📚 Not Important #1

Welcome to the very first "Not Important"!

PSA: This is a special preview of a fun new email series for paid INI/Members and/or readers who've successfully referred at least 3 friends to our newsletter.

You can support our work and upgrade to a Membership here, or use the tools at the bottom to refer folks!

First things first -- did you know "bi-weekly" can mean either "twice a month" or "every other month"? WTF? It's 2022, how the hell have we not settled on a definition yet?

Second -- my goal is for these newsletters to come out twice a month, and for the content to (as much as humanly possible) be free of everything I cover in the weekly INI newsletter, making for a nice, gentle weekend read for us both.

Among the most important anxiety balms I've discovered in the past couple years is a dedication to turning my brain off from INI-stuff when I'm with my kids, at night, and on the weekends. Not always easy, but always helpful. I'm a better human, a better partner, a better dad, and a hell of a lot better sleeper.

So when I polled INI readers a couple months back on additional content ideas, this was an unexpectedly super popular option, enough that I questioned my day job (haha sigh). I am delighted to get started -- I love to share what I'm reading, tools I'm using, etc.

Expect the format and content to evolve over time, and please let me know any feedback, ideas, etc!

-- Quinn

2 books

A heads up -- my book recommendation links are all via Bookshop (print) and Libro (audio). I switched from Audible to Libro last year and it's great, aside from some books that are exclusive to Amazon. I do extensive reading and research on Kindle as well, but for these purposes, I'm going to support the independent bookshops and businesses.

1. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (print and audio). The first in a tremendous trilogy that's climate-adjacent, but with wildly specific world-building and conflicted characters. I loved it.
2. Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian (print and audio). The fifth in what I believe is 20+ novels in the Aubrey–Maturin series. My family's been on me to read these for years, and while the nautical stuff is dense, the characters and historical fiction element are wonderful. I'm rotating them in between everything else.

You can find all the rest of my all-time books at Bookshop here.

2 articles

1. "The Education of Melvyn Bragg" in The New Yorker. I cherish In Our Time and have learned so much from the show, as a generalist, but also for INI, in the way I try to curate guests and perspectives, and improve my own conversational skills.
2. "Where Do Space, Time, and Gravity Come From?" in Quanta. There are few more disorienting "red pills" than Carlo Rovelli's The Order of Time and this interview with Sean Carroll is a fascinating addition to his perspective. FYI: this the transcript to the podcast convo, often I'll listen to something and then read the transcript so I can annotate.

2 tweets

Follow me on Twitter here for more!

Got a recommendation you think I would love? Just reply to this email and I'll give it a look.

2 tools

1. Readwise. Essential. Collects, connects, and helps me review all of my highlights. Works with Kindle, Roam, Notion, etc. Free to start.
2. TrainingPeaks. I haven't had a race of any kind on the calendar in two years, but it's time to get back to it. TP helps me track my training and effort and plan ahead for race day.

2 mistakes

1. I have an absolute garbage job stretching my broken-ass body the past month. For something that takes 10-15 minutes a day max to considerably decreasing the odds I throw out my back, I have been ignoring it, and I'm going to pay for it sooner or later.
2. Similarly, I haven't had a therapy session in a minute. There couldn't be a better ROI for me every week, but with INI, life, our move, kids, etc -- now I'm just making excuses. Consistency is everything.

2 things I'm grateful for

1. My Philips SmartSleep wake-up light. I got up at 4:45-5 for years (even after college swimming was finished), but struggled the past year or so to get out of bed. And I really cherish that time in the morning before the kids get up. I was shocked how well this light worked on day one, and so thankful to be up early again. A delight.
2. My wife. Every day.

That's it! Brief and easy, so not Elden Ring. I hope you found something fun, inspiring, or useful. Let me know, and have a great rest of your Sunday.

Best,

Quinn

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