#480: After All This
Articles on guns, hermits, and hellish apartments. Plus: Is reading really ending?
Dear Readers,
First things first: Let’s welcome our 51 new subscribers Violet, Rae, Olga, Taylor, Joyce, Sogo, Emily, Callie, Angelina, Peter, Tya, Emily, Natalie, Christine, Heather, Mary, Hannah, Marie-Pierre, Kristy, Fernanda, Maurtini, Helen, Angelina, Colette, Ronald, Courtney, Kelley, Jaymi, Katy, Steph, Deborah, Cathy, Christina, Brenna, Megan, Jacki, Alina, Cynthia, Caryn, Brittany, Nimi, Katie, Shell, Jamie, Candice, Samuel, Leslie, and Stephanie. New subscribers, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠
A big thank you goes to , who writes The Mindful Librarian, for writing about last week’s issue and sharing it with her kind readers. I’m very grateful.
As you can see, this week was a joyous one. Here are some more highlights:
HHH was a big success (see below)
We reached 1,500 subscribers (thank you for your readership!)
I interviewed Beth McMurtrie, author of “Is This the End of Reading?” (coming next week)
I interviewed Susan Dominus, author of “Someone Else’s Daughter” (coming later this month)
I got to chat with Melinda about “Is This the End of Reading?” (see below)
Not a bad week at all, don’t you think? Let’s keep up this momentum.
This week’s lead article, “After All This,” caught my interest from the first paragraph. Author Dana Salvador is a teacher and a parent who cannot fathom why we’ve done so little to protect our children against mass shootings. You might not want to read another article about guns in schools, but this one is tightly and beautifully written. I especially appreciated Ms. Salvador’s ability to create vivid images with spare, succinct prose.
If that article does not catch your interest, never fear. Choose between:
reading about the end of reading and signing up for our discussion Feb. 23
learning about what it takes to live like a hermit in the woods of central Maine
reminding yourself to follow your gut when searching for an apartment
If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.
1️⃣ After All This
Dana Salvador was in college in 1999 when two young people killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School. That fall, she became a teacher, and remains one to this day. Throughout her career, Ms. Salvador has ruminated on the vast harm that guns in schools have caused. She is devastated by our country’s inability to protect our children. In this powerful piece, Ms. Salvador juxtaposes her personal experiences as a teacher alongside our failures as a nation to stop the killing. “Every day I know I could be shot,” she writes. “I understand how someone who feels powerless might crave dominance, how someone who feels fragile might long to feel control.” Not to give away any spoilers, but the end is particularly illuminating, and sad.
➡️ In case you’re interested, here’s my hand-written annotated version.
By Dana Salvador • The Sun Magazine • 10 min • Gift link
2️⃣ “Is This the End of Reading?” Join our discussion Feb. 23
Last week, I revealed February’s article of the month, “Is This the End of Reading?” Written by Beth McMurtrie and published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the piece focuses on the decline of reading among college students. I highly recommend the article, especially if you’re a parent, educator, or worried about the state of reading. (I am worried. 😬)
Already, several of you have signed up for our discussion on Feb. 23, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. This is great news. If you’re still on the fence, click on the play button below to listen to an introduction to the piece, which Melinda and I recorded last weekend. (Plus there’s an extra perk if you listen to the end!)
Everyone is welcome to sign up for the discussion. This is how it’ll go:
We’ll sign up by clicking the button below
We’ll read and annotate the article together on this shared Google Doc
We’ll listen to an interview with author Beth McMurtrie (coming next week)
We’ll gather on Zoom to discuss the article in facilitated small groups
Are you interested? I hope so!
If this will be your first time, rest assured: Like you, Article Club readers are kind and thoughtful. We love the best writing that’s out there, and we appreciate building connection and empathy across difference. If you have any questions, hit reply or email me at mark@articleclub.org.
3️⃣ The Last True Hermit
Reading this article about Christopher Thomas Knight, who lived for 27 years as a hermit in the woods of central Maine — never talking to anyone — confirmed for me, once again, that I dislike camping and do indeed prefer the comfort of my abode.
But Mr. Knight’s story, brilliantly told by Michael Finkel, certainly earned my respect of the North Pond Hermit, who survived bitter winters without once lighting a fire. Doing so, he said, would give away his location. The trick was to wake up early, around 2 a.m. “If you try and sleep through that kind of cold, you might never wake up.”
But true hermits and survivalists might scoff at Mr. Knight’s dependence on plundering homes and businesses — at a rate of 40 burglaries per year, always in the dead of night — in order to stock up on food and provisions. His favorites included propane (to cook with and to melt ice, for water) and candy, especially Smarties.
After all, how can you look down on Henry David Thoreau (as Mr. Knight does) when you’re rummaging around for bacon and burgers?
By Michael Finkel • GQ • 32 min • Gift Link
4️⃣ A Hellish Apartment
If the last article convinced you that living by yourself in the middle of the woods might not be the ticket to bliss, this article will remind you of the importance of knowing your housemates before entering into a lease agreement. Also, if your gut says no (see below), then maybe your gut is correct.
A few years back, Tabatha Pope was down on her luck, living with her boyfriend at a $35-a-night motel in the West Side of Houston. Desperately needing a permanent place, she heard about an open apartment in a three-story house downtown. Perfect, Ms. Pope thought. Let’s take a look.
The tour of the house went smoothly — that is to say, until the owners showed Ms. Pope the available apartment. “When she started to open the door, an intense, rotten stench flooded the hallway. [The owner] told Pope not to worry about the smell: A refrigerator had stopped working, spoiling some meat.”
By Ian Frisch • Curbed • 27 min • Gift Link
✅ It’s time for a quick poll. I’d love to hear from you.
Last week, we learned that you definitely click on gift links (95% yes, 5% no). To be clear, these are made possible by our generous paid subscribers.
This week, let’s learn more about your reading habits. (My gut says I know this answer, but I want to make sure.)
Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀
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3 fascinating articles! Thank you