Top Fives

...and Uncomfortably Asking for Money

Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash

Hard part first:

I’ve always hated talking about money, maybe because of my upbringing, which prioritized modesty, and maybe because of my belief that it’s usually unwise to trust someone who is trying to sell you something.

And yet money is the major driving force in the things which are important to me: education access, policy, opportunities, participation in government. The ideological value that discussing money is gauche is probably a product of people so wealthy they could historically pretend money didn’t exist. It was the height of privilege to avoid discussing it.

The people who shape our world don’t have to talk about money, because they have so much of it.

So if you’ve supported me monetarily, I appreciate it a lot, especially because I know many of my readers, like me, have to think about money. Leaving teaching, which didn’t pay great, but was at least somewhat stable in terms of pay, was a big financial risk. This newsletter is a relatively small but important part of why I was able to move from teaching into more creative, more fulfilling work, work which didn’t feel like it was harming my mental, spiritual, and physical health. And the newsletter has played a large part in opening up opportunities for me to make a living that is at least half-funded by writing and research and creative pursuits like making and recording music.

I hope people who have paid for this service feel they’ve gotten something valuable in return, but I know with a certainty that I have.

So, that said, if you’re able to afford a paid subscription, I really appreciate it, and it will increase the likelihood that in 2025, I can continue to financially justify the time and money it takes to attend public meetings, do interviews, file FOIA requests, read books, subscribe to other publications, write, revise, edit, respond to feedback from readers, and do all of the other things that go into hopefully making sure this newsletter continues to improve.

This is also a good day to subscribe, because I’m offering ten percent off a yearly subscription until the day after tomorrow.

Fun part (lists!):

And now I feel sweaty and uncomfortable, so let me do something more fun and share some personal favorite stuff this year. (Note: I’ll try to make this mostly things that were released this year, but some stuff will have just been new to me this year.)

Major caveat: I am bad at lists and will forget lots of things that were important to me this year. Please share your favorites in the comments if you are so-inclined, and I will probably remember that I meant to include some of those, too!

Favorite Books I Read in 2024 (Top Five, No Particular Order)

1. Private Rites, by Julia Armfield. A strange, haunting book about a dreamlike near future where it rains all the time and three sisters struggle with the legacy of their father.

2. Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin. A funny, weird subversion of a romantic comedy plot that gains pathos and humor from a character’s unintentional self-improvement.

3. The Southern Reach series, by Jeff VanDerMeer. The first three books came out a long time ago, but I’m currently reading the fourth one, Absolution, which came out last month. I still think the first book, Annihilation, is the best entry, because it creates a gothic, dreamlike atmosphere without explaining too much. The subsequent entries in the series are good, but shift more into a procedural mystery direction that doesn’t undermine what the first book does, but does end up in a different place. I’ve only started the new book, but it seems to be heading back in the more surreal and poetic mode of the first book, while retaining some of the procedural elements that powered books two and three.

4. Normal People, by Sally Rooney (this one came out a long time ago, but it was one of seven books banned from every school in South Carolina last month— probably because no one on the committee had read it, and had to go on the recommendation of an unnamed Department employee, who may have used BookLooks). I watched and liked the Hulu series a few years ago, but the book goes so much deeper into emotional complexity and a surprisingly nuanced analysis of the way money and class and reputation and anxiety all confuse and impact intimate relationships. (It also is far less sexually explicit than the show. In other words, I think the book banners were trying to ban the show, because they didn’t read the book.)

5. The Education Wars, by Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire.

Favorite Albums of 2024 (Top Five, No Particular Order)

1. Nothing for Me, Please, by Dean Johnson. I think this one came out in 2023, but my friend Casey introduced me to it this year, and I love Johnson’s semi-psychedelic take on Everly Brothers harmonies and late-’50s country and folk.

2. nothing, by Louis Cole. Jazz drummer/ multi-instrumentalist Louis Cole writes an album of pieces for big bands, orchestras, and choirs.

3. The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess, by Chappelle Roan. Not only is this an incredible pop album with a huge cultural impact and a much-needed dose of proud queer representation, but it is in my opinion one of the best-engineered, best-engineered, and best-mastered pop albums I’ve heard in many years. (I know it came out in 2023, but “Good Luck, Babe” came out in 2024, and that somehow feels like the album’s best song even though it’s not actually on the album.)

4. Absolute Elsewhere, by Blood Incantation. I have to be in the right mood, but if that mood is, “I want to hear Pink Floyd, fronted by an interstellar monster, melting from spacey prog into extreme metal,” this is the one from this year I’ll choose.

5. [Half of] Mahashmashana, by Father John Misty. I don’t think the whole album works for me, but there are some songs here that are undeniable and keep getting stuck in my head: “Mahashmashana,” “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All,” and “Summer’s Gone” are some of the best Josh Tillman has written. Some of the other didn’t really do it for me, but I still can’t escape this album.

And since several of my favorite authors on Substack are doing it, here are my five top-rated/ most-read pieces from 2024. (Notably, the most-read one is a letter I wrote with my friend Nicole Walker about the state’s restriction of AP African American studies. Also notably, if you are a paid subscriber, you directly funded this work.)

Top Five Educational Advocates in South Carolina in 2024:

1. Josh Malkin and Paul Bowers (ACLU-SC)

2. Mary Foster (Families Against Book Bans)

3. Jennifer Rainville (Appleseed Legal)

4. Tamara Cox and other past and present leaders (South Carolina Association of School Librarians)

5. AJ Davis (Lowcountry Black Parents Association)

6. Freedom to Read and the ProTruthSC Coalition

7. Todd Scholl (Center for Educator Wellness and Learning)

I know that’s more than five, but this is my list and I can do what I want. I also left out organizations like SC for Ed, because I am a Board member. Full disclosure: I do some work for ProTruthSC and CEWL

Top Four Music Projects I Worked on in 2024 (no particular order):

1. Wolf Burritos EP, by Burrito Wolf. I played bass, recorded, mixed, and mastered this. Michael Coleman is a monster drummer and Ross Steppling is a one-of-a-kind guitar wizard.

2. “Welcome Home,” by Casey Havaich. I’ve been recording with Casey all year, working on an EP. This one is a version of a song from their upcoming album. It’s been really rewarding to work with such a thoughtful and unique voice.

3. The Dreamchaser, by Kiah Creed. This one’s not finished yet, but hopefully will be in early 2025. Kiah has been working on this songs for a few years, and the recordings feature essentially all of my favorite Columbia folk artists. Can’t wait for it to come out.

4. Old Haunts (EP), by Quark Lepton. This is me, but my friends Chuck and Ethan played on a few of these songs, which hadn’t come out in these versions before, so this was fun.

And, finally, here are the authors on Substack I’ve been reading the most. Check out their stuff!