Weekend reads

Newsletters worth reading slowly

Part of embracing this slower pace is being intentional about what I consume and take in. I’ve so loved discovering new Substacks over the years, but that enthusiasm has added up to a very full inbox! So this week I’ve been paring back until what remains is the stack I actually want to savor: the newsletters worth reading slowly, with nowhere to be.

I’m sharing a few favorites here alongside what else has been making its way onto my slow reading list:

1. Room to Grow: You know I love a good curated guide. A new friend, Skylar Allen, puts together the best food, art, & culture finds in her San Francisco guides plus has a great series Younger Selves where she interviews people on how their past self has influenced the present.
   📓 An article to start
   

2. That’s Kind of Brilliant: I took a few of Alison Zamora’s journaling workshops last year and was so impressed by her depth, prompts, and facilitation. A writer and poet that helps us get more in touch with our inner landscape, I love Alison’s support with the introspective.
   📗 An article to start (a workshop on summer slowdown)
   

3. Feeling! Magazine is a visual and sensorial delight. Jenna O'Brien is truly world-building and opening each issue feels like stepping through a portal. Plus, I’m envious of the name alone!
   📙 An article to start
   

4. I’ve been reading Creative Fuel for a few years now, I particularly look forward to Anna Brones’ end-of-year creative advent calendar, but her posts on connecting art with the everyday and the process of her writing and paper craft work is really special.
   📕 An article to start
   

5. Newly exploring The Midline, as I have officially crossed over into midlife. Lynn Juang and Janeen Ritson are writing about both personal identity shifts and global change and both also happen to be creatives.
   📘 An article to start
   

6. Forevers: A newsletter written by two friends (Samantha Amberg & Erin Greenawald) sharing how we can be more creative and authentic with our friendships.
   📓 An article to start (This one reminded me of friend Taylor, follow her new substack too!)
   

7. Laura Hess’ This is Not an Experience is a creative strategist’s take on experiential art and entertainment. I love the focus and rigor of her work on ROX and her insightful reviews on experiences that I have on my bucket list.
   📗 An article to start
   

8. Time Foragers Club: Helen C Stark is an artist and illustrator in the UK and her monthly gazette is a gift to the inbox. While I haven’t taken her sketch sessions yet, I do enjoy seeing into her colorful sketchbooks and process.
   📙 An article to start
   

9. I love Out of Office Network’s ethos and the exposure to different ways of creative living that Alice Katter highlights in her newsletter. I had the joy of participating in the Out of Office Creative Residency in 2024 and nerding out on our overlapping areas of interest.
   📘 An article to start
   

10. Tensies: My good friend and collaborator HL Whitney’s newsletter is a fantastic concept, container, and project about projects. I excitedly open each issue to see the power of ten theme take drastically different forms.
    📕 An article to start (I particularly appreciated her Tensie on the theme of slowness when she experimented with digital detoxing — something we talk about a lot!)

I’m thinking about joining the Spiritual Ecology Book Club per recommendation of one of my mentors, Tiu de Haan. The next book for JUNE is “Thus Spoke the Plant”

Book Club Reading Schedule

What are you enjoying slowly lately?

I’d love to hear what you’re reading, Substack favorites and/or book recommendations. Share in the comments!

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Collage by me, with open source imagery from Public Domain

Introducing 🐌 Nice & Slow

I introduced a new patron-level membership tier to explore the theme of slowness together. A slower kind of support: working toward our dreams without the pressure to sprint.

Here’s what’s included:

• Nice & Slow Sessions (monthly): open, unrushed co-working time. Bring something you’d like to work on slowly and we’ll do it in good company!

• Seasonal Ritual Gatherings (Quarterly Zooms): a space to notice how our pace and rituals are changing through the year, plus simple creative templates to support you (I really miss the energy of those Freelance for Life retrospective gatherings, and I’m bringing them back in this form). OUR FIRST VIRTUAL GATHERING IS JUNE 24

• Care Packages: sent via snail mail, physical packages of small delights to honor the things that move slower, and to help us connect with the nicer side of slowness

If you want to take things Nice & Slow — and be a supporting patron of this work — you can join anytime by upgrading your subscription to founding level.

More soon. Slowly.

Sarah