smart ideas from books
Respect the one-hit wonder because – well – at lest they had a hit.
Which is more than the rest of us non-contributing peons can say.
Honestly, I know how this feels to a small extent.
See, one post goes a little bit viral and you spend the next year trying to do it again.
The truth is that nobody really knows what works.
Meh.
Respect the one-hit wonder not for his one hit but for all the days he must have suffered afterward, trying for another.
-Sarah Manguso, 300 Arguments (Amazon)
Reminds me of when I sent a fan letter to Thomas Sowell.
I mean, I would have never called it that.
I simply told him I admired his work and requested that he sign a book.
At nearly middle age it still seems odd to send one to someone younger.
Of course, I guess that’s the point.
This change in perspective is not as far off as it once was.
Today, for the first time, I sent a fan letter to someone younger than I am. It marks a change in my relationship to the world.
-Sarah Manguso, 300 Arguments (Amazon)
At this point (in a practical sense) I am a fan of people who are able to systematically:
