Opportunities

They never really knock, do they?

Oh, there's a lot of opportunities
If you know when to take them, you know?
There's a lot of opportunities
If there aren't, you can make them
Make or break them
— Pet Shop Boys

Last week, I wrote about my new daily routine as I’ve been trying to avoid the avalanche of news that threatens to bury us each day. If you’re on social media for more than five minutes, it’s unavoidable: two-minute videos of talking heads telling us how awful/great everything is. Seeing that ubiquitous pattern helped me realize why it was so draining. Regardless of the point of view of the person, the thing that infuriated me was the certainty with which they spoke. They were sure they were right and couldn’t understand why everyone didn’t see things as clearly as they did. I don’t wish that certainty on anyone.

Hello, Cleveland!

I’ve been traveling with my son around the country as he has been looking at different universities, trying to decide where he will spend the next four years of his life. I can feel his anxiety. What if I make the wrong choice? What if I choose the wrong field to study? What if I pick the wrong career? Through this process, sitting in hotels, endless plane rides, I’ve tried my best to help him understand that it’s not the university that determines his fate or success, it’s his ability to pursue the opportunities that arise along the way.

I’m long past being a college student, but every day I’m faced with new opportunities and decisions. Which book projects should I take on? Which people should I spend more time with (and which people aren’t good for me)? Should I go to this author event and meet new writers, or should I stay home and rest my weary soul?

This week, I chose to go to an event, and I made a wonderful new author friend. We talked about some recent books we’ve read and how they influenced us. She shared how she put her last mystery novel together, and when I told her how a friend of mine came to plot his mystery novels, she was flabbergasted and intrigued. “I may just have to try that,” she said. It was a wonderful exchange of ideas and hopefully the beginning of a great friendship that may never have happened if I had decided to stay home and inside my head.

It was a valuable lesson that I shared with my son later that evening. Opportunity never knocks, but it’s ready to answer when you knock. In the meantime, I continue learning each day and reminding myself not to be so sure of everything I’m so sure of.

What I’m reading this week:

Sweet Fury - Sash Bischoff

Sash’s debut novel is an incredibly clever and well-told story about an actress known as America’s sweetheart who begins seeing a therapist as she prepares for her most prominent role yet, a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. Even the most jaded reader won’t see the twists and turns in this one.

Salem’s Lot - Stephen King

I asked my good friend and horror writer extraordinaire Tim Waggoner for his advice on what books a person should read if they wanted to learn more about the horror genre. Tim recommended Salem’s Lot. “to see an old premise made new, as well as King’s depth of character and strong sense of place (and no one can evoke fear in their prose like he does, especially in his early work).” You can see his other recommendations in my interview with Tim here.

Saint of the Narrows Street - William Boyle

No one writes about Brooklyn like my friend Bill Boyle. (Though the street in this book is fictional, Narrows Avenue borders the high school that Bill and I attended in Bay Ridge.) Bill has written several great books set in Brooklyn, but his storytelling in his newest novel is next level. Someone once described noir to me as “good people making bad choices and bad people trying to make good choices that don’t work out.” Bill is one of the very best at mixing these ingredients like a master chef.

Found Treasures

On the subject of certainty, this 2017 New Yorker story by Elizabeth Kolbert dives into why facts don’t change a person’s mind.

The Great Gatsby turns 100

Joan Didion’s 336 boxes of notes are now available at the New York Public Library. A version of her diary will be published later this month.

Subway nerds unite! The old subway map design is back!

I’m a sucker for a Ken Burns documentary. In November, his PBS documentary on the American Revolution debuts, and the cast of experts and performers participating is incredible.

When it was observed to T. S. Eliot that most critics are failed writers, Eliot replied: "But so are most writers."

One of the many revelations in Joyce Carol Oates’ most recent Substack post, which was originally published in The Hudson Review.

I’ve spoken on countless podcasts about how much I admire Bruce Springsteen’s creative process. This June, he’s going to release SEVEN “lost albums” of material. That’s a career for most people.

Speaking of creatives I admire, a very rare interview with the inimitable Tracy Chapman.

As baseball season is off to a great start, I thought I’d share this classic story from one of my writing mentors, Richard Ben Cramer: What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now, which originally appeared in Esquire.

Have a wonderful and creative week!