Subscriber Writing Roundup
Edition I
Greetings, my fellow bookworms!
Today is the first Monday of August, which means it’s time for our first ever Subscriber Writing Roundup!
What follows are 34 links to great pieces of writing from BTMU subscribers. From personal memoir to essays on books, from travel writing to seafood recipes, we have a wide range of brilliant writing on show. Something for everyone.
Dive in!
Andrei Atanasov writes an essay-length memoir about the loss of his childhood friend one summer day, inspired by the work of Sherman Alexie and Hayao Miyazaki.
Tom Fish writes a diary entry about discovering he loves octopus, which was somehow one of the cheapest things he ate in the old town of Dubrovnik.
Caroline A writes an essay inspired by her friend and fellow Substacker Isabel Cowles Murphy and is a reflection on growing up as the "well" child.
Avery B spent 5 days trying to mimic her husband's more relaxed, less Type-A approach to life and wrote about her experiences and learnings, and got a lot of feedback that both men and women really related to this!
Shaina Read‘s essay on the books that pulled her through some of the most difficult times of her life. Very on theme for BTMU!
Anaiah Matthew‘s piece is an exploration of memory through sensory recall framed as a game to be played with his readers.
June Girvin writes a short memoir vignette from her time as a Nursing student more than 45 years ago. It's a powerful reflection of a single experience of caring once life has gone.
Priya Iyer writes an essay on the myriad life journeys we go on, and the all-important moment of awareness that jumpstarts everything.
Zoe Carada writes a cross-genre piece illustrating how gaining distance in physical space could help us gain distance in our minds when we need closure.
Terry Freedman loves reading or writing in cafes, and so wanted to convey something of the atmosphere in three cafes he has known.
Thinking there are no geniuses has helped Hermann J. Diehl’s writing, and here he explains why one of the best-selling literary classic novels of all time wasn’t the work of a writing genius.
Joyce Wycoff writes of this piece: “Thirty years ago, creating my own newsletter changed my life dramatically; today, Substack makes it easy to avoid rejection letters and build our own writing businesses.”
Latham Turner writes an essay about trying to find what matters to him that he could build a personal philosophy around.
Garrett Francis reflects upon the two rugged men who had no idea they were teaching him key lessons on the power of story.
The Declining Academic‘s account of his first official experience as "the parent at the concert" and what he learned about the warmth and growth of a younger generation.
Kathryn Vercillo‘s book, The Artist’s Mind, is on a Substack virtual tour this month and she created this post as part of that: some unpublished content on Leonora Carrington PLUS SIGNED BOOK GIVEAWAY!
Jonathan Delp‘s story of how a wounded turnip-farming he-squatch must learn to live again when he's tasked with babysitting 11 feral Maine orphan children. How could you not be intrigued by that?!!
Tami Carey’s piece describes how a canceled vacation and a general sense of August Angst becomes a nostalgic search to reclaim the magic and freedom of childhood summers and find the extraordinary joys that live in our own backyard.
Let Me Challenge Your Thinking‘s David Roberts looks at Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates through the lens of how an exaggerated sense of being exceptional can be so destructive to a marriage or to any relationship, including among the citizens of a country.
Martha Nichols looks at how Barbara Kingsolver's fabulous Demon Copperhead riffs on David Copperfield by Dickens — and why both have inspired by fascination with the first-person autobiographical voice.
Sheila Dembowski‘s essay is dedicated to her mother who taught her that no one is born a cook - they are made, with love and patience...
John Halbrooks‘ piece explains why he’s always thought about writing (but has never actually written) a one-act play about J.R.R. Tolkien and the great English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams meeting on a train. (I for one would definitely read that play!)
Zork (the) Hun‘s piece reflects on the fact that guilt and responsibility are a complicated business and few are ready to consider its intricacies.
Boaz of A Brand New Day • Sustainable Habits writes of a personal journey from rigid beliefs to open-mindedness (2 min read).
Mikhail Skoptsov claims that George R.R. Martin's latest novel 'The Winds of Winter' has been delayed, as the author's approach to writing fantasy in general and magic in particular is clashing with the demands of his story, which requires demystifying the supernatural beings known as 'The Others.'
Julie Gabrielli says: “Light is everywhere, usually overlooked, but all bets are off when we notice.”
Justin McCullough says: “Getting stuff done as a leader requires courage to see the future, do hard things, and overcome the inner and outer critics. This gives names and traits to the things that seek to hold you back - so you can lean in and do meaningful work and get stuff done!”
Ramona Grigg writes a fairy tale of sorts, smacking of some modern-day silliness.
Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops by Marty Malin
Marty writes a short story about a dying old man whose family hopes to spend a final birthday with him.
Ehud Neor‘s tribute to Brooks Kerr, a fine person and talented musician, and the last one chosen for games at summer camp.
Marple‘s Chapter 1 of her upcoming 20 chapter novel - pub date 28/09/23.
NYUGrad discusses the not reported on subject of pending "down rounds" in tech valuations via Private Equity firms for a slew of cash burning companies almost out of money.
Sutee Dee celebrates two great seafood rice dishes from two continents-Paella in Valencia and Arroz con Mariscos in Lima.
James Ron‘s short story : “Boy meets girl, and they go for a ride in her candy apple green machine.”
That’s all folks!
Well, now you've done it! How am I ever going to find the time to get through all of those amazing pieces?
Thanks so much for including mine. I'm thrilled to be in such good company.
Thanks for putting all of this together!! I know what I’ll be reading tonight!