5 Good Reads While Nothing Else Works

The Gram, the Timesuck, and the WhatsThat all down? Try these instead.

What did we all learn from 7 hours sans social media? (Stick to Twitter might not be the deepest lesson.)

Yesterday I wrote a quick new essay but wondered when I’d share it here, since I had a handful of favorites I’d planned to post this Saturday.

Then the internet hit a big fat pause today, which led an online author like moi to wonder: what would happen if those sites never came back?

So I decided to share Saturday’s links today, to make space for something new this weekend.

For better and for worse, many of us depend on social media now: for communication, for community, and for our livelihood. We can (and should debate) the merits of this reality. But if you’re an author, artist, or small business owner (among millions of others), the loss of online engagement can be devastating.

Today is a reminder to support the holy labor of those who create online. I signed up for a few newsletters (Aundi Kolber’s, Emily Stimpson Chapman’s, and Kayla Craig’s Liturgies for Parents). Might be a great chance to connect with writers you love, too?

Here are 5 good reads for this week, off social media

1. This stunning essay on the power of music (making the rounds lately but originally from 2004): the welcome address to freshman parents at Boston Conservatory, from Karl Paulnack. 

   I’m serious. Go read that music essay now. Then come back here.

   I TOLD YOU. Guaranteed you need to forward it to a music lover you know:

2. A thoughtful reflection on vocational gluttony & the through-line of calling within multiple chapters of our lives, from L. Roger Owens.

3. This essay on gardening and lessons from our mothers, from Rachel Nevergall.

4. Ann Patchett’s essay on her broken foot—which ironically inspired me to start doing the same 7-minute workout with my two oldest kids.

5. Finally, here’s my latest Catholic News Service column on 5 overlooked places for sharing faith with the young people in our lives. I’m teaching second-graders this year, and it’s…humbling?

May your digital and analog life find more peace in These Unprecedented Times.

Peace,

Laura

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Find my books here: Everyday Sacrament | Grieving Together | Prayers for Pregnancy & Birth | To Bless Our Callings | Living Your Discipleship