cf #101: less doomscrolling, more page turning
an ode to escapism in the form of books
You are reading contentfolks—usually, a monthly(ish) blend of content and brand marketing ideas; this time, more of a gentle vent about the overwhelmingness of marketing discourse and an ode to escapism in the form of books. I will go back to my usual thing next time. Until then, thank you for being here! ~fio
Hey there 👋
I’m going to assume you’re reading this newsletter about brand and content because, at some point, you fell in love with words and storytelling, learned how they work, maybe even built a career around them.
And because of it, you’ve probably felt discombobulated, frustrated, maybe overwhelmed recently, as your deeply tuned bullsh*t detector keeps going off. It pings with every new “it’s not X, it’s Y” iteration you stumble upon; every faux-dramatic “Not X. Not Y. Just Z” construction; every poorly-placed em dash you know shouldn’t be there but is because, apparently, that’s how flair gets communicated now.
The AI noise keeps getting louder, the AI slop keeps getting sloppier. And to make things worse, this all gets wrapped up in doomscrolling and anxiety because you must! stay! on! top! of! everything! lest you miss a big new development and suddenly get left behind, while every other marketer on the planet seems more on top of things than you are.
If that’s the brainspace you’re in right now, may I recommend a small act of digital rebellion? Stop the doomscrolling, start the page turning.
Put your Internet-connected devices to one side and find a physical book to lose yourself in—the kind where you want to skip both meals and sleep because you need to get back to the story. This is the intensity you’re looking for:
I picked it up in an airport and proceeded to finish it on the flight (and may have sobbed a bit too), I could NOT put it down not even for a second.
I stayed up until 4am to finish it because I simply couldn’t put it down and go to sleep. 478 pages and it took me a day and a half to read.
It will kill your soul and make you squirm and have you laughing out loud in public and hoping no-one joins you for dinner.
These quotes come from bright, beautiful Internet strangers who shared their recommendations when I asked for more good stories in my life:
And now look, not even 24 hours and we have enough books here to last us the next decade 🤩 Talk about people coming together to celebrate the good things in life!
The entire thread is a glorious example of what enthusiasm for storytelling and devotion to good writing look like—even, and especially, in this weird, AI-fied, somewhat upside-down world we have to deal with in 2026.
Go and take a look. Add your recommendation, if you like. I hope the discussion sparks the same joy for you as it’s doing for me ✨
