Cozy lights + art thefts + pregnancy

Dec 12, 2021

May I recommend

Cozy lights

Oh, you’re recommending Christmas lights at Christmas time. How really flipping original, Amy. Aren’t you innovative? Aren’t you cutting edge? Aren’t you cool?

You like them because they make you nostalgic, and because they are pretty and because when you walk into a dark room and turn them on, for one brief moment you feel safe and warm and secure? Isn’t that UNIQUE and INTERESTING.

Wait, do you think it sucks that it gets dark so early now but the lights in the neighbourhood are the one literal bright spot in a bleak, unforgiving universe? Wow, no one has every had that thought before. Your Pulitzer is in the mail.

In defending this corny and trite recommendation — even in this weird, aggressive, sarcastic way — are you simply reinforcing the Hallmark Movie nonsense that at Christmas time we remember the simple things and reconnect with what REALLY MATTERS when in reality the whole season has been co-opted by environmentally devastating, exploitative capitalism to which you are a cheerful contributor?

You disgust me.

But also, this recommendation is 100% correct. A string of lights is basically the best and coziest thing in the world.

What utterly basic thing do you love about the festive season?

New clues in spectacular art theft

New clue reportedly surfaces in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Heist

So my next book (autumn 2022 - THE FOULEST THINGS) is centered on stolen art and takes place almost entirely in an ARCHIVE. Duh duh duh. One of my characters actually references this major art theft in Boston that has never been resolved, although mob links ARE suspected.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist remains unsolved, despite a $10 million reward for anyone who can help retrieve the stolen art. The theft took place in March 1990, when two men showed up at the museum late at night dressed as police officers. They restrained the security guards and left with 13 pieces from the collection, estimated to be worth more than $500 million.

Speaking of The Foulest Things

My publisher makes me do these “author talk” videos about the latest book. So here is me talking about The Foulest Things. I do find it super cringey, but I also think it’s funny how I get suddenly animated when I talk about the murder. You can actually see the moment I relax, so I am throwing my vanity aside and sharing it. This book is coming out next fall!

Pregnancy is bonkers

A pregnancy souvenir: Cells that are not your own

Apparently women absorb the fetal cells of their young and can hang onto them for years after giving birth. The whole concept of growing a person in your body from your own body is just so weird when you think about it.

The new study suggests that women almost always acquire fetal cells each time they are pregnant. They have been detected as early as seven weeks into a pregnancy. In later years, the cells may disappear, but sometimes, the cells settle in for a lifetime.

Efficiency is not a good in itself

Why Time Management Is Ruining Our Lives

I often get seduced by the lure of efficiency and productivity. I am trying to not be so intense about it. This article is a good reminder.

It is not hard to grasp the appeal: efficiency was the promise of doing what you already did, only better, more cheaply, and in less time. What could be wrong with that?
Time management promised a sense of control in a world in which individuals – decreasingly supported by the social bonds of religion or community – seemed to lack it. In an era of insecure employment, we must constantly demonstrate our usefulness through frenetic doing, and time management can give you a valuable edge