secondorn in 1965, Gretchen Rubin is a best-selling author and speaker who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Best known for writing on happiness and wellness topics, she published The happiness project in 2009 and more recently Outerine order, inner calm in 2019. His podcast, Happier with Gretchen, which he co-hosts with his sister Elizabeth Craft, has won multiple awards, including a Webby earlier this year. She lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.
1. Music
Mule Skinner Blues by Dolly Parton
I ran into her at random, this old song, almost singing, covered by Dolly Parton in 1970. It’s a country classic and has this chorus of “hey”: if you need a ride, it will make you happy. I love Dolly Parton. I feel like she’s one of the few universals. All the books that you have donated over the years to her. Imagination library… She has done so much for the people of her state and country, and now the world with her donations for vaccine research. She is a secular saint, in a way.
2. Podcast
One of the ways I remove my restless energy from all the Zoom meetings and don’t travel is by taking long walks around Central Park while listening to a great podcast. I love this one. Beautifully produced, it’s about the power of hearing, exploring noise pollution, special effects in movies, etc. It really piqued my sense of hearing and my appreciation of the auditory world, and made me much more aware.
3. Fiction
Wild Seed by Octavia E Butler
Nothing makes me happier than meeting an exciting new author. I love science fiction and this year I discovered Octavia E Butler. Wild seed it is the first one [chronologically] in his Patternist series. It is a science fiction fantasy and makes you think about human nature and history. The four books cover freedom, control, science, history, all the big topics. Some are about slavery, others about mind control, and alien species that control other species. Each one can be alone, but I read them all and in the preferred order.
4. TV
It is a dramatic comedy about the meaning of life and relationships. The main character is a game developer who keeps dying and reliving his 36th birthday and slowly begins to understand his own life. It seems like the story would end quickly, but they have figured out a way to blow it up and that’s really amazing. NatashLynnene stars in, and she created it with Amy Poehler anLeslieye Headland, an eminent creative team. It’s very exhilarating and incredibly binge-friendly – I loved it so much I saw it twice!
5. Place
In early 2020, I decided that I would visit the Met every day. And I did until it closed in March due to Covid, but now it is open again, only five days a week and with reduced hours, but it feels like a pleasure after not being able to go for so long. They are very careful to make sure that people don’t crowd. It’s their 150th anniversary and this was supposed to be a great year of celebration, with the show Doing the Met 1870-2020, full of all the greatest hits.
6. Non-fiction
Roxane Gay Hunger
These are the memoirs of American writer Roxane Gay about her relationship to heweight, andnd she is so inquisitive that it really makes you think about your own identity, expression, and relationships. Gay’s struggle with his weight has been an important element in his life and identity. The book looks at that and also tries to understand his childhood. Gay has such a powerful voice. I read a few things about her and I follow her on Twitter, where she is very funny, but I feel like this was the most profound. It’s a super compelling read.
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www.theguardian.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism
