{"id":15864,"date":"2025-07-25T13:10:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?p=15864"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:10:16","slug":"log-off-read-a-book-connect-irl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/07\/25\/log-off-read-a-book-connect-irl\/","title":{"rendered":"Log off, read a book, connect IRL"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
\n
\n \n

Sign up for the Nieman Storyboard newsletter,<\/em><\/a> delivered every Friday in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

***<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Dear Storyboard community, <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

The murkier, messier, and more distracting the internet gets for reading (and doomscrolling), the more I appreciate physical books \u2014 and, as an added bonus, getting to meet the authors in real life.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

I recently attended events featuring several writers on Storyboard’s radar: In Seattle, Brendan O’Meara (host of the long-running Creative Nonfiction Podcast<\/a>) read from his new book, \u201cThe Front Runner: The Life of Steve Prefontaine,\u201d<\/a> and was joined by fellow journalist Maggie Mertens, author of \u201cBetter Faster Farther.\u201d<\/a> And in New York, my podcast colleagues at Ursa<\/a> (Deesha Philyaw, Dawnie Walton, and Kiese Laymon) sat down at The Center for Fiction<\/a> with Lawrence Burney, author of the new essay collection \u201cNo Sense in Wishing,\u201d<\/a> and Carrie R. Moore, author of the short story collection \u201cMake Your Way Home.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

The takeaways? Books are tremendous undertakings, and I’m continually awed by the people who bring them into the world. They require patience, endurance, and insight. And it’s more important than ever to meet IRL to remind ourselves that this work is ultimately about human connection. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Behind every book, there may also be a book’s worth of material that didn’t<\/em> get published. This week, Storyboard contributor Mallary Tenore Tarpley<\/a>, author of the forthcoming memoir \u201cSlip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery,\u201d<\/a> talks to fellow writers about how to handle research and writing that doesn’t make the finished project. As Marshall Project reporter Shoshana Walter (author of the forthcoming “Rehab”<\/a>) told Tarpley:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n
\n \n

\u201cWriting a book taught me to be less precious about what I\u2019ve written. A lot of shaping what you\u2019re writing and what you\u2019re saying comes from cutting words back until you discover what you\u2019re really trying to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

In praise of outtakes: How journalists make the most of their story cuts<\/a><\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div> \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

[ Read the story<\/a> ]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Links of note<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n