Hi friends! I am writing to you with a bit of a book hangover. I rarely enjoy literary fiction but I absolutely devoured Yesteryear: A Novel by Caro Claire Burke that came out earlier this month. What a ride! Since the last newsletter issue, I went to a birthday BBQ of a close friend and because he deserves it, I made macaroni and cheese (family recipe) and also these cherry streusel bars (recipe free for 30 days) using cherries we picked last year and froze as well as preserves we made from said cherries. The best I can describe them is “elevated pop-tart vibes.” It felt really good to be in the kitchen making things. This week I also tried two different sheet pan recipes from NY Times Cooking that were incredibly underwhelming. Win some, lose some.

New EEDA Pod Episode:  Disco Doesn't Suck, It's Just Not for You

In this episode of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice, Patricia and Nicole recap a birthday trip to New York City where they saw multiple shows, including a standout production of Cats: The Jellicle Ball — a reimagining of the classic musical set in the world of ballroom culture. The main topic explores the communication skill of distinguishing between something being objectively bad versus simply not being to your taste, touching on linguistic relativity and how the language we use shapes our perceptions of others.

You can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also support the show on Patreon, where we have some perks for paid subscribers with even more coming this year. You can also just make a recurring donation through subscribing to our Patreon, as our show is independently run and without ads. It helps keep us going!

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No essay this week because I wanted to share lots of resources and links, including additional links relevant to an older EEDA Newsletter issue and EEDA Pod episode.

Resource 1: Coming Soon: Midterms Postcards to Swing States

I’ve mentioned this bit of activism here before and soon they’ll be accepting folks to send postcards for the midterms. You choose the amount of postcards and they send them to you along with a list of addresses. They also tell you exactly what to write. You handwrite the postcards and mail them out on the date they tell you to mail them. You pay for the postcard postage, which is currently 61 cents EACH if you buy your stamps now. Postage rates go up on July 12, 2026.

Resource 2: EEDA Newsletter Vol 6, Res 16: What is Needed to Help People Leave Substack

Substack continues to show its whole ass so I’m leaving a link to this older yet still relevant post here.

Resource 3: How to Spot AI Audiobooks on Libby via LifeHacker

I like listening to audiobooks narrated by talented humans who get paid for their skills and I feel like that is an absolutely wild thing that I even have to say yet here we are. Some people don’t mind the AI audiobooks and if it makes it more accessible for you or, as I said, you don’t mind, then feel free to ignore this resource.

Resource 4: An A-to-Z Guide to Storing Fruits and Vegetables via NYT Cooking

This is probably paywalled (sorry) but if you have a public library card, you can access it through your library! There are also plenty of other ways to get around paywalls that I am sure you know about.

Resource 5: Saturday April 25th is Independent Bookstore Day!

It’s a great weekend to visit an independent bookstore! I mean, every single day is a great day to visit an independent bookstore but this weekend is extra special. Some bookstores may have special deals or exclusives (or events!) in honor of Independent Bookstore Day and some are even participating in Libro.fm’s Golden Ticket giveaway. Here is a searchable map of participating bookstores.

Resource 6+: More Snail Mail Links!

During the first year of this newsletter I wrote an issue about snail mail and its importance. I also included a number of helpful links if you’re trying to work out who to send snail mail to (aside from me, of course!). You can read that issue here: Volume 1, Issue 14: The One Where I Am A Snail Mail Evangelist. We also had an EEDA Pod episode, All Hail Snail Mail. It is a few years after the initial newsletter issue and I have more links to share:

• r/penpals: A subreddit for finding penpals

• r/letterwriters: “A subreddit devoted to the awesomeness of handwritten letters! This is a place to post about anything relating to writing and receiving letters in the mail, and proving that letter writing is not a lost art.”

• r/RandomActsOfHappyMail: I suggest visiting to really get an idea of what this is

• r/PostCardExchange: exactly what it sounds like

• r/RandomActsofCards: “This is a place to send or receive cards. The purpose of RAoC is to spread a little bit of joy around the world - through cards! All are welcome!”

• PenPal.me: I have not used this but I’m fascinated. If physically writing mail is not of interest/accessible to you or you don’t have a mailing address you’re comfortable sharing, this is a social site where you can match with people and design the mail online then it is physically sent by the company, which keeps your mailing address private.

• Global Penfriends: I’ve also not used this but I appreciate that it is all ages! Having penpals growing up is definitely in my top 5 childhood memories.