Editor Letter:

Hello, my book-loving buddies!

I’ve been yearning for the past. Not for high school (gross), or for a particular place or person—more for a vibe. I grew up in the 1990s, when claw clips and enormous jeans were invented (you’re welcome), and when simplicity was a privilege that we took for granted.

In that past, when the brand-new internet was for business nerds and telephones were stuck to walls and Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t been created yet, I was thriving. I had a Walkman, a library card and a dream. I would spend all of my time outside of school listening to cassette tapes and reading books that I’d actually touched before I knew what was inside them. In hindsight, I felt so much freer than I do now.

I know that I’m not alone in this nostalgic daydream. Analog is making a comeback, with paper books and vinyl records, in-person meetups and fi lm cameras surging in popularity. Dumbphones are even a thing now! And I’m on board. Let’s start writing letters, baking cakes from falling-apart recipe books, playing board games (but not Monopoly), growing fl owers and writing in journals. Let’s play pool, drink wine, talk about ideas. I know it might sound a little twee, but twee, in my opinion, is better than toxic.

I’m not pushing for full analog yet (all in good time, my friends). I have to be realistic about what we can and can’t live without. So, you can take my phone and my fi tness tracker, but you can never take my e-reader.

Enjoy these completely paper pages (if you’re reading this online, enjoy anyway!). Herein, you’ll read about book reviewing, egghead writers, scorpion bites, autism, library-goers, psychiatric institutions, morally ambiguous characters, beautiful book covers, and Nigerian parents, among other things.

Happy reading!