Vote for our first book club read!

On Writing vs. On Studying

It’s nearly time for the first meeting of what I’m calling Thought Couture’s Thought Salon, a bi-monthly reading club of essays and short stories that have the potential to transform our understanding of literature, culture, and our place within both. My goal for this mini book club is to offer literary companionship in a day and age when that’s awfully hard to come by, plus a supportive space to practice our discussion skills. Not to mention, we’ll become pretty well- and widely-read in the process!

The Thought Salon format will be as follows: The first week of the month, I’ll send a post introducing the chosen text(s), which will be free for all subscribers. The last week of the month, I’ll send a post with analysis, insights, and discussion questions that paid subscribers can participate in at their leisure. (I credit Kate Jones’ Short Story Salon for inspiring this format!) Typically, voting for our reading will be a paid tier perk, but to kick off the club, I’m opening today’s poll up to all.

Our options today are both pairs of short essays (all freely available online) by preeminent writers of their respective generations, the latter inspired by the former. Orwell and Didion contemplate the writing life; Bacon and Johnson perfect their self-study programs. All four offer essential advice for those of us dedicated to the life of the mind and are perfect for a first group read.

Option #1: “Why I Write” by George Orwell (1946) & “Why I Write” by Joan Didion (1976)

Referenced in my most recent essay, Orwell’s “Why I Write” examines how childhood experiences formed his literary compulsions, and how those compulsions evolved into his politically-charged adult writing. Orwell also breaks writers’ motivations into four distinct categories: sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose. Directly inspired by Orwell 30 years later, Didion offers her own philosophy of writing, which is more esoteric, emotive, and introspective, though equally concerned with storytelling.

Option #2: “Of Studies” by Francis Bacon (1625) & “Essay no.85” aka “On Studies” by Samuel Johnson (1753)

Bacon’s brief essay (just about 500 words) considers the value and usage of studying and especially explores how the thinking person must balance consuming information and putting it into practice. Over 130 years later, Johnson elaborates on Bacon’s thoughts and emphasizes the importance of conversation alongside reading and writing—true wisdom, he argues, comes from embracing all three.

Don’t worry, the loser will be reconsidered in the next round! Thank you for taking the time to participate—I’m so curious to find out which option wins and will send out the result next week. See you then! 💜

Quick note for paid subs! As promised, I’ve been uploading ad- and sponsor-free versions of my YouTube videos to a special newsletter section, which you can access here, or click the “Ad-Free Videos” tab at the top of the TC homepage. Only a couple are up now, and more will come over the next few weeks, so check back! I won’t flood your inbox with an email every time 👍

xoxo,