Looking Sideways: 10 Things
1. I had the great pleasure of interviewing Adam Skolnick about his new novel American Tiger for the latest episode of Looking Sideways (above).
The story of how Skolnick brought this thing into the world is itself an instructive tale for anybody attempting to get their own creative vision off the ground.
Part creative psychology. Part survival guide to the modern writer’s life. Part sheer bloody-minded entrepreneurialism in an era of shrinking outlets and collapsing budgets.
Watch a clip above, and listen to the whole episode below:
2. “Is Gen X the greatest generation”, asks The NYTimes Style Magazine. I think we all know the answer to that one…
3. The wonderfully written and incredibly well-observed TREKuartista95 is easily one of the favourite Instagram accounts (this opus on the glory of the tip run, or ‘the working man’s therapy’, is my pick for 2025 caption of the year).
And I’m happy to share the news that admin (not ‘the’ admin) has finally got around to making that new zine he’s been harping on about for a while now.
Order here. Into ‘em.
4. I don’t listen to many audiobooks as a rule but I am soundtracking my wintry runs with The Curious Case of Mike Lynch, a proper page-turner about the extraordinary life and death of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
Highly recommended (and yes you can find it in my book store here).
5. We lost Britain’s great photographic documentarian Martin Parr this week.
6. Obligatory ‘Joslin tre flipped El Toro’ post.
7. One my favourite writers, Ben Myers, with his 2025 reflections for Caught By The River.
8. An Austrian climber is being charged with his partner’s death after leaving her on Austria’s highest mountain.
9. I cannot stop listening to this remarkable new These New Puritans track (paging Jamie Brisick…)
10. Finally, a few ways to support Looking Sideways this Christmas that don’t involve taking out a subscription:
Donate to me here (I’ve had a few people asking if they cam do this rather than take out a sub and - you can!)
Use the following codes while doing yer festive shopping or booking ski or snowboard hire (I get a commission):
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS10 for 10% off any order from Finisterre
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for HUGE savings on ski and snowboard hire with Intersport this winter.
LOOKINGSIDEWAYSXDB for 15% off anything from Db
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for 15% off any Stance order
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS2025 for 15% off any Albion purchase
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 20% off anything from Goodrays.
Get some 2026 reading list inspiration and order your festive reads through the Looking Sideways book store (again, I get a small commission)
Gift a paid subscription here:
Hit the Share button and pass it on to a friend who might like it:
Or even just leave me a comment to say hello:
Whatever you decide to do (or not), it takes a lot of effort, love and curiosity to pull this thing together each week, so thanks for the support, shares, DMs, questions, comments, encouragement, and reviews. Even this guy!
