From My Inbox: Books

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love books. I read quite a few books - not just the genre I share in the J Kelly Reads section of my Substack. As a “tween” - I must have been 10/11 years old - I was given free reign to my mother’s bookshelf. I could read anything on the bookshelf, and I mean ANYTHING. There was one stipulation: I had to put the books back where I found them. I wasn’t one of the cool kids, and didn’t have free in other aspects of my social existence, so I read. I devoured the bookshelf (my mother went back to university after my parent’s divorce, so there were lots of books from her course reading lists). I read history. I read novels. I read the works of Canadian literary icons (Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, amongst others but those three of lifelong favs) as well as icons of the “romance” genre (Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins…). By the time Judy Blume’s Forever landed in the local bookshop, I’d had quite a literary education and was mildly amused at the hoopla that book stirred in the elementary school hallway (where it was passed around in paper bag because some parents didn’t want their daughters reading it). Judy Blume. Porn? Obscene material? This is a joke, right? Books opened my mind, not my legs.

Yes, I am multitasking…writing this From My Inbox as I learn about the extent of book bans and removals taking place in US school libraries across 37 states.

Ok, now on to other good 💩 from my inbox:

People with no friends or poor-quality friendships are twice as likely to die prematurely, according to Holt-Lunstad’s meta-analysis of more than 308,000 people—a risk factor even greater than the effects of smoking 20 cigarettes per day.

• Friendships Are Not Optional (Psychology Today)
• To understand how an animal sees the world, start with the shape of its pupils (TED-Ed)
• Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them (Aeon video)
• Stories, Stereotypes & Brain Scans: The Better Story of the Science of Story (Medium)
• Entrepreneur & Angel Investor Mary McKenna discusses how it is difficult for women to get funding and what women can do to transform this tough industry (RTE Radio 1)
• 12 Daily Habits Of Successful People: Resilience, Mindfulness, And Leadership (Simon)
• Are you a woman or non-binary founder trying to start a company? Fierce Founders Bootcamp helps women and non-binary founders build the next Canadian unicorns. September 10 deadline to apply! And while you’re at it female founders, check out the opportunities featured in the recent Cartier Women’s Initiative newsletter.
• From Collective[i] - “In her first public appearance since leaving Google, Cassie Kozyrkov will share her perspective on how the science of human decision making is impacting the development of artificial intelligence.” Join the conversation on September 7.
• September 20 join Women’s Media Group for A Journey in Podcast Producing, an online lunch & learn with Golda Arthur, independent showrunner and producer
• “Exclusively Yours, BIV" . . . a perfect opportunity to have a small group of BIV (Broadway Inspirational Voices) performers come to your home or party venue and perform for events.
• And oh Canada! news you may have missed in all the big headlines - Canadian donair sandwich costume sells for $16,000 (BBC)

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Warning. I am going to rant and overshare (again). If you are triggered by the discussion of women’s health issues, or the word MENOPAUSE, exit this From My Inbox immediately.

I timed my entry into menopause perfectly (if that is at all possible) - it took place during COVID. Perfectly timed, so no-one needed to witness my silent screams on the little-discussed 💩 symptoms that occur during menopause (how about plantar fasciitis leading to extreme facia pain from neck to in-step, for an entire f’g year, yes, an entire f’g year) along with my verbal tirades every time I got an email about another industry disrupting cream, yam-based supplement and/or cutely curated monthly subscription kit being rolled out in a pastel colored box, all because the startup world woke up to the “massive” market of previously invisible menopausal women.

IMHO all we really need is truthful information, relatable stories (aka info transmitted via shared experience networks) along with reliable, comprehensive studies to navigate the inevitable sh#tshow that is menopause (that is, for those of us privileged to still be around at an age to experience it).

It is SO IMPORTANT (I am shouting) because of the misogyny and tropes associated with estrogen and youth that we use the most rigorous evidence here.

• Informed Decisions: When Menopause Hormone Therapy Isn't Recommended (The Vajenda) + Gunter's Guide to the Hormone Menoverse (The Vajenda)