Hi there Article Clubbers!
Thank you again for supporting me and Article Club. Your paid subscription allowed me this week to subscribe to The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education, publications with hard paywalls. Thanks to your generosity, I’m looking forward to bringing great articles from those publications to the newsletter.
It’s time again to demonstrate my gratitude. Today I have four quick things: a small gift, a graph about reading, a pet photo, and a poll. Let’s do it!
1️⃣ I have a small Spring gift for you, if you’re interested.
Some of you know that I’ve been highlighting and annotating online articles since 2009. Last week, my reading program (Readwise Reader) told me I had surpassed 35,000 articles. This means I’ve collected tons of great, deep, thoughtful quotations. Want to receive one of these quotations in the mail?
If so, either (1) hit reply and share your mailing address, or (2) fill out this form. Either way, I won’t save your personal info. But you’ll get a handwritten quotation delivered to you on a postcard via the old-fashioned U.S. Postal Service.
2️⃣ Here’s a troubling graph about the state of reading.
There are no surprises here, but it’s still a little sad. Sometimes I wonder if my reading has declined. It doesn’t feel like it, but who knows? Have you noticed any changes in your reading habits? (I’ve definitely heard: less news, more books.)
3️⃣ Wayne belongs to loyal reader Clare and knows how to snooze.
We’re nearly 10 years into this newsletter, and the cute pet photos do not abate. Here’s Wayne taking a nap, because being a dog is tough. If you’ve secretly been wanting your pet to appear in the newsletter, now’s your chance.
4️⃣ I’d like your feedback: Is the monthly discussion format confusing?
If you’ve been here a long time, you remember that the newsletter used to be articles only. Then five years ago, I launched an article club feature, which included an article of the month, an author interview, and a discussion on Zoom.
I’ve been hearing from some readers that this is confusing. Because the weekly articles and the article of the month are both part of the same Thursday issue, they can’t tell which is which. Is the current format confusing to you?
SUBSCRIBER-ONLY POLL
Is the current format confusing?
Yes
22%
No
78%
9 VOTES · POLL CLOSED
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Also, if you think it’s confusing, I’d love to hear your ideas about how to make the format clearer. Thank you!
All right, that’s it for now. Once again, thank you for reading Article Club and supporting this newsletter with your hard-earned dollars.
May the rest of your weekend be joyful, and your week ahead delightful,
Mark