I attended Publishers Weekly‘s US Book Show for the first time last week, cautiously optimistic about the main program, but at the last minute, I decided to attend the first day’s workshop and reception, too, because networking is important when you’re on the market, and I’m rusty as hell!

Contrary to what most people who only know me online may think, I’m an ambivert who prefers shining the spotlight on others rather than being in it myself. I love connecting and promoting other people, but am terrible at small talk with strangers, and very rarely proactively introduce myself to people I don’t know. Even all the way back to my poetry days, I was always more comfortable producing and hosting events than being onstage reading my own work.

So even though I wasn’t the target audience for the show’s “Navigating Publishing Careers Today: From Entry-Level to Advancement” workshop, I’m really glad I attended it. It wasn’t recorded on purpose to make participation more comfortable for everyone, and I didn’t take notes, but after a slow start, the conversation really opened up and revealed a fascinating, but not at all surprising, generation gap amongst the notably diverse mix of attendees.

It’s a Different World

I generally avoid giving career advice to anyone, especially anyone younger, because my career path was unusual and almost impossible to duplicate these days. For one, I came in through the magazine side of the business, which is nearly unrecognizable from the industry I joined in 1993 via a couple of temp assignments. Over the years, the book side of the business had no interest in my reader-centric experience until I was running Digital Book World nearly 20 years later, but very few of them had created roles for someone like me yet.

For the first half of my career, I was usually one of the youngest people in the room, and definitely one of the few people of color. I got older and more experienced, but even in 2026, I’m still one of the few people of color in any publishing-related situation way too often.

Looking at the hundreds of attendees for the career workshop, I saw one of the most diverse rooms I’ve ever seen at a publishing event — not just race and gender, but there was at least a 50-year age gap between the oldest and youngest people — and Gen Z came hungry for real talk.

Following an overview of Stephen Covey’s time management matrix from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and some well-intentioned advice for junior staff to schedule time for “Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent” (aka, personal development) in their calendars, it was noted (by me) that most junior staff are typically buried in “Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important” (aka, tedious meetings and admin tasks), and have limited control over their own calendars and priorities.

I noted that throughout my own career, personal development mostly happened during personal time (paid for with personal dimes), and any advice that doesn’t take that reality into account is like pretending individual conservation efforts are the solution while corporations pay zero taxes and build data centers in our backyards. Initially misinterpreted as suggesting using personal time was a good thing, a few younger attendees immediately pushed back, and the conversation took a turn towards being more engaging and productive.

Gen Z Says, “Nope.”

The first time I had a conversation with my own Gen Z son where the words “that’s just how it is” escaped my mouth, I had a multi-layered epiphany. It was my first, “Ok, Boomer!” moment, immediately followed by, “He’s absolutely right, though.” It wasn’t the last time we’d have a conversation like that, and even though the answer unfortunately is sometimes still, “That’s just how it is.” — it always includes consideration for how things can change, too.

Gen Z isn’t willing to accept how things have always been done, and unlike Gen X (me), they’ve lived their entire lives in a world that’s proven the old ways of doing things don’t work, and they definitely aren’t designed to ensure their generation has more opportunities than previous ones did. The overwhelming vibe in the workshop was that managers need to be — and do — better, and some of the older Gen Z in the crowd (including some Star Watch honorees) encouraged self-advocacy, clear boundaries, and (my favorite comment of the day) unionization.

As an Elder Gen X, in the years since I became a manager, I’ve always strived to be the kind of manager I would want to have, while also expanding my understanding that different people want, and need, different things from their work situations. I’ve also learned the hard way that sometimes two people just don’t work well together, and if there’s no structure in place to help overcome that challenge, it can create a toxic environment for everyone.

In lieu of career advice for younger people, these are the primary takeaways that stuck with me for managers who should be helping make career paths smoother for everyone:

• Communication is key, and it has to go both ways. While it’s important for junior staff to be able to speak up for themselves, managers have to proactively create safe spaces that give them the confidence that speaking up is actually safe to do. Ideally, that goes all the way up the chain, through HR, to the CEO, otherwise you create pockets of friction where open communication isn’t valued or is tacitly discouraged.
• Be the Change. Managers have to lead by example, proactively modeling what good communication looks like. That includes publicly speaking up in tense situations, and always advocating for your staff’s needs. I’ve had bosses who supported open communication behind closed doors, but would stay silent in larger meetings, leaving their staff to fend for themselves.
• It’s People, not Human Resources. Throughout most of my career, HR has typically been about managing forms and benefits, and rarely about proactively advocating for staff’s needs. A great HR lead is only as effective as the system (“culture”) they’re working within let’s them be, and ironically, that’s ultimately about their own relationship with the final boss: the C-suite.

A New Digital Book World?

Kudos to Krista Rafanello and the Publishers Weekly team for putting on a great show. Krista and I worked together at Library Journal many years ago, and I was extremely proud to see her front and center throughout the show, but even more so for the program she helped put together. I haven’t worked with many people who have as strong a passion for the people in the publishing industry like Krista does, and I’m hoping this year’s expanded event is a sign of greater things to come. The industry absolutely needs an annual gathering that combines smart programming and great networking opportunities across the supply chain, and PW is well-suited to making it happen with broad industry support.

Overall, it was a strong program with useful insights and takeaways, particularly on career development, data-INFORMED publishing, SEO vs. GEO, and the importance of backlist. I even unexpectedly got to wear my occasional journalist hat and cover one of the best sessions for Publishing Perspectives:

The expert panel representing trade publishers of all sizes and different editorial approaches ultimately agreed on two things: it’s better to be data-informed than data-driven, and human insight remains a competitive advantage for all publishers.

—Data-driven vs. Data-informed: An Inflection Point for Publishers at the US Book Show

“Data-informed, never data-driven” has been my professional tagline for a long time, and while 2018 definitely wasn’t the first time I mentioned it, I think it was the first time I framed it publicly as a strategic imperative with receipts. Now book publishers are having an overdue epiphany about the challenges and limitations of working with big data, which will hopefully help them proactively identify the critical limitations so many of the new tech “solutions” being pitched at them actually have.

(It doesn’t help that many of those “solutions” are being used to increase the productivity of, lower the pay for, or outright eliminate the need for junior staff who are most likely to be forced to use them against their will.)

Beyond the program, the attendees were a diverse, multi-generational mix of people from across the supply chain, and it was great connecting with old friends and colleagues, and meeting some interesting new people, too. (I was also pleased to see several vendor reps actually attending sessions rather than hiding behind their tables waiting for people to come to them, something that drives me crazy at most events.)

I’m glad I attended because it was a timely boost of adrenalin that reminded me I’m not only still passionate about this bonkers industry — warts and all — but remain as optimistic about its future as I was back in my more “innocent” DBW days!

Publishing Career Advice at the US Book Show, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one of them, I’ll be able to find it here. Since I’m a media omnivore, it also includes games, movies, and any other media of note that I engaged with.

Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let’s find out!

Books

Goodnight Punpun, Vol. 5 by Inio Asano

The previous volume leaned further into misery porn a bit too much, making Punpun and the other characters all a little less interesting, and this one was difficult to finish for the same reasons. The appeal of Asano’s storytelling has worn off, and the story itself is struggling on its own merits. I’m going to finish the last two volumes, hoping for the best, but I’m in no rush and my expectations are a lot lower than they were after the first two volumes.

Advertising Shits in Your Head: Strategies for Resistance by Vyvian Raoul and Matt Bonner

An insightful primer on subvertising with a range of examples in full color. It’s a great pairing with Dark PR, and also helped me understand AdBusters a lot more, which I may have to give another try.

{STAR}Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows; edited by Diana Wright

Meadows clarifies that “Systems Thinking” is how I typically view the world, but because I didn’t have a formal understanding of it, also helped me understand why I can have trouble clearly communicating that perspective to other people. The murder board makes total sense to me, but it seems chaotic and tangential when I explain it to someone else! Starting with simple examples, she slowly expands the complexity to define and put into context what systems thinking is, and isn’t, and what its limitations are. Enlightening and timeless, although I think she’d be very disappointed to see where the world ended up in 2026, it’s the latest addition to my “most influential books I’ve read” list.

What Design Can’t Do: Essays on Design and Disillusion by Silvio Lorusso

My limited and long-ago experience with “Design Thinking” kept this from completely going over my head, partly because I made connections to marketing, poetry, and — re: “professional narcissism” — vocational awe amongst librarians. Lorusso makes some provocative arguments throughout that have lingered, merging with my growing understanding of the far more interesting and tanglible Systems Thinking.

{STAR} Maggie the Mechanic: A Love and Rockets Book by Jaime Hernandez

I had no idea what I was getting into with this! Weird, goofy, chaotic world building — with some occasionally problematic moments that haven’t aged well — but it ultimately works thanks to two of the most endearing characters I’ve read in comics in a long time. This might be my next long-term series read.

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

A subversively inclusive vision of Hell that implies a lot about (a particular slice of) human nature, but deftly avoids giving any concrete answers — except for one. Maybe. In the wrong hands, this could have been a pretentious, philosophical slog, but Peck keeps his focus tight, delivering a provocative, brisk novella instead.

The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid

A multi-layered story about love that never overplays its provocative central twist, Hamid’s stream of consciousness run-on-sentences keeps it all moving at a brisk pace — and makes me feel better about my own long-winded tendencies!

The Hole: Consumer Culture, Volume 1 by Damian Duffy, John Jennings

A random find at a used bookstore a while back, I’d never heard of it but, as a fan of their Octavia Butler adaptations, I was curious. Unfortunately, it’s an ambitious, absolute mess that’s difficult to follow, partly because Jennings’ dynamic black-and-white art doesn’t help tracking the multiple time jumps.

Games

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus (Steam Deck)

I love an immersive game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and Mechanicus nailed it as I “finished” it in ~20 hours. I confronted and beat the final mission right before the countdown clock would have forced it, but missed the opportunity to pick a side thanks to some early choices made before I realized I had some control over the countdown’s pace. The game’s base mechanics are pretty intuitive if you’re familiar with the genre, so I didn’t look up any tips videos, and the clock was already at 25% by the time I figured everything out myself. On the bright side, that means I could do another playthrough and it’d potentially be a different experience, which also means I can hold off on the sequel for a while until they fix its various issues.

Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War (Steam)

I hadn’t played this since last year when the Orks absolutely destroyed my Sisters of Battle save, but having become a recent fan of the Orks in other media, decided to give them a try here and… it was amazing! It took a while to get the hang of their playstyle, but my approach to Civilization: All War has been chaotically Ork-like anyway, so they were a perfect fit. After barely staving off elimination by the annoying Space Marines a few times, forced to retreat in a very un-Ork-like manner, I managed to defeat the Necrons who were also under attack by the Adepta Sororitas. At that point, my main city was cranking and I was holding off the Space Marines on one front while pushing forward into the Sisters’ territory, eventually defeating them, too. Having completed the technology tree, I was then able to push forward and defeat the Space Marines, and thought I’d won the game until I realized the narrative campaign had a few more wrinkles in store. The final two battles were ridiculous, but my Orks were up to the task and I managed something I’d never done in Civilization itself: total victory!

Movies & TV

Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2 (Streaming)

I love Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin, and although this season had a few narrative wobbles, several character arcs were emotionally satisfying enough to offset Heather’s clumsy evolution and the return of Jessica Jones. The biggest surprise was Daniel’s arc, from loathsome to sympathetic, and I almost felt bad when his storyline wrapped up. With Frank Castle’s weird disappearance (I haven’t seen his one-shot yet) and confirmed return of Iron Fist next season, I’m honestly a little less excited about what’s next for Marvel’s street-level storytelling. (Luke Cage is the least annoying Defender, but I really didn’t need any of them to come back.)

No Other Choice (Streaming)

The trailer for this one suggested a little more action and a little less nuance than it actually delivered, which was a pleasant surprise. Occasionally goofy, deeply cynical, with a “happy” ending that’s a bit of a Rorschach test, I enjoyed it more than I was expecting.

Sports

NY Mets (SNY & Audacy)

May got off to a promising start, and then they went down to Miami and got swept by the Marlins, and it seemed like the season was over. Too many injuries, too many players underperforming, too much bad luck… and while the rookies were providing a spark, it was arguably too much to ask for them to carry the team, especially as Nolan MacLean was having his first bad run of games. They still have a huge mountain to climb, but sweeping the Marlins to close out the month was an absolute must to keep this season from ending in May, and they pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Seeing the rookies settling in and Soto seemingly more comfortable and engaged at least gives me hope that they’ll be consistently competitive now, and not the total embarrassment they were threatening to become. There’s still a chance for OMG 2: Rookie Boogaloo!

Racing Santander (ESPN+)

I’ve been following them since 2016, when they were in the 3rd division and I randomly caught a game when we were visiting my brother-in-law that summer. The small crowd of less than 5k people were way more energetic than the 70k+ we’d seen at the Camp Nou earlier that week, watching Barcelona win the Supercopa de España, and I was hooked. They became my go-to team in Football Manager, and I was eventually able to watch them on ESPN+ more frequently after they were promoted to the Segunda and pushed for the playoffs and promotion the past few years. Watching them finally clinch that promotion to La Liga was almost as much fun as if they were my hometown team. and I can only imagine what El Sardinero felt like that night! As most promoted sides find out, next season will be a tough one for them, especially if they stick to their attacking style, but if they can survive, I can see them sticking around for a while and being a mid-table contender for the next several years.

Your Notes?

If you’ve engaged with any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments or on the socials! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!

Media Notes: May 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

NOTE: I’m pretty public about my “AI” skepticism, but there are a handful of people I trust to have informed, nuanced takes that help challenge and refine my own thinking. (Two are featured below.) I’ve also had several private conversations with friends and colleagues about their own usage, which I appreciate because most of them are well aware of my skepticism. I’ve still yet to come across any compelling tools or use cases that are of interest to me, but I actually do continue to look for examples that might change my mind. YMMV.

_ONE

Writing & Publishing Awards Have Difficult Decisions to Make Regarding AI | Jane Friedman

While prohibiting AI might be appropriate for some, enforcing such a policy (if it is a real policy and not merely a wish) requires effort and resources that will have to be continually upgraded and assessed. How hard do you want to fight, and how much time and money do you want to commit? I can imagine a couple paths forward depending on the resources of the organization.

The list of AI LLM-related fiascos grows longer every day, but the “inevitability” narrative continues. As Friedman notes here — covering one of the more interesting high-profile situations in publishing this year (so far); not that one. nope, not that one, either. this one, which I hadn’t even heard about until now! — it is definitely inevitable that companies and organizations are being forced to establish clear guidelines and policies for how they’re dealing with “AI”, even when their preference is to not engage with it at all.

Simply making a statement about not using (or not allowing the use of) “AI” is meaningless without a way to enforce and police that goal, especially in any scenario where you’re collarborating with people beyond your control. “AI” tools have been shoved into virtually everything we use on a daily basis, and many companies don’t have clear guidelines or training for how employees should (or shouldn’t) use them, never mind freelancers and other external partners.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Microcosm is ahead of the curve: “Friend, we know you can do better.” Most publishers or organizations who are legitimately concerned about “AI” usage could easily adopt a similarly transparent and nuanced policy, although I suspect most won’t go that far.

__TWO

Human Driven Entirely Loopy | Dominic Wellington

Applying AI in isolation might look like productivity, at least at the level of the individual, but the overall result is not improved by nearly the same margin, or perhaps at all.

I’ve come to appreciate Wellington’s clear-headed perspective on technology, particularly his ability to discuss “AI” in a broader historical context. His blog is a recent addition to my blogroll after a strong run of insightful posts like this one, and he’s become one of my favorite follows on LinkedIn, in particular, where he’s one of the only people to get me to watch a video.

I’ve had similar experiences being given allegedly ‘good enough’ “AI” outputs that were, at their best, bloated and clumsy approximations of intelligent thinking, far from ready for prime time viewing. At their worst, I’ve suffered from second-hand embarrassment, and a loss of trust and respect in people who are “ideating” and “collaborating” with their preferred tool(s) of choice, and then publicly sharing the results as finished products.

This “content” is almost always produced by someone without any notable expertise in the topic they’re focused on, typically looking for a shortcut or attention. (Or, way too often, both.) Combined with automated graphic design or generating entire presentations, you have a “human in the loop” recipe for making someone else’s job even harder while you’re bragging on LinkedIn about how you’ve 10xd yourself. #cmonson

___THREE

AI search is creating a new incentive system for media | Pete Pachal

All this suggests that AI systems are as ‘gameable’ as search engines and social networks, just in a different way… AI systems reward retrievable substance, not necessarily the most insightful or information-dense content.

Similar to SEO, I believe we’re going to see two paths emerge with “AI” search: good actors optimizing technical structure while prioritizing writing for humans, and bad actors optimizing technical structure to game the system by writing for the algorithms. Again. It’s a sequel no one asked for, with a larger budget and a script that’s being written on the fly — and too many people gullibly pretending the ending will be different this time.

The publishers and marketers who gamed the system in the past benefitted from inflated traffic and valuations, and almost all of them are now shadows of their former selves; zombie brands acquired for pennies on the dollar, desperately hoping for an AI resurrection.

The publishers and marketers who stayed focused on serving actual humans definitely struggled as search and social traffic took a hit, but those were mostly glancing blows because they prioritized building solid foundations on direct relationships with readers. That has always been, and still remains, a winning approach — regardless of the latest new shiny.

____FOUR

In Defense of Theory | Kerry Cunningham

The narrative that MQLs drive revenue growth isn’t just a metric preference. It’s load-bearing folklore. Challenging it doesn’t feel like a methodological disagreement. It feels like an attack on the company’s past success.

I recently came across Cunningham via Andrew Mitrak’s insightful A History of Marketing podcast, thanks to his episode’s provocative title: “The MQL Industrial Complex & Where B2B Marketing Went Wrong.” It’s rare to see B2B marketing get the spotlight outside of B2B channels, and I was intrigued by the idea that something might be wrong with MQLs, a concept I’ve never been a big fan of anyway.

Despite a lot of my career being in B2B marketing and lead gen, I’ve mostly avoided dealing with MQLs as an explicit metric. While the underlying concept makes sense, particularly alongside SQLs, I’ve been fortunate to have avoided going too far down the marketing automation rabbit hole for them to ever be relevant to me. I’ve also rarely had to deal with sales operations that prioritized and measured reps on trackable, automatable activities.

Hearing Cunningham’s revelation that MQLs have always been flawed and his proposed alternatives was enlightening and heartening, and I immediately started following him on LinkedIn, where he posted this manifesto. It’s a rarity on LinkedIn: a long, insightful read with receipts and solutions, and better yet, isn’t actively trying to sell you anything.

My one caveat is his focus is primarily on larger B2B operations, where five-figure deals and robust CRMs are the norm. If that’s your world, it’s a must-read. If it’s not, it’s still a great read for anyone in B2B marketing or sales, because the fundamentals still apply.

_____FIVE

Too Many Tables, Too Little Progress | Michael Cairns

The people most qualified to lead these organizations are spread so thin that meaningful strategic direction and guidance become nearly impossible to sustain. And in an environment where resources are increasingly strained, leaders spend most of their productive time managing membership subscriptions and sponsorships. It is certain that large publishing players are reducing their financial commitments across the board making the financials for many associations even more constrained.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently in a specific context (IYKYK), but Cairns does a great job outlining the bigger picture for the entire publishing industry, and offering some logical solutions to a clearly defined problem. The alphabet soup of organizations is unsustainable, many with overlapping and occasionally conflicting agendas. All too often, the best resourced ones have the worst priorities, while the ones with the least resources need to be “charming at dinner” to keep their small staffs employed.

When I was running Panorama Project several years ago, the problem was particularly glaring because it was an initiative that arguably should have been a BISG effort instead, but 6.5 years later, publishers would still rather gouge libraries and promote misinformation about them [this was originally a Substack link, now updated with an archived Wayback Machine link instead] rather than collaborate with them on reasonable and mutually beneficial solutions.

Related, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well the IBPA / PubWest merger has played out so far, and really enjoyed (their Executive Director) Andrea Fleck-Nisbet’s authentic enthusiasm about what the combined organization is doing on her recent BookSmarts appearance.

______BONUS

Five Things: May 28, 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

Ever since announcing that I’m on the market a couple of weeks ago, actively looking for my next gig, I’ve already had some great conversations with people offering insights, connections, and leads. Every one of those conversations included a variation on a single question: “What do you want to do?”

While I’d like to stay in the media supply chain (books, magazines, events, libraries) because that’s where I’ve spent the majority of my career, I’m also exploring other industries where my creative and analytical skills and systems thinking would easily transfer to related content, marketing, and/or strategic roles. I’ve never been hung up on specific titles, especially because media roles are relatively underpaid compared to those with similar responsibilities in other industries.

The actual work and the mission it supports are far more important to me.

Ideally, I want to be challenged by interesting problems that need solving, while being inspired by a meaningful mission. And I want to do good work with good people.

Personal News: Open to Work!

I’m pretty good at explaining what I’ve done in the past, able to connect the dots as needed for a specific role I’m interested in, but distilling that into a simple pitch that describes more broadly what I’m looking for next has been the real challenge.

Strategic Planning? Yes, and… Content Strategy? Yes, and… Audience Development? Yes, and… Email Acquisition? Yes, and… Events? Yes, and… Project Management? Yes, and…!!!

The Ideal Role(s)

Exploring various job listings in different industries, I’ve found interesting roles that align with different aspects of my experience, despite being tied to a broad range of theoretically very different titles: Publisher; Executive Director; Content Strategist; Content Director; Head of Marketing; Marketing Director; Strategy and Operations Lead.

One of my all-time favorite industry colleagues called me “a slant fit” a couple of years ago, because I’ve had “such varied and diverse experiences” and “understand how the business works and what leads to success.” I’ve embraced that descriptor ever since, and it aligns well with my preference for “job crafting“.

The ideal role for me is something that leverages my full range of experience, but is centered on a specific outcome to ensure appropriate alignment with business goals and needs.

• Publisher: From strategic direction to editorial and budgets to audience engagement, I’ve touched almost every aspect of a publishing operation, on both the magazine and books side of the business. If the mission is focused on serving specific communities, I might be interested.
• Executive Director: Similar to Publisher, if the organization’s mission is focused and righteous, and its activities are primarily driven by the community it serves rather than external fundraising, I might be interested.
• Content Strategist / Content Director: An effective content strategy requires a deep understanding of, and respect for, the community you’re trying to engage. It also requires a flexible combination of editorial and marketing skills. If the mission is focused on serving specific communities, I might be interested.
• Head of Marketing / Marketing Director: Marketing is arguably the clearest throughline on my resume, and I’ve done it in B2B, B2B2C, and niche B2C contexts. The tools change, but the fundamentals haven’t. If the mission is focused on serving specific communities and a human touch is still valued, I might be interested.
• Strategy and Operations Lead: The hidden throughline on my resume, it’s where “a slant fit” is arguably the most relevant, and doesn’t lend itself to easy generalizations. If the mission is focused on serving specific communities, though, I might be a great fit.

So, How Can I Help YOU?

I’ve spent the vast majority of my career in media (primarily magazines and books, physical and digital), and I’ve worn a variety of hats for companies of all shapes and sizes. I’ve developed and executed subscription, marketing, and content strategies for a range of products and services; produced hundreds of live and virtual events for a range of audiences and business goals; and negotiated agreements with dozens of publishers, distributors, and individual creators.

I’ve been a scalpel, a Swiss Army Knife, and managed large and small teams across multiple brands and departments. I’ve been directly responsible for budgets of $50K to $4.5M, and played a key executive role in two different companies being successfully acquired for multiples on revenue.

If you have or know of something that might be a good fit, drop me an email or pass along my LinkedIn profile to anyone you think should know about me.

If you’re looking for some short-term help for your own needs, check out my consulting options and get in touch.

In the meantime, thanks for reading!

Header photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

How can I help you?, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

NOTE: I’d been looking for a simple, clean blogging template for years that wasn’t filled with a ton of bloated features, and it turned out one was hiding on my blogroll all along, on Jessamyn West’s website. Even better, it’s almost identical to the one I’d been using for a while, but it loads much faster. If you’re reading this via email or RSS feed, swing by and check it out!

_ONE

The Best Leaders Embrace the Role of Supporting Character | Jamil Zaki

People think they flourish by focusing on themselves, but the opposite is true. We are at our most effective and fulfilled when serving others. One powerful way to tap into this is by adopting supporting-character energy.

I love the idea of “supporting-character energy” and being “aggressively curious,” while “job crafting” has been something I’ve personally benefitted from and done with direct reports throughout my career. Unfortunately, the attention economy continues to reward main character energy, so it’s great to see research and insights validating a different approach.

Like most of Gen X, I didn’t get any training before I got my first roles that involved managing other people. If you’re good at doing something, the assumption is you’ll also be good at managing other people doing that thing — which in my experience, is often not true at all. I had to learn the nuances of management on the fly, from good and bad examples, making mistakes along the way, and it’s an ongoing learning process.

I’ve had my share of bad direct and senior managers, and I’ve never been a fan of hierarchical corporate structures that typically protect them from accountability. Whether it’s my lack of formal training or simply trying to live by the golden rule, I prefer to treat direct reports like colleagues I’m accountable for and to, which means I may not always be the best “manager” in traditional terms, because I prioritize being the best player-coach the moment calls for.

__TWO

The Book No One Wants to Read: How to Follow, Change your Mind, and Be an “Influencee.” | Carin-Isabel Knoop

An alternative view is to understand influence less as a battle and more as a kind of dance. In this framing, influence is not unidirectional, but reciprocal. It depends not only on the ability to lead, but also on the capacity to respond, adjust, and remain attuned to others’ movements. Interaction and co-creation emerge from interaction, not dominance.

This is a long but insightful read from Knoop that pairs well with Zaki’s insights above, so bookmark it for when you have a little free time to read both of them.

One of the things that appealed to me most about social media in the early days was the ability to build diverse personal learning networks, before vanity and engagement metrics changed everything. Long before “Influencer” became a job title (rather than a potential outcome of sharing one’s hard-earned experience with others), those feeds were channels I curated to learn things from people with more / other / different experience than I had. Today, being able to create a good feed is still the primary way I decide if a platform is of any use to me, and Knoop is one of a very small group of people keeping Medium on my radar.

We are all potentially influencers in different ways, to different people, at different times, and the best people to learn from are the ones who are also willing to continue learning from others, not the ones chasing Influencer status.

___THREE

When Advocacy Becomes Avoidance | David Blansfield

There is a growing tendency to avoid discomfort, stay aligned with power, and minimize friction. That may be rational in the short term. It reduces risk. It preserves relationships. But over time, it comes at a cost.

Blansfield is a former direct manager of mine, and I learned a lot about the magazine business and how to be a senior executive while working for him in two similar but very different settings in the past. While he’s somewhat active on LinkedIn (which for all of its many faults remains one of my core personal learning networks), he hasn’t typically been a public writer himself, so this was a pleasant surprise to have pop up in my feed.

I remember not loving the meetings and events industries’ general response to the COVID pandemic in the early days — in complete denial about how long the short-term impact might be — so I’m not surprised at the situation the U.S. Travel Association has found itself in, nor how they’re handling it.

I am very glad to see Blansfield publicly call them out on it, in his typically level-headed style, and bonus points for his new endeavor not being on Substack!

____FOUR

Product-shaped or movement-shaped? | Ben Werdmuller

Mission-driven founders often think the value of their work is product-shaped when it’s really movement-shaped.

Executives love hyping their innovative business models and product features, especially the wannabe disruptors, but they often forget to spotlight (or don’t fully understand) the actual value they’re delivering to the community they’re trying to serve. Sometimes it’s just a communications issue, easily fixable, but too often it’s because the mission isn’t actually to SERVE a community — it’s to EXTRACT value as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Werdmuller is focused on journalism and tech, but his primary takeaway is applicable to many other industries, including publishing and libraries, the two worlds I’m most attached to.

I’m convinced there’s another movement-shaped project out there with my name on it, I just need to zero in on the missions I still care the most about.

_____FIVE

Entrepreneurship, Or My 50-Year Journey to Who I Was All Along | Kevin MacDonald

There’s a great irony to Oat Mode’s slogan: “Go with the grain.” Because it’s something I’ve never done. That makes me difficult. That makes me demanding. That makes me a bad employee.

My friend Kevin is in the middle of launching a new business this year, and it’s been fascinating to see him publicly roll out something I’ve gotten behind-the-scenes glimpses of along the way. While I’ve fantasized about opening a bookstore for years, I’m highly unlikely to ever actually do it, and this essay finally connected the dots for me.

He and I have similar personalities as employees, but there’s a difference between being entrepreneurial (me) and being an actual entrepreneur (him). I prefer the ephemeral stability of a structure I can push against and systems I can challenge and improve, but Kevin decided to grab the fishbowl and go build his own thing!

It’s a timely realization as I’m actively figuring out what’s next in my own career journey…

______BONUS

Five Things: May 14, 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

Earlier this year, LibraryPass (my full-time passion for nearly six years) was acquired, and I decided it was a good time to figure out my next adventure while helping the new owners through the initial transition. That transition is in its final phase now, so for the first time since 2015, I’m on the open market, looking for my next gig!

More details below, but tl;dr, I’m taking on some short-term consulting gigs while exploring opportunities for a full-time role.

If you’ve ever wanted to work with me, or have been curious about what I’m actually good at, let’s talk.

The Short-Term Plan

I’ve done a lot of ad hoc, mostly pro bono consulting over the years, but I’ve never actively sought out clients. Even though “Free Verse Media” existed for a while (mainly for working with the Panorama Project and, in the very beginning, LibraryPass), this is actually new territory for me.

I’m not ready to put up a formal shingle again and declare myself a full-time consultant, but I do want to take on some short-term projects related to my areas of expertise. I’ve updated my Consulting page to give a general overview of the primary areas I can help with: Strategic Planning, Content Strategy, Audience Development, Email Acquisition & Engagement, Event Programming, and Project Management.

If you’re wondering if I might be able to help you, grab a slot on my calendar to schedule a free 30-minute meeting, or drop me an email for a quick asynchronous conversation.

The Long-Term Plan

“What do you want to do next?”

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot over the past few months because it’s typically the first question someone asks when they know you’re looking for a job. It’s a great question, but I haven’t really had to think about it since I left Library Journal back in 2015, the last time I was formally on the open market.

I’ve spent the vast majority of my career in media (primarily magazines and books, physical and digital), and I’ve worn a variety of hats for companies of all shapes and sizes. I’ve developed and executed subscription, marketing, and content strategies for a range of products and services; produced hundreds of live and virtual events for a range of audiences and business goals; and negotiated agreements with dozens of publishers, distributors, and individual creators. I’ve been a scalpel, a Swiss Army Knife, and managed large and small teams across multiple brands and departments. I’ve been directly responsible for budgets of $50K to $4.5M, and have played a key executive role in two different companies being successfully acquired for multiples on revenue.

“But what do you want to do next, Guy?”

I want to keep my options open and explore any interesting opportunities, even if they don’t clearly align with my resume. I’m a big fan of “job crafting“, for myself and direct reports. One of my all-time favorite industry colleagues called me “a slant fit” a couple of years ago, because I’ve had “such varied and diverse experiences” and “understand how the business works and what leads to success.” I’ve embraced that descriptor ever since, and it will guide my search for what’s next.

Ideally, I want to be challenged by interesting problems that need solving, while being inspired by a meaningful mission. And I want to do good work with good people.

[UPDATE: I went into more detail here.]

If you have or know of something that might be a good fit, drop me an email or pass along my LinkedIn profile to anyone you think should know about me.

In the meantime, thanks for reading, and wish me luck! It’s a rough market out there, but I’m optimistic that someone reading this knows about the perfect short-term project or long-term role for me. Maybe it’s you?

Header photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Personal News: Open to Work!, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one of them, I’ll be able to find it here. Since I’m a media omnivore, it also includes games, movies, and any other media of note that I engaged with.

Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let’s find out!

Books

{STAR} The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition by Jane Friedman

Anyone familiar with Friedman’s work over the years won’t be surprised at the thoroughness and clarity that makes this a must-read, not just for aspiring authors, but anyone in the publishing industry who wants to understand the nuts and bolts of the business of writing. I have a handful of books in certain categories that I judge a bookstore’s curation by, and this is one I expect to see in any section for writers that includes classics like Bird by Bird and On Writing.

{STAR} A People’s Guide to Publishing: Building a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Book Business From the Ground Up by Joe Biel

Part memoir, part explainer, Biel weaves an insightful combo of best practices, explicit examples, and a variety of anecdotes into a compelling alternative vision for publishing that delivers on his subtitle. Not coincidentally, Microcosm is one of my favorite publishers, but Biel does a great job of pulling in other voices to expand the scope of the book, making this new edition a must-read for anyone curious about more than the creative side of the business. I also expect to see this one in any bookstore with a section for writers.

How to Organize Inclusive Events and Conferences by Dr. Alex D. Ketchum

As someone who’s organized, marketed, and hosted literally hundreds of events of all kinds over the years, I still learned some things from Dr. Ketchum’s comprehensive overview. I wish I had a book like this 30 years ago when I first got involved with events, but I’m glad it exists now!

Brutal Kunnin by Mike Brooks

I wasn’t sure Orks could carry a whole novel, and Brooks apparently wasn’t either. While it’s not the “must read” it’s often claimed to be, it’s definitely an entertaining enough romp that brings some awkward humor to the grimdark future. While I’d consider reading more about Ufthak’s adventures, especially if Orks were actually given the full spotlight, it unexpectedly made me more interested in the Adeptus Mechanicus. (see Games below)

May Day by Jess Lourey

I asked for a cozy library mystery a while back and, of course, a librarian reader delivered, recommending this fun, breezy whodunnit that I wouldn’t be surprised to see pop up on Netflix at some point. It was Lourey’s first novel, so the plot’s skeleton is pretty transparent at times, but Mira James has a lot of potential, and it left me curious about what happens with her in June.

Games

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus (Steam Deck)

I bought a bunch of 40k games on sale a while back on Xbox and Steam, and even though this one had positive reviews and a forthcoming sequel that looks interesting, it was languishing in my backlog until I realized it was optimized for the Steam Deck, which is officially my primary gaming platform now. The Adeptus Mechanicus are arguably the weirdest faction in 40k, simultaneously relatable and inscrutable; like software brain as a religion, but in the grimdark future! While playing/reading Rogue Trader made them intriguing, reading Brutal Kunnin actually made them interesting. I’m only ~6 hours into the game so far, but the narrative framing is doing a good job of putting their worldview in context while clearly delineating the sub-factions, and the turn-based tactics make it a fun challenge to play. In the never-ending immersion loop of 40k, I might have to find a good Mechanicus series to read next…

Out of the Park Baseball 26 (Steam)

I made it 10 seasons in my New Orleans expansion save, with six straight playoff appearances, a solid core of players on a sustainable payroll, and a rabid fanbase that was regularly filling seats. In our 10th season, we were the best team in the league, won our division by almost 20 games, and were poised for a deep run that should have ended with our first World Series championship! Instead, we lost 4-2 to the wild card Marlins and… I needed a break. OOTP went way beyond scratching the Football Manager itch, to the point where it’s now my preferred sim by far, but with the Mets being so bad IRL, I can’t have my fake baseball team disappointing me, too. When OOTP 27 stabilizes and goes on sale after the All Star Game, I’ll probably jump back in for a brand new save, leveraging everything I learned in an amazing run in 26 to finally bring glory to the Big Easy!

Movies & TV

Him (Airplane Streaming)

The premise has potential, Marlon Wayans is surprisingly good, and there are some interesting visuals here and there, but the script’s reach far exceeds its grasp before eventually devolving into utterly farcical nonsense for the final act. Either of the alternate endings would have been better, depending on how much of the actual ending would have preceded them, but probably still not enough to make it a good movie, even on an airplane.

Caught Stealing (Airplane Streaming)

I vaguely recall enjoying the novel this was based on (which I read many years ago, right before meeting its author for one of my favorite interviews ever), but don’t remember much about it. The trailer looked like a fun black comedy, perfect for breaking up a long flight, and that’s a pretty good summary of what it is. An unexpected bonus is that I’m a little more comfortable with Austin Butler in the Miami Vice reboot now.

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Streaming)

This movie should probably come with a laundry list of content warnings, but it’s also arguably best watched knowing as little as possible, like I did. Rose Byrne delivers a legit “tour de force” performance in one of the most stressful and relentless movies I’ve ever seen, and Mary Bronstein ambitiously refuses to tell you how to feel about any of it, or make you comfortable with whatever those feelings are. I’m glad I saw it, and will never watch it again!

Sports

NY Mets (SNY & Audacy)

What a catastrophe! Firing Mendoza wouldn’t change anything, and it’s arguably still too early to declare Stearns’ rebuild a total failure, and it’s too early in the season for a trade that would make a difference… but something has to change. If the team can’t start playing competitive games and winning series by the end of May, Cohen may be justified in blowing the whole thing up and giving a bunch of kids the rest of the season to prove they’re ready for the major leagues, because it literally can’t get much worse than this past April. Can it?

Your Notes?

If you’ve engaged with any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments or on the socials! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!

Media Notes: April 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

NOTE: The idea that everything you’ve written can be digested and repackaged by an AI tool to generate summarize “insights” “from” your “perspective” for someone else was disturbing until I also realized that output has limited use without the unique experience that informed your writing. AI can’t replace YOU, and someone using AI tools without YOU involved can’t replace YOU, either. Those who believe otherwise will eventually find out the hard way. Some already are.

_ONE

You Can’t Vote Out Amazon Web Services: Fighting Internet Contracts One Library At A Time | Jennie Rose Halperin

The contracts attached to most digital services are called “contracts of adhesion,” “take it or leave it” contracts where the terms are set by a stronger party and the only way to walk away is if you can choose another service, which you generally cannot in a world where a handful of companies control the majority of commerce and cloud services on the internet.

I’ve spent the past year-plus trying to gradually extricate myself from Google and Microsoft’s clutches, and it’s been frustrating to realize how much of my digital life — personal and professional — those two companies have access to, and control of, across so many different platforms and products. As Halperin notes, we’ve all accepted dozens (hundreds?) of purposefully inscrutable (and constantly changing) “contracts of adhesion” along the way with no idea what we’ve actually agreed to in most cases. Escape is pretty much impossible, and even keeping them at arms-length seems unlikely, too.

Her essay would be an insightful read for that angle alone, but it’s the pivot to libraries’ habit of signing contracts with vendors “without a full review of terms and no access to a lawyer” — where she connects the dots, identifies a pressure point, and proposes a potential solution that could benefit everyone — when it becomes a must-read.

__TWO

AI and Libraries: Why Librarians May Become Arbiters of Reality | Jane Friedman

The resistance isn’t coming from people who haven’t engaged with the technology. It’s coming disproportionately from people who have. When he conducted focus groups with librarians in the “never AI” camp, he found people who could explain large language models, discuss retrieval-augmented generation, and articulate technically why they considered the tools unreliable. They’ve concluded that a library’s adoption of AI would send the wrong signal about what a library fundamentally is.

The default assumption that resistance and skepticism are primarily driven by people simply not understanding or appreciating AI’s great and inevitable potential is the preferred straw man for true believers and grifters. The reality is resistance is more often informed by a combination of understanding AI’s fundamental limitations and ethical challenges, plus the ability to make connections to earlier technological disruptions that weren’t what they claimed to be, or whose obvious downsides were ignored.

Many of us have seen this movie before, several times, but some people are literally heavily invested in pretending that it really is different this time. Fortunately, we don’t have to accept the hype, and resistance is contagious.

___THREE

Software brain is changing the world, but most people still aren’t buying. | Nilay Patel

I think a lot of people enjoy data and tracking different parts of their lives. I’m wearing a Whoop band as I write this. I’m just saying these things aren’t everything. Not everything about our lives can be measured and automated and optimized, and it shouldn’t be.

Of course, it’s not only experienced and informed librarians who are skeptical about AI, it’s the vast majority of people outside of tech circles, too. Credulous media regurgitations of widespread adoption and “inevitability” conveniently ignore the fact that it’s almost impossible for anyone to avoid AI tools at this point, as they’ve been shoved into every possible product and platform, often without any obvious or easy way to opt out of them — and sometimes without explicit disclosure.

Patel makes a strong argument for why “software brain” is a problem, and you can see how it even affects self-described moderates like Anil Dash, who has recently appeared to be carving a lane for himself as an advocate for “good AI”, even if it means ignoring* the fundamental issues with the currently available tools that helped build what he claims is one good example.

[*It always means ignoring those issues.]

Some of this is semantics, literally, as a lot of what’s being marketed as AI has been around and actually useful long before the current hype bubble, but pragmatism and ethics don’t goose valuations or excite investors or give you an excuse to lay off thousands of people.

____FOUR

Consumption is Changing: Navigating AI and the Widening 48-Hour Consumption Gap | Jonathan Steiert

It isn’t enough for buyers to get to your content. Once they’ve asked for it, they then need to engage with it. Two actions for one asset. Some may argue that this is why gated content is inferior to ungated content. On the contrary, we say. In a world where so much is frictionless, the argument for friction here is quite meaningful.

There are some really interesting insights here that [confirmation bias alert!] align well with my general approach to content marketing and lead generation, especially in the midst of the current AI hype bubble. I remain an advocate for creating trustworthy resources — which is different from the generic thought leadership that defines most B2B marketing — and a funnel / flywheel / engagement process that understands “not every registration is created equally.”

The details will vary by industry and personas, but the underlying takeaway is classic Cluetrain: “Some of these conversations ended in a sale, but don’t let that fool you. The sale was merely the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.”

NOTE: Steiert’s overview is good content marketing itself, but I’m not familiar with Netline and can’t remember how it got on my radar, so caveat emptor on their full report if you sign up for it because I’m currently in the “Less Likely” camp.

_____FIVE

Rand Fishkin Exposes the Dark Truth of VC Funding & Startup Playbooks | Edbound With Kinner (YouTube)

I don’t want to help a big bank make another billion dollars next week. That’s so uninteresting to me… It feels like it’s helping the wrong people. It doesn’t add anything to the world.

Please ignore the clickbait title and thumbnail because I’ve been a fan of Fishkin’s for a long time now, and this might be one of my favorite examples of him at his candid and humble best. He zags almost every time the host assumes he’ll zig, and it gets very awkward [for the host] several times — but if you’re like me, it’s in a very satisfying way.

No playbooks, no platitudes, no bullshit; just a clear vision and real talk based on real experience. And bonus points for his literary book recommendations at the end!

______BONUS

Five Things: April 30, 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

NOTE: I just had a much-needed family vacation in Spain, where I also had to prepare for the biggest meeting of my career three days after my return, which I THINK went well, but I’ve always been terrible at accepting compliments at face value, so I’m not really sure! I should know for sure by the end of the month, at which point I’ll either have some amazing “Personal News” to share, or will officially start implementing Plan B for “What’s Next?”

_ONE

How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers | Emily Hanford

For decades, reading instruction in American schools has been rooted in a flawed theory about how reading works, a theory that was debunked decades ago by cognitive scientists, yet remains deeply embedded in teaching practices and curriculum materials. As a result, the strategies that struggling readers use to get by — memorizing words, using context to guess words, skipping words they don’t know — are the strategies that many beginning readers are taught in school.

The “Sold a Story” podcast was the best and most enraging thing I listened to last year — which says a lot considering everything else that happened in 2025 — and I somehow completely neglected to include it (or any podcasts) in my Best of 2025 recap. This article/episode is one of the bonus episodes that’s technically a prequel to Hanford’s excellent series, and it’s a great entry point if you want to get a solid overview of the problem before diving into the whole thing.

It’s not a perfect analogy, but there’s definitely a parallel between the current “AI” push into all things and the debunked “three cueing” approach. I wonder how many AI grifters and true believers were “taught” to read that way and have no idea how wrong it was? It would certainly explain the current fascination with and growing acceptance of the “usually close enough” summaries and homogenized “good enough for LinkedIn” writing their favorite tools spit out… when prompted correctly.

We’ve seen at least two full generations sacrificed to flawed educational theories and tech-driven experiments that willfully ignore the underlying socioeconomic factors, and the beatings will continue until morale improves.

__TWO

RIP Khanmigo & Edtech Industry Dreams of AI Tutors | Dan Meyer

Khanmigo was raised with a silver spoon in its mouth, possessing advantages completely unknown to most other edtech chatbot startups. It had some of the earliest access to OpenAI’s generative AI technology. It had the backing of a hyperscalar in Microsoft and abundant cloud computing credits. It had the endorsement of national, state, and local officials. It had the phone number of some of the wealthiest people in the world. If Khanmigo died in spite of those advantages, what hope then should the rest of the edtech industry place in chatbot tutors?

I was taught phonics in school, and my now-adult kids avoided the worst of the “whole language” approach to reading, which I didn’t even fully understand at the time. I do remember being aware of, and very skeptical of, Khan Academy every time it hit my radar over the years, though.

There was plenty of research to prove that AI tutors are ineffective for educational applications long before ChatGPT was released, but EdTech’s most fundamental tenet is that teachers are the problem with modern education, and replacing them by any means necessary is the only solution. Khanmigo wasn’t even on my radar until I read Audrey Watters’ obituary last week, which pairs well with Meyer’s take if you like a little schadenfreude with your good news.

___THREE

Sal Khan’s Coming for Higher Ed | John Warner

Anyone involved in higher education, particularly public higher education or private higher ed where your institution is not insulated by wealth and privilege, should also view this project as a direct assault on their continued existence. The higher education sector and those who have historically been responsible for it (government, voters, etc. …) should pause and reflect on how what’s happened to the sector has made it potentially vulnerable to this sort of program, but we also must set recriminations aside and deal with the threat directly.

This is some dystopic Cyberpunk company school shit, and a perfect example of no such thing as failure or accountability in tech circles when there’s no limit to the money you can burn on your pet projects.

____FOUR

The Fanfare Around the Band Geese Actually Was a Psyop | John Semley

It’s an open secret in the music industry that all the numbers—play counts, followers, stats—are fake or at least obfuscated… Bots and “streaming farms” have become a marketing expense.

One of the reasons so many people think “AI” can do things as well as humans is humans have lowered the bar so much in the past 20 years, especially when it comes to digital literacy and marketing. Tech solutions to problems that were created by tech solutions is the ouroboros that will eventually kill us all.

A perfect example of how we got here is in Semley’s conclusion, where the artist who initially “broke” the story about Geese’s “fake fans” unequivocally states that she’d do the same thing if she had the opportunity.

_____FIVE

The last thing you need humans for | Melissa & Johnathan Nightingale

It matters that work be about something. That there be some actual impact out in the world that results from your efforts. It matters operationally for your business that people know what’s important and how to trade off priorities. It matters emotionally for your employees to feel like their struggles have a point and that there is value in their contributions.

The Raw Signal Group newsletter is a frequently insightful long read, and this one opens with a great story about free verse poetry before nailing an important point about the very weird moment we’re living in. The Nightingale’s appearance on Galaxy Brain is a great follow-up on the topic, too.

______BONUS

Five Things: April 16, 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....

In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one of them, I’ll be able to find it here. Since I’m a media omnivore, it also includes games, movies, and any other media of note that I engaged with.

Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let’s find out!

Books

Yucatan 1512 by Alex Vede

A visually impressive but narratively superficial historical fantasy about the evils of Spanish colonialism and redemption, it gives mild Tarantino vibes without crossing the line into cultural fetishism.

Earthdivers, Volumes 1-3 by Stephen Graham Jones, Davide Gianfelice, et al

A great premise with solid artwork, but the time travel shenanigans and non-linear narrative are squishy throughout, so it’s best read as a complete story rather than three individual volumes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stick the landing at all, and would have been better either as a novel, or having a co-writer with more comics writing experience.

{STAR} Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing by Matthew G. Kirschenbaum

Possibly one of the nicheiest, nerdiest books I’ve ever read, Kirschenbaum offers an enlightening look at the history of “word processing”, which has a lot in common with the current push for “AI” — including the explicit goal of undermining certain professions, and unexpected outcomes. Come for myriad literary anecdotes, stay for an insightful history lesson.

The 10 Commandments of Successful Corporate Narratives by Jeff Gomez, Alan Berkson

It’s the rare business book that should be much longer, but Berkson’s very brief corporate spinoff of Gomez’s transmedia principles has some interesting nuggets that would have benefited from an experienced nonfiction editor, as well as more substantial case studies. It’s an interesting reframing of mission and vision development, but it’s weakened by forcing it into the “10 Commandments” structure rather than leveraging the spirit of Gomez’s approach to transmedia.

Clock Striker, Volume 3 by Issaka Galadima, Frederick L Jones

After two volumes of escalating world-building, this one goes heavier on the action while still managing to flesh out the main characters and setting a bit more. Another fun ride in my favorite Saturday AM series!

Games

Out of the Park Baseball 26 (Steam)

It is February 2034 and the New Orleans Second Line, an expansion team that joined MLB in 2025, has made the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, including a 4-2 defeat in the 2032 World Series. We still have one of the lowest payrolls in the league, but it includes a mix of popular veterans and homegrown stars on reasonable contracts, the latter fed by some great scouting work before every draft and international signing period. Better yet, our minor league teams are consistently competitive at every level, despite our farm system typically ranking in the lower half of the league for top prospects. After the first four years of building a foundation, every playoff defeat has me wondering if it’s the last season for this save, but roster construction remains such an addictive part of the gameplay loop (especially working with a smaller budget), that I’ve been sucked back in every season. I’m in no rush to get OOTP 27 yet, but once its initial wave of bugs are ironed out and there’s a good sale, I absolutely will get it. Will I ever play Football Manager again?

Slay the Spire (Steam Deck)

I first played Slay the Spire back in 2022 on the Xbox, one of several Game Pass discoveries that became an all-time fave. When I canceled Game Pass early last year, it was one of a few games I bought outright so I could keep playing it, and then when I got my Steam Deck late last year… I bought it again on Steam and my Xbox became a glorified DVD player. Since progress isn’t cross-platform, I started over from scratch, and it remains as good as ever. I’ll definitely get the sequel when it’s fully released, but until then, the original remains one of my favorite comfort games.

Movies & TV

Wonder Man (Streaming)

The MCU’s approach to transmedia is a perfect example of the concept’s creative limitations, as the post-Endgame stories basically showed how the tension between a franchise visionary’s storyworld and audience participation can disrupt the whole thing, especially when one of the primary drivers becomes ever-increasing revenue based on ever-escalating expectations. Letting streaming shows tell relatively self-contained stories about interesting characters that don’t have to move the entire meta-plot forward (nor require being tapped into 15+ years of cinematic canon), is the right move, and Wonder Man benefits by focusing on two compelling characters and the excellent chemistry between Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley. It’s much more about acting and being true to yourself than it is about superheroics or the next big threat to the galaxy, and it’s by far one of the best shows to come out of the MCU in any phase.

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (Streaming)

Paradise turned me into a James Marsden appreciator, and the trailer for this movie suggested a goofy time travel romp, which I would have been fine with on a random Saturday night. While it’s definitely goofy af (on purpose), there’s also a surprisingly emotional story that Vince Vaughn, of all people, manages to make work. It’s no MBJ in Sinners performance, but it’s fundamental to making this more than just a goofy time travel romp.

Paradise S2 (Streaming)

There’s a moment in Season Two where an easy to miss comment from a new character hints at a big potential plot twist that had me worried the show was going to jump the shark, but Fogelman’s sharp, subtle approach to character development throughout provided a sturdy enough foundation that the finale ends up just teasing a fin coming out of the water. Sterling K. Brown’s uncanny ability to make melodramatic earnestness appealing carries the show once again, and Julianne Nicholson nails it as his complicated foil, but Shailene Woodley deserves an Emmy for her devastating role that ripples throughout the entire season. I’m all in for S3 now, especially since it seems like it will be the series finale, so there’s no chance of it overstaying its welcome like too many shows tend to do.

Your Notes?

If you’ve engaged with any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments or on the socials! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!

Media Notes: March 2026, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, was originally posted on As in guillotine....