Weekly Roundup: February 4, 2022

Quote of the week:
“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” –Joan Didion

What I’m reading:
Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

What I’m listening to:
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

What I’m watching:
The Tinder Swindler on Netflix

Writing news:
I got two lovely blurbs for Ways the World Could End this past week (thank you to Amy and Jennifer):

“Kim Hooper’s writing had me hooked from the first page. The father-daughter relationship between Dave, who lives with Asperger’s Syndrome and Cleo, his lonely and sarcastic teen, was funny and tender. Hooper’s warm-hearted depiction of these characters painted a touching, painful and funny portrait of loss, love and connection. The novel left me thinking about all the ways the world can end, both large and small.” 
—Amy Tector, author of The Honeybee Emeralds

“In Ways the World Could End, Kim Hooper has given us a father grieving for his wife, a daughter grieving for her mother, and in the absence of the woman they both loved and relied on to make sense of the world, a seemingly unbridgeable gap between the two of them.  With tenderness, humor, candor, and insight, Kim Hooper brings her characters from darkness to light in a story that’s ultimately about the power of love.”
 ––Jennifer Anne Moses, author of The Art of Dumpster Diving 

What I’m talking about:

The ongoing trend of mothers gathering together to scream, expressing their rage and despair over the pandemic and the way it’s made parenting so much more challenging. (For the record, I would totally participate in this if there was a group near me)Vaccines for little kids–I guess they’re coming, but there seems to be some confusion (read here)The whole Russia/Ukraine situationBiden nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court (it’s about time)

Interesting things I learned this week:

4.3 million Americans left their jobs in DecemberIn the 2000 NFL draft, Tom Brady was the 199th pick in the sixth roundFrom 2013-2021, 87% of artists nominated for a Grammy award were menThe Dollar Tree is raising its price of goods to $1.25

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Dog clown outfit.” My daughter and I were talking about this for our little dog, Frankie (below).

What I’m grateful for:
I’m so grateful I got to see my good friend this past week (she’s in town from Africa!). I’m grateful for my health–Covid tests are still negative. And I’m grateful to feel a creative spark again (I’ve returned to working on a new novel).

Have a great weekend!

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