Lightplay: a letter about making books, cooking, and more

My free, independent newsletter is one of the ways I stay alive in the world. Receiving an issue of Lightplay should feel like getting a short, smart letter from a friend who loves books and cooking. Let’s stay in touch.

Archives

Felt Cinema, LLM Prose, Palmistry, Mango Popsicles

Remembering Joe Smith, Goodbye Pear, Big Numbers, Amaryllis

A video of an amber snail with pulsating eye tendrils that look like caterpillars

043 – Flâneur of the Supermarket

042 – Joshua Tree Abstract

Exuberant Moshing, Community in the Comments, Mass Protagonism, Vinegar

041 – Ruins of a Russian Count’s Castle

Print’s Moment, Best Book Covers, Police State Glossary

040 – The Zen of Tiny Books

A photograph of the big, thick hardcover edition of Mason & Dixon sitting on top of a rainbow colored towel

039 – In Praise of Reading a Big Winter Book

A photo of a white and gray cat sitting on a scratchy, looking to the side.

038 – Eleven Short Notes on Blogging

037 – The Lightplay Gift Guide (2025)

036 – In Praise of Making a Holiday Card

A photo of a eucalyptus tree in front of a tall white building, with the tree casting dappled shadows against the facade

035 – Involuntary Perspectival Shift

A photograph of an old box truck in front of a facade with cracked signage.

034 – An Archipelago of Life-Promoting Culture

033 – In the Night Kitchen

032 – Banana Waffles

031 – Actual Size and the Urge to Regurge

030 – A Book for Watering Plants

029 – The Night Riders

A photo of a pot of dry oats on a stove, and the oats are currently being tossed into the air.

028 – Tim’s Oats

027 – George Washington Carver’s 43 Bulletins

A still from the film Ghost Busters of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man but with Kamala Harris's face photoshopped in

026 – Choose the Form of the Destructor!

An image of thousands of eggs being destroyed by heavy machinery under a hot sun.

025 – 8 Billion Eggs

A photograph of a gate opening in a hedge.

024 – Making an Entrance

A photo of an orange traffic cone with a white flower pushed in the top.

023 – Copaganda Comes for E-Bikes

A close-up photo of red and pink flowers.

022 – Healing a Space

A photo of a rental scooter draped with a pink fabric, leaning against a lightpole on a city street.

021 – Begin Again

020 – Night/Light

An image of a raven soaring over Los Angeles

019 – We Need a National Gun Violence Memorial

A photo of a sunset, the rays forming bars as they pass through a cloud.

018 – The Old Weird Internet (Never Died)

html pdf podcast

017 – Taco Story

html pdf podcast

016 – Music and Power

A picture of a tiny, green espresso cup and saucer, the cup full of black espresso.

015 – Espresso

014 – Utopian Proposals

013 – Chronos, Nomads, Fruit

012 – the Lost Travelogue

011 – Rainbow

010 – American Trip

009 – The Strangest Summer

008 – Bread

007 – Change the Name!

006 – A Post-Protest Popsicle

005 – Recipe for a Protest Movement

004 – Beyond the Kitchen Window

003 – Sauerkraut

002 – the Great Sandwich

html pdf

001 – Salsa Ranchera

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2015 Travelogue: China, Tibet, Thailand

8 – Three Ecstatic Moments

7 – The Amateur Mountaineers

6 – Two Tibetan Print Houses

5 – A Hill With a View

4 – Wachang to Litang

3 – Muli Monastery to Wachang

2 – Kunming to Muli Monastery

1 – San Francisco to Hong Kong