new month, new vibes

a few fun updates for spring, plus a new "pay what you want" option

Hi friend,

Happy Sunday!

I love Sundays in the springtime — the evening hours start to stretch longer, the sunshine warms up the house all afternoon, and somehow my Sunday Scaries don’t set in nearly as often as they do during wintertime.

I’ve spent this particular Sunday cleaning my house, opening all the windows, restocking the fridge and freezer with easy meals (chicken wontons, steak bowls, salmon burgers) and making lists for the week. I’ve also been watching a favorite streamer play Zelda on Nintendo Switch while I’ve folded laundry and dusted around the living room.

Later, I’m hoping to play board games with my family and read for our next book club adventure in Life in the Iron Mills (starting tomorrow—email coming first thing in the morning!).

Something exciting out today

Today has also been extra sweet because my podcast episode with Tash of Wolfish is officially out in the world! Tash invited me to come chat with her all about adaptation and Pride & Prejudice following our recent read-a-long.

We talked for three hours straight about our favorite parts of the 1995 and 2005 TV and film adaptations, and also got into some of our particular nits with each version. The first half of our conversation is now available — with the second half coming next week.

Pride and Prejudice: a conversation about screen adaptation (part 1)

Creativity on the rise

I’ve been spending lots of time this month at the pottery studio. I’ve been playing with shape, throwing much larger hunks of clay, and starting to unlock what feels like a little bit of personal style. I make a lot of little finger pots and bowls—which have ended up being an adorable way to store and organize my craft supplies.

I’m not into symmetry; I love a pot that really feels handmade. I’m trying to balance my desire for wacky, off-kilter design with something that still has an element of charm and polish.

On that front, the bubbly vase (pictured below) was so fun to make. It’s the tallest vase I’ve ever made! I’m so proud of it and can’t wait to trim it this week, so I can get it ready for glazing. The studio I’ve been frequenting has an incredible glaze collection—what color(s) do you think I should try on this one!? I was wondering about a groovy fern-y green or a buttery yellow…Or maybe…both!?

A few snaps from the first week of April...

Speaking of creative outlets

This afternoon, I made a collage for April. It’s become a bit of a random tradition during the first week of each month. I’m always cutting little phrases and pretty pictures out of magazines, as well as collecting cute stickers and pretty junk. So I get my junk box out and make a collage of the vibe for the month.

Here’s what I made for April. I love it. (Especially that adorable closely reading illustration—the girl in orange—from a magazine about reading!) I use glue tape, a giant glue stick, and just attach the images that have inspired me inside this giant notebook.

My April collage, complete with cat sticker and adorable glitter heart

---

A new paid option for subscribers

As we embark on another round of new book club reads, I want to offer more flexibility in the payment options—so you can unlock a whole year of Closely Reading (and the complete archive) at the price point that makes the most sense for you.

I’ve created an “offer” page for each of the options below. Moving forward, I’ll include these links at the bottom of every post, so it’s easy to access them each week.

$100 per year
Founding member status, or status as a “Patron of Literary Arts” is the highest paid tier possible—available for anyone who wants to opt-in at this level.

$50 per year
Get a full year of Closely Reading for $50. Available to all readers, all the time.

$25 per year
Get a full year of Closely Reading for $25. Available to all readers, all the time.

$15 per year
Get a full year of Closely Reading for $15. Available to all readers, all the time.

Free subscribers will continue to have access to (almost) everything: regular essays, our current book club guides, monthly round-ups, and literary analysis.

Paid subscribers get access to everything above, plus:

• All book club guides (current and past)

• Bonus posts during book clubs and on other readerly topics

• Longer pieces of more academic-style analysis and writing

• The full archive (all essays and newsletters automatically enter the archive after 6 months; each book club guide enters the archive soon after we complete the reading, usually within about six weeks)

Thank you!

Thank you so much for considering a paid subscription.

I wanted to share that the support I’ve received here allows me to continue building this space, develop great resources (a workbook is officially in the works!!!!!), and to invest my time here—as well as at the pottery studio and on long restful walks—rather than hustling for freelance work.

In the last year, I’ve been able to completely stop hustling for freelance opportunities to focus solely on our community here—and it’s been a game changer for my creativity, productivity, and overall happiness.

Your likes, comments, shares, and subscriptions are so inspiring and helpful to me, and I’m so grateful for your engagement and support in whatever form is right for you.

Cheers to the rest of April — may it bring us lots of sunshine and flowers.

Last week, it snowed on my fruit blossoms. Spring is so up and down; I love that about her.

‘Til next time, happy reading!