5 Things I Consumed Last Week (jigsaw puzzle🧩)

on less, art of noticing, notes on taste, a 30-day challenge and interview of a polymath

Hello from my desk which has 3 unread newspapers, a planner which hasn’t been used for two months, a commonplace diary where I write my incoherent thoughts and cool air gushing through the window.

I am noticing some changes in myself lately. I have been hustling less, trying to follow less patterns of scheduled hours. All my anxieties come and go in a blip, I do flip out sometimes but overall I feel more stable and at peace in my head. I am trying to read everything that comes my way, almost like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that will make some sense one day.

---

Less | Andrew Sean Greer | Pulitzer prize-winning novel 2018

Story of a failed writer trying to escape his problems by traveling abroad.

Funnily enough I confused this book with ‘The Year of Less’ hence the book caught me by surprise. I assumed it would be about giving up on materialistic possessions but rather it was a pessimistic yet funny story of Aurthur Less (the protagonist).

Illustration by Lizzy Stewart

Less is an episodic and satirical picaresque tale about an almost-fifty gay author who concludes that the best way to avoid lovelorn misery is a literature and food-fueled trip around the world. The narrative is invariably about the paths forged by a wandering and hesitant heart. Less’s contemplation and conclusions on the abstract concept of love is a delight to peruse through. It is miserable, realistic and as a result entirely relatable.

How can so many things become a bore by middle age — philosophy, radicalism, and other fast foods — but heartbreak keeps its sting?

---

Instructions for Imaginary Acts | The Art of Noticing | Rob Walker

The quickest way to improve your creative life is to learn to pay better attention to your everyday world.

I really admire Rob for transforming the ordinary into extra-ordinary with his newsletter and his book. Every issue of the newsletter is jam-packed with inspiration and prompts that will force you to think creatively, step-out and notice the world like you have never before.

We may never be able to recapture exactly the feeling of looking at the world before we’d spent so much time looking at the world. But next time you are confronted with some scene or situation that feels numbingly familiar, stop and ask: What would a child see here?

---

Notes on “Taste” | Are.na

Some random thoughts and scribbles on what ‘taste’ means to different people. I don’t think I have ever read someone describing ‘taste’ so vividly and with nuanced explanation, in essence emphasizing - “Things don’t feel tasteful, they demonstrate taste.”

Taste honors someone’s standards of quality, but also the distinctive way the world bounces off a person. It reflects what they know about how the world works, and also what they’re working with in their inner worlds. When we recognize  true taste, we are recognizing that alchemic combination of skill and soul. This is why it is so alluring.

---

30 Day Challenge | Austin Kleon

I have been a stand of Kleon’s work for the longest time. If you see yourself as a creative person or if you are someone who thinks creatively but fails to put it out on paper - you should definitely check out his work.

I have read two of his books - Steal Like an Artist and Keep Going, both amassed with inspiration and wisdom, scattered with quotes and doodles. Sometimes habit building is starting with the most basic of things. In the latest issue of his newsletter, he shared these printable trackers to start a 30 day challenge in November - a primer to start tracking your goals if you aren’t and be consistent.

Time to print and get cracking!

---

Interview of Kevin Kelly, Co-Founder of WIRED, Polymath, Most Interesting Man In The World? (#25, #26 & #27) | The Tim Ferriss Show

A visual media and tech spartan, futurist, digital optimist, and Wired magazine founder Kevin Kelly is a true maverick. If any of these notes interest you, then you should listen to this podcast:

• His lesson in finding contentment in minimalism and “volunteer simplicity”

• The “creator’s dilemma,”

• Why you don’t want to be a billionaire

• What technology-free sabbaticals can do for you

• The graphic novel for young people on how to become indispensable - (This is what I am reading)

• The great resource Kevin compiled for documentary lovers - SPOILER (It’s this)

---

On an unrelated note

If you are in Mumbai, meet me at this Book Swap event :) Last few spots left. Register here.

---

Things I’m doing lately

I am watching this documentary.

I am reading this book.

See you next week 🙆🏻‍♀️

---

Wondering how you can support me? 

If you are a friend of this newsletter, show some love here.🐼

---

If you enjoy reading this, share it with more readers, more the merrier. Let’s connect on Substack Threads for a more enriching conversation and recommendations :)

You can write to me on dearhummingbird1@gmail.com. or connect with me on IG at _i__cook or use the comment section!

With gratitude,

The Hummingbird🌺

---