It’s the 10th anniversary of Show Your Work! I’m so delighted that people are still discovering this book. If you hate self-promotion and putting yourself out there, I think it can really help. (See the P.S. at the end of this letter.)
Desert reading: I spent a full post-gig afternoon poolside at the Ace Hotel, reading Desert Oracle, a handsome paperback collection of the Joshua Tree-based zine. I found Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire a little misanthropic at first, but after driving I-10 for a bit I was in the right mood. (I picked up Sheila Heti’s Alphabetical Diariesat the wonderful Malibu Village Books, which has one of the best selections I’ve ever browsed in a shop that size.)
Back home in Austin, Texas, the trees and the bluebonnets are blooming and everybody’s gearing up for the invasion of SXSW. I’m not doing anything official this year, but I plan to occasionally bike around and soak up the madness. People often ask me for recommendations when they come here. If you’re downtown, I will say: use the hike and bike trail as much as possible, get tacos at Veracruz, and venture at least as far as Terry Black’s for BBQ.
Walk the hike and bike a mile west from the convention center and you’ll arrive at our civic cathedral, The Austin Public Library. Take in the view on the roof and check out the Recycled Reads gift shop downstairs for souvenirs. If you’re tired, you can get queso and chips at Torchy’s, a smoothie at the JuiceLand, or a picnic at the Trader Joe’s nearby. If you have a bit more energy, you can either walk south on the pedestrian bridge across the river and hit Terry Black’s BBQ, or you can head north on what I call the Shoal Creek Book Walk and get to the corner of 6th and Lamar, where you can shop at the flagship Whole Foods, buy my books signed at Bookpeople, and possibly catch a free day show at Waterloo Records.
Radio: We have great stations here. In addition to KUTX 98.9 FM, there’s classical KMFA 89.5 FM and our community KOOP 91.7 FM. I’d add those as favorites to the Radio Garden app before I came down. (You can stream all those stations online, of course. Just this week I discovered The Joystick Jukebox: a one-hour show of video game music I’ve started listening to with my kids.)
Finally, to make up for our lost Flaco and the owls that have disappeared in my backyard: Athena, the resident great horned owl at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center south of town, now has her own 24/7 Cornell Nest Cam. She’s sitting on two eggs right now, so tune in!
Thanks for reading. This newsletter is a hand-rolled, algorithm-free, completely reader-supported publication. If you’d like to support my work, buy my books, hire me to speak, or become a paid subscriber:
No comments:
Post a Comment