BOOK ONION, SPRING 2024
pointless endeavor, continued
Hello,
It’s been a year. Well, slightly more, because I don’t keep up with my own self-imposed deadlines. But, yes, it has been a year on Substack for me, and I’m quite happy with it.
If you were here half a year ago, you might remember that I also have a habit of saving others’ Substack posts that I really like. I decided to share them with you in a biannual so-called “award ceremony”. The first such ceremony is here.
***This is a long-ish post with a lot of links that might be truncated in emails. I highly recommend you click on the title to read the whole thing without interruption.***
So below you will find the Substack posts that I enjoyed the most, written in the period from January 2024 to June 2024. This time there are 15 posts and 13 recipients of the coveted (not) prize, because some people are just that good. Also, some of the brilliant posts this year were not included because they were hidden under paywalls.
The award is still called “BOOK ONION”. Because layers. And pages. And metaphors.
The first two awards go to one of the best science-related projects of the last few years,
. First, to with his essay on the writing style of scientific papers.
And the second to
(who needs no introduction) for his attempt to guide us through the scary sensory-overloaded world we live in. “In your own habits of consumption, hold on to art,” says Erik.Another common author of the Seeds of Science is
, who published a series of brilliant essays this half-year, but of all of them, I enjoyed this one the most.
Two Book Onions go to
, and frankly, it could have been more. These two letters are somewhat similar in their tone and aggressiveness, but they both are quite important. Also, the second one starts with the line “I would very much prefer not sharing a bunker with my mother,” which is just a gem of proper dark Jewish humor.
Of course,
makes the list, and of course it’s this post. I mean, it has more than 6000 likes, he must be doing something right. And he does—he warns us about ourselves.
This is maybe the saddest post this year.
makes a heart-gripping tribute to Alexei Navalny.
And another post that almost inevitably lands in most “best-of” Substack lists. If you read anything this year, read this,
‘s thoroughly researched and well-argued analysis of our decline.
From a general diagnosis of our culture to a personal story of change and growth. There is maybe a coming-of-age novel germinating somewhere in this post, and if
ever writes it, I’ll be the first in line at the bookstore.
We had the saddest post of the half-year, so now it’s time for the scariest post of the half-year. No ghouls or zombies, just a terrifying account of a human situation by
.
There is a special quality to British comedy—an imperceptible subtleness and everyday grief. To feel it, you can compare the British and American versions of “The Office”, for example. Or you can just read
‘s story of pasta peddling. The story is in 3 parts, and all of them a sombering, sad delight.
Now we go back from personal accounts to eternal topics, and here I would like to praise
‘s ability to say heavy and complex things in a conversational, even flittering way. The first essay is about ethics and the second is about nostalgia, and I think they make a nice pair. Also, buy his book!
And if there is anyone on Substack with a truly light touch, it’s
. I like to imagine him approaching a keyboard as a pianist approaching a grand piano, raising his hands in a gothic Drakula-esque motion, and then letting them fall on the keys dramatically, and yet so lightly, the audience can hear him fart. But the fart is somehow music!
Finally, for this half-year, I would like to give an enormous shout out to
, an incredible community of kaleidoscopically talented people, led by . This substack is full of small and large wonders, and I don’t think any publication brought me, overall, as many emotions this year. But the format of the Book Onion requires choosing a specific piece, and I am very happy to choose this personal, deep and somber gem by .
Book Onions will return in January 2025. All the recipients of the current one are welcome to save the Book Onion badge, display it on their profiles, print it out and wear it on a hat or even completely ignore it.
Best,
Ꙝ
Thank you Konstantin, sorry, I am so slow.