reasons. If you’re in a position to recommend it on your own Substack, please do. Or you could pass on to a few friends? As of today, 14 subscribers, which, as my parents used to say, is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I’ll try to post weekly.

For now, let’s resurrect a feature from my old page, An ongoing invitation: You give me your birth year and I give you two short lists of books from that year: a) What was popular, and b) What I’d recommend [sometimes there’s some overlap]. We did a bunch of these at the old David’s Lists, but we can start fresh here. If someone’s already named your year, fret not—I’ll make up a fresh list.

Here’s an example:

1963

Well-Known Books:

THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE [social chronicle/manifesto], Betty Friedan

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, John LeCarré

THE GROUP, Mary McCarthy

My List:

INSTEAD OF A LETTER [memoir], Diana Athill

LEAVING CHEYENNE, Larry McMurtry

THE BELL JAR, Sylvia Plath

V., Thomas Pynchon

THE GIRLS OF SLENDER MEANS, Muriel Spark

CAT’S CRADLE, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

THE TENANTS OF MOONBLOOM, Edward Lewis Wallent

I’m still working on why Substack formats the lists so, um, generously . . . Anyway, that’s it from Tacoma, USA, this morning. Be well, read, write, pet the cat.