Commonplace #21
Some things that recently caught my interest
Reader. Writer. Jesus follower.
Former sailor seeking bold coffee, sublime jazz, and deep connection.
Dear friends,
Last fall I still had grand intentions about this publication and I planned all sorts of things for 2026. During November through January however, I experienced a period of deep depression. I am still not sure what set it off but it was a fairly dark time for me and my interior life. As the new year began, I also felt very disillusioned with the Substack platform and the direction it was taking. In my opinion it had grown so fast and become much like other social media platforms. In recent weeks, Substack even announced they would begin allowing sponsored publications.
I intentionally withdrew. I unsubscribed from about 95% of the publications I was following and slowed my writing down considerably. I needed a break. I needed time to think about what I was really doing here. Was this the right platform for me? Did I have anything new or valuable to offer? So I took a few months of barely writing and engaging to reflect on these factors, spend more time reading fun books, engage more fully with my family, and, most importantly, rediscover my desire for an interior spiritual life.
As January turned into February the fog of depression lifted. For those of you who have been here for awhile and know my story, depression and PTSD are things I will continue to work through for the rest of my life. But I am navigating them. One of the reasons I left all social media a couple years ago was because of how fake it makes our lives seem. For me personally, I felt that I couldn’t get a real idea of a person through what they chose to share in a few random photos or snippets of their lives. I prefer the raw and vulnerable nature of writing. Sure, people can hide things in writing too but I know that this is the way for me to share the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly of my life.
So I am slowly reengaging. Slowly resubscribing. I am restructuring my publication a bit. I am being more intentional about what I read and write. As my friend Alexander M Crow recently shared, Substack can be like one’s personal library. Dip in and out to read what you want. There isn’t an obligation and it should be enjoyable.
My longtime pal, Kert Lenseigne 🌱, recently shared some of his thoughts about Substack as well. It doesn’t need to be performative. I don’t need a large audience. We can all find our own small corners of this space and engage with those who encourage and challenge us.
What I realized is that Substack is just a platform that enables us to share our ideas. It offers a lot of different tools. We are free to use those we want and disregard the rest. I don’t intend to jump back in full throttle anytime soon. I am enjoying the slower, measured pace now that I have made my peace with what this space is and isn’t.
In 2025 I spent a year with Homer and wrote about the experience each week. I have taken down those original posts but have consolidated everything into PDFs, one for each book. You can find them at Reading Guides.
The Odyssey movie releases soon. I am looking forward to it. Here is the trailer.
"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will." — Charlotte Brontë
Links of interest:
My latest entry in the Roots and Wings series, Home is Not a Place, is a reflection on James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room. For July we are reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Barrie and Jojo continue sharing their love of beautiful things in their weekly Field Notes for Curious Minds.
My friend Barrie lives in France and is a biking enthusiast. I saw this recent article and immediately thought of him. What It’s Like to Bike the Traverse Cavenole in France.
Alice Keegan shares her thoughts on why I don’t want to work anymore.
Simon Haisell, the Godfather of the Slow Read, is starting a new book. You can join him to Read Alan Garner’s Treacle Walker.
If I ever make it to France, on of my stops will be the Hill where Susie Mawhinney makes her home. A kindred soul and lover of the natural world, she shares her thoughts on why I want to be a swallow.
Sam Alaimo shares his thoughts about the future of the country we both served in his essay, If America Will Make It Another 250, It Must Remember How To Suffer.
I love seeing things like this. There is so much beauty and talent in this world.
Peco and Ruth Gaskovski are people I trust. Their writing is authentically human and from the heart. They have long advocated for AI-free writing and have recently compiled a list of Substack Voices You Can Trust.
Music:
Jazz on the Beach - my go to jazz radio show each week.
Book to TV:
For anyone interested in gritty crime dramas, I highly recommend watching Detective Hole. Based on the character Harry Hole in the crime novels by Jo Nesbø, this show is dark and powerful. Detective Hole is the ultimate broken hero, attempting to overcome his own demons.
Personal Reading:
I’ve highlighted one fiction and one nonfiction title as my top recommendations from this list.
Recommendations:
Fiction - Dark Pines by Will Dean (Tuva Moodyson#1. Thanks to Melissa Joulwan for the recommendation!)
Nonfiction - The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
The rest of the fiction:
Kilrone by Louis L’amour
Never Go Back by Lee Child (Jack Reacher book #18)
The Crossroads by C.J. Box (Joe Pickett #26)
Winter Study by Nevada Barr (Anna Pigeon #14)
The rest of the nonfiction:
Only read one nonfiction since the last time.
Matthew Long is a retired sailor, reading, writing, and living in rural western Tennessee.
When your name pops up in my notifications, I am excited to read your words immediately. Keep being you Matthew.
I was off Substack for all of March and most of April. Life got in the way, but the step back also did me good. You’re right, Matthew: Substack is only a platform for sharing ideas, and it’s good to remember that. Someone left a snarky comment on a recent note of mine asking why I had posted it. I didn’t engage. I just thought: because I had an idea to share. That’s all.