Thank you
, , and many others for tuning into my live video with Johnson Riggs ()!This was my first livestream on Substack, so it was a bit of an experiment. But it turned out to be a great conversation covering a range of topics.
The conversation was inspired in part by Maureen Dowd’s recent article in the NYT, “Attention Men: Reading Is Sexy!” According to Dowd:
A man staring into a phone is not sexy. But a man with a book has become so rare, such an object of fantasy, that there’s a popular Instagram account called “Hot Dudes Reading.”
So why don’t men read anymore? Johnson and I share our thoughts on this.
We also discuss: Whether it still makes sense to dedicate your free time to writing fiction, how to promote your writing when the market is both oversaturated and shrinking, and the benefits of finding a writing community IRL rather than online. I also discuss the challenges of running my literary journal Jokes Review in a world where men increasingly don’t read.
Johnson Riggs is the author of the new book Pandemonia, a goofball satire about the pandemic. The book was designed and championed by my friend
, who also connected me and Johnson.While you’re at it, check out my new novel (which I am utterly terrible at promoting), One Night as an Urban Legend, published by Anxiety Press. Similar to Johnson’s book, it’s an over-the-top comedy and satire.
If you enjoyed this conversation, also check out my previous conversation with Johnson that I did on my podcast
, “Can Comedy Still Save Us?”
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