Welcome to the 350th installment of Things I Read That I Love, wherein I share with you some of the longer-form journalism/essays I’ve read recently so that you can know more about life admin! This “column” is less queer focused than the rest of the site because when something is queer focused, I put it on the rest of the site. Here is where the other things are.

The title of this feature is inspired by the title of Emily Gould’s tumblr, Things I Ate That I Love. Feature image by Daily Express/Archive Photos/Getty Images.

Could the Girls of Camp Mystic Have Been Saved?
kerry howley // new york magazine // march 2026
The death of 25 girls at Camp Mystic after a flash flood that swallowed the shores of River Guadalupe in Texas was discussed, by the camp itself and its deeply devoted community, as something nobody could’ve prevented. That wasn’t, it turns out, true.

I spent day Saturday doing life admin and accomplished nothing
hannah horvath // your brain on money // march 2026
How much of your life are you spending just keeping up with being alive?
I often feel uniquely inadequate in the face of these duties, like keeping on top of them is something everybody else is much better at than I am. This was reassuring, and also revelatory.

The Trans Perfectionist
auto-anon // march 2026
“The last thing I learned was who did not want my body. I was fashionable, tall but not too tall, a face that got compared to Jennifer Connelly’s and a carefully toned yet feminine body. I knew about wine, spirits, good food, fashion, music, and cinema. I was polite and mild-mannered while still seeming a little worldly. I was a published academic who lectured internationally and could speak to current political and cultural trends when asked. I drank socially, but rarely too much, sober from all other drugs but wasn’t vocally prudish about them and could be a good time at a party when needed. I’m not saying any of this to brag. Clearly there is something wrong with me.”

Lindy West, Elizabeth Gilbert and the Nightmare of the Personal Essay Industrial Complex
kayleigh donaldson // pajiba // march 2026
This part, especially, resonated — the game changed when social media enabled everybody, not just a pieces’s intended or deliberate audience, to become aware of and respond to a work. Now TikTok has widened the field even more, so it’s not just writers and readers responding to writers, but tiktokers with monetized platforms doing hot take videos  — “Neither seemed ready for 2026, where TikTok discourse has taken over their old beats. Once upon a time, you could make a decent living with personal essays. Now, the fees are rock bottom but the cost has only increased. It’s not that the internet was ever kind or proportionate with these essays, but the immediacy with which people can respond to them now, and the viciousness that has proven to be so profitable, is different.”

Good-bye, Pamela Paul
andrea long chu // new york magazine // april 2025
This ASME-nominated piece was linked in this very good piece about excellent books overlooked by the New York Times Book Review under Pamela Paul’s leadership, many of them queer and trans — and as you know I will read anything by Andrea Long Chu, but even if you’ve never heard of Pamela Paul, it’s a riveting interrogation of “the intolerable side of liberalism,” as embodied by Paul’s whole entire deal.

My Season of Ativan 
amanda peet // the new yorker // march 2026
The actress’s parents were dying, and then dead, as she found herself diagnosed with breast cancer, surrounded by ambiguous trauma and sadness on all sides. The thing is — I didn’t know that Amanda Peet was a really good writer? She’s a really good writer.

That Red Roof! Those Tiffany Lamps! It’s a Pizza Hut From the Past.
steven kurutz // new york times // march 2026
It’s so visceral! The pitchers of Pepsi. The pineapple pizza under the heat lamp. I remember it as vividly as I do anything.

Who Gets Shipped and Why
ashley cai, florina sutanto, jan diehm & caitlyn ralph // the pudding // october 2024
I know I have read 500 articles that discuss the demographics of fanfic subjects and writers, including the Heated Rivalry piece from a few weeks ago, but I feel like I didn’t know that A03 writers are SO overwhelmingly LGBTQ+? Anyhow, the data in this piece is presented so compellingly! I recommend!

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You Should See What an Experienced Surgeon Can Do to a Woman’s Pussy
drew gregory // in development // february 2026
“The people who associate genitalia and gender will never see me as a woman. Sure, I’ll feel better having sex or wearing a bikini at the beach. But that’s about me feeling better. Other people will think what they think. It was never about this one thing. Just like going to R-rated movies by myself wasn’t really the issue for my young self. It was about freedom and independence and being in spaces where people appreciated the same things that I appreciated.”