Hi Friends,

Today I’m writing about a subject that’s near and dear to my heart: Books.

Books can change your life. For twenty dollars or less, a single book can significantly influence and change who you are as a person. Like a great song or movie, books open us up to new ways of thinking and being. And like the best works of art, great books get better with age, fostering our continued growth, knowledge and curiosity with each read.

I wasn’t always a reader but as far back as I can remember I’ve been drawn to books. I learned to love reading, thanks to the books that helped shape me. Today, I have a hard time passing a bookstore without stopping to pick up a new book, so my shelves are always filled with new books to read. I try to read widely but I enjoy following my gut and reading what sparks my interest.

I’ve read each book on this list countless times (with one exception). Some I’ve read more recently than others, some I read during my formative years as a teenager. All of them hold a special place in my life for what they taught me about the world and myself.

10 Books That Shaped Me

1. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jules Verne. Disney’s film adaptation led me to this Jules Verne classic. As a kid, I remember finding the book in the library and marveling at the biological terminology of the sea’s aquatic life. This was a tough book for me to read at a young age but I felt a deep sense of accomplishment when I finished. I re-read this book a few years back before a trip to Nantes, France where Verne lived and wrote.
   

2. Basher Five-Two, Scott O’Grady and Michael French. I bought this book at a middle school book fair and I was immediately hooked. American F-16 fighter pilot Scott O’Grady’s describes his harrowing account of getting shot down over Bosnia in 1995 and successfully evading capture until rescue arrived. I read this book until it literally fell apart and it’s directly responsible for my love of thrillers, especially those involving the military and geopolitics. (The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines is based on O’Grady’s experience).
   

3. Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger. I first read Catcher in my early teens and then several times throughout high school. I suppose I had a similar experience to many people who’ve read this book at that age, but Salinger put into words what I’d been feeling in a way that other books I read hadn’t. I haven’t read this one in many years and having learned more about Salinger and the book’s history, I’m curious to re-read it.
   

4. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was assigned high-school reading for me but for good reason - I think it’s one of the best novels ever written. I still read this one almost every year, especially when the weather in New York City gets hot and humid and I begin to feel like Nick sweating on the train to Manhattan (“Hot, Hot!”). I’m struck by Fitzgerald’s writing with each read.
   

5. Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown. If you happen to despise Dan Brown, you’re probably wondering why this one is on my list. I went to a Catholic high school and this book came along right when I was beginning to question the world around me, including religion and God. One morning on a bus ride, I overhead two older students talking about a book with secret knowledge, hidden symbols and codes. I knew had to read it, and I was hooked once I did. Brown blends complex questions into an entertaining thriller that opened my mind at the perfect time.

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6. Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey. Another book I read during high school while on a road trip to Arches National Park where Abbey was a park ranger. Not only was this book a perfect companion for exploring the desert but it was also a completely new way of writing that I was unfamiliar with at the time. The book is part memoir, part collection of essays on environmentalism, nature, and a whole lot more. This is as much a philosophy book as it is a book about nature, and Abbey can describe the setting sun as well as he can dissect what’s wrong with modern society.
   

7. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck. Over the past few years, I’ve re-read this classic each summer, usually while on a trip. I used to think of it as just a roadtrip book, but it is far more than that. Steinbeck uses the trip as a way to explore American identity in the early 1960’s and confronts the major issues of the era, namely the civil rights movement. Steinbeck is a master and I learn something new with each read.
   

8. Endurance, Alfred Lansing. One of the first books that taught me history and non-fiction can be both enlightening and entertaining. This is the definitive account of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition in which his ship Endurance became stuck in ice, forcing Shackleton and his crew to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest outpost. The best part? Everyone survived. This is what makes Shackleton one of the greatest leaders in history.
   

9. Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan. I found this book at a free library sometime between 2017 and 2020 and I was floored by the writing. Sullivan’s early magazine writing, covering everything from Axl Rose, to the Real World, to Unnamed Caves, carries the torch of gonzo, using the essay form to distill an idea or experience down to it’s roots with humor and an exacting attention to detail. I find myself coming back to this book every few months, and currently I’m deep into The Last Wailer, Sullivan’s interview with Bunny Wailer. I love listening to this book even more than reading because as Sullivan reads his words, you get a better understanding of his sense of humor and the extremely well-written prose.
   

10. Moby-Dick, Herman Melville. I struggled to read this one through most of 2024 but once I finished I realized why it’s one of the best American novels ever written. This book changed my idea of what a novel can be. Melville wrote an historically accurate account of the whaling industry couched within a narrative about a one-legged captain hell-bent on killing a white whale. The best part is that the whale is based on a true story. I’m looking forward to reading this one again soon.

In writing this list, I realize that I value books that I can read over and over again, that make me think, engage my curiosity and my (sometimes obsessive) desire to learn everything I can about a topic. Several of these also contain an adventure or journey so clearly I enjoy reading about overcoming obstacles or discovering one’s self while on a trip through the world or one’s own mind. (I also really like stories about the sea!) These books also came to me at formative times in my life, including my teen years.

These are the books that shaped me. Now I want to hear from you: Name one book that shaped you and why.

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Until next time,

Keith

Hi Friends!

Keith here checking in to say ‘hey’. I hope you’re enjoying your June, as we move towards summer in the northern hemisphere.

It’s been a minute since I’ve published here at Circles In Space. When I moved into a new role at my day job at the end of February I lost the rhythm of writing Five Bullets, something I’ve done nearly every Friday since 2022. Though it was tough to let this go for the time being, I allowed myself to be ‘ok’ with it and let my creative energy move elsewhere. But lately I’m missing the routine of publishing each week.

Instead of jumping back into the same pattern, I want to try something new. I want to publish a wider variety of writing. I want to finish work and put it out into the world.

Earlier this week I was sitting at my desk trying to figure out what to work on when a memory I hadn’t thought about in forever popped into my head. (Does this happen to you too?) I wrote this short prose piece about that memory. I hope you enjoy reading.

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“Waiting On The Road To Somewhere”

There’s a part of me that’s forever waiting in gas station parking lots in a place I’ve never been before, trying to get directions, find a hotel, and deal with some critical issue. I still remember the feeling of sitting on the bus during a high school trip through the American West, just waiting. Waiting for what? I can’t recall. But I recall the bus, the parking lot, the setting sun, the desert heat, and wondering if I should join the others and pick up Arby’s or Denny’s or whatever was across the street, because it felt like we’d be stuck there forever. This scene has replayed itself on nearly every trip I’ve taken since, from Montana to Morocco. The waiting, and not knowing, that’s what sticks with me. But these are the moments that make up a trip, the trials and tribulations, and unexpected problems and the uncertainty of being in a strange place, left to figure things out for yourself. Or if you’re lucky enough to be travelling with someone, these moments become a bond you’ll both remember forever. The trip continues, you come out the other end stronger than before, and life goes on. But in the moment, the waiting feels dark and empty, with no end in sight and home seems very far away.

Until next time,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Hope you’re enjoying the weekend! Thank you for sticking with me while I figure out a new schedule that works best for posting.

But I couldn’t let March go by without giving you my roundup, so here’s what I’ve learned, read, seen, and heard this month:

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• As I wrote last month, I’ve been into David Grann’s writing lately. After listening to Grann speak with How I Write I finally sat down and started reading The Wager. I posted about the book back in 2023 and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since! I can happily report that I’m about 50 pages from finishing and, boy, is it a wild ride. Shipwreck, disease, mutiny, storms - just about everything went wrong on this doomed voyage. But Grann, talented writer that he is, keeps it lean; this isn’t a dense book at all and worth a read if you enjoy epic sea tales.
  
  

• Check out this month’s playlist! It’s a bit of everything, and inspired by ’s deep dive into The Beatles tune “I Feel Fine”.
  
  

• If you can’t tell from the playlist, I’ve been rewatching The Wire. Season 1 is better than I remember. The writing is excellent. Maybe the best crime drama series out there? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. But now I’m slogging through Season 2 and it feels like a different show, a shell of the magic that made Season 1 so great.
  
  

• The New Yorker war correspondent Luke Mogelson is one of my favorite writers today but he hasn’t published anything (that I can find) in about two years. So while I anxiously await whatever Mogelson’s been secretly working on, I listened to his conversation with the Longform podcast. Mogelson describes his writing like photography, accurately capturing what’s occurring without coloring the details. In fact, he says he tries to go to places where there aren’t many journalists, and prefers to set up right behind a photographer.
  
  

• Before Rodgers and Hammerstein, there was Rodgers and Hart. Ethan Hawk plays lyricist Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon. The entire film takes place in one evening at Sardi’s following opening night of Oklahoma!. Hawk is captivating as the creative, depressed, and alcoholic Hart.

  
  

What captured your interest this month? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

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Have a great weekend,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! In case you missed last week’s post, I’m taking a short sabbatical. So this week I thought it’d be fun to revisit three posts from my archive.

At the beginning of last year I was reading and writing about intrepid explorer Ernest Shackleton. The frigid New York winter definitely added to the experience of reading about the trials Shackleton’s men encountered on their expedition to cross Antarctica. First I read Mensun Bound’s book about locating Shackleton’s shipwreck and followed that up by re-reading Alfred Lansing’s classic Endurance. I wrote two essays on these books by using a three-step system to turn my notes into essays.

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What’s capturing your attention this week?

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Have a great weekend,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday!

I was planning to post my usual Five Bullets this week but I realized I needed to re-focus and find balance.

I started a new role at my day job and it’s taking more time and energy right now. For the time being, if I continue writing weekly I won’t be giving my writing or my new role the attention they both deserve. So it’s time for a change. (Just in time for Spring!)

I will keep writing but I need to vary the frequency. That may mean posting bi-weekly or on another day of the week.

Five Bullets will continue but maybe as a monthly roundup rather than weekly.

I believe a new schedule will also open up my time to post a variety of writing, like blogs, short stories, and deep-dives, and more zines and other experiments that I’ve wanted to try, instead of the same format every week.

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I started this newsletter four years ago on a whim with zero expectations. Since then it’s grown into a community of thinkers, readers, listeners, and observers that I’m incredibly proud and excited to collaborate with and write for every week. A sincere thank you for all of your support!

As always, please let me know what you think or what you’d like to see going forward.

Leave a comment

Follow me on Substack Notes where I post short ideas, music, and more.

Check out my archive below where you’ll find Five Bullets and deep dives on books, music, history and more:

I’m excited for this new chapter of Circles In Space and I’ll be sure to keep you updated on things!

Thanks again, and have a great weekend!

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! We’ve reached the end of the month which means it’s time to reflect on what we’ve learned, read, seen, and heard. Here’s what captured my interest this February:

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• Five quotes from this month:

  • “I am able to take a wire and go into the air and define the air without stealing it from anyone.“ - Ruth Asawa.

  • “To love is good: love being difficult. For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.” - Rainer Maria Rilke

  • “Unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.” - Bhikkhu Pannakara

  • “The world is such a complicated place to be in. I think art gives you this kind of weapon for attempting to understand some of that profundity.” - Megan Rooney.

  • “She bought me an expensive, illustrated edition of Moby Dick, took me to dinner in a good restaurant, and then ushered me along to a performance of Boris Godunov at the Met.” - from The New York Trilogy.
    
    

• In case you missed it, here are this month’s Five Bullets:

  • Five Bullets 2.6.26: Peaceful Creations

  • Five Bullets 2.13.26: Love Is Too Strong

  • Five Bullets 2.20.26: Sherlocked

  
  

• The ‘Best Of’ this month:

  • Books: The New York Trilogy and Sherlock Holmes novel A Study In Scarlet.

  • Music: Check out my February playlist.

  • Movies: I rewatched Sinners for the first time since I’d seen it in theaters and loved every minute of it again.

  • Shows: Gary Oldman is excellent in quirky spy thriller Slow Horses, adapted from Mick Herron’s novels.

    
    

• Author David Grann spoke with the Criminal podcast about how a detective investigating a murder case found clues written in the suspect’s book. Grann covers this story and more in his true crime book The Devil and Sherlock Holmes.
  
  

• And lastly, keep an eye out for this weekend’s planetary alignment!

  
  

What captured your interest this month? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

Have a great weekend,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s capturing my interest this week:

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• Rewatching the BBC’s Sherlock series finally convinced me to read the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study In Scarlet, published in 1887 by Arthur Conan Doyle. With all the detective novels I’ve read recently, I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to get to the world’s greatest detective! Holmes was influenced by Edgar Allen Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin from the short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue, which Doyle references in the first few pages. The BBC series brings Holmes into the 21st-century with modern versions of Doyle’s classics, but if you’re interested in Sherlock Holmes, there’s no better place to begin than the book that started it all.
  
  

• Vinyl music lovers: when was the last time you changed your turntable’s stylus? I noticed my records sounded distorted in the high frequencies. I hadn’t changed the stylus since I bought the turntable years ago, so I figured it was time for an upgrade. What a difference! My records sound better than ever with more depth and clarity than before. As a rule of thumb, the manual for my turntable (I’ve got the ATLP120) recommends replacing the stylus every 300 hours of use. And of course, I checked out the new needle with Lettuce’s Cook.
  
  

• For Valentines’ Day last weekend, I shared one of my favorite love songs, John Coltrane’s Naima. While doing some research on the tune, I found a poem by photojournalist and organizer Kwame Braithwaite titled Naima for John Coltrane. Braithwaite founded the artist collective African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS) which included jazz drummer Max Roach and vocalist Abbey Lincoln.
  
  

• Actor Robert Duvall passed away this week. Among his iconic roles is one of my favorite movie characters Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. Duvall’s on-screen for just over 10 minutes but his performance is magnetic. Kilgore completely encapsulates everything gone wrong during America’s role in the Vietnam War and it’s hard to imagine another actor bringing this character to life. Here’s Duvall on playing Kilgore.
  
  

• Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling on where ideas come from:

  “Ideas come from the earth, they come from every human experience that you either witness or have heard about, translated into your brain in your own sense of dialogue, in your own language form. Ideas are born from what is smelled, heard, seen, experienced, felt, emotionalized. Ideas are probably in the air, like little tiny items of ozone.”

  Serling says ideas are the easiest thing on earth to come up with but the hardest part is just getting them down.

  
  

What’s capturing your interest this week? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

Have a great weekend,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s capturing my interest this week:

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• This week I’m reading Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy, a collection of (sort-of) detective stories which contain all the elements of great writing Auster spoke about in this interview. On the face they seem like simple mysteries but engage with some deep topics. The stories have a rhythm and space to them which I really enjoy. Each story also delves into writing and reading which makes me wonder how much Auster was writing about himself (there’s even a character named Paul Auster). I read that he wrote City of Glass after receiving phone calls from people trying to reach a man named Quinn, making Auster wonder, ‘What if?’
  
  

• I heard Parliament’s Flashlight blasting over the sound system at 9:30am while shopping this week. I always loved this tune, especially Bernie Worrell’s funky bassline, so I couldn’t help but dance and nod my head in the aisle. When I got home I found out that funk mastermind George Clinton stole the song’s melody from his friend’s Bar Mitzvah!

• “The world is such a complicated place to be in. I think art gives you this kind of weapon for attempting to understand some of that profundity.” Megan Rooney’s paintings capture a sense of movement and depth in the city around her. In fact, you can see Rooney dancing around the canvas as she creates, translating the movement she observes into her paintings.
  
  

• On Sunday February 13, 2000 the last Peanuts comic strip was published following creator Charles Schultz’s passing the day before. Back in December, I wrote about when Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on television.
  
  

• From 1903 to 1908 poet Rainer Maria Rilke kept up correspondence with an aspiring poet. Rilke’s responses to the young man, compiled in Letters To A Young Poet, give us Rilke’s roadmap for the artistic soul: to feel deeply, to consider with patience, to write only if you truly must. Among Rilke’s words that have stuck with me are those on love:

  “To love is good: love being difficult. For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.”

  
  

What’s capturing your interest this week? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

Spread some love this weekend! ❤️

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s capturing my interest this week:

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• “When you put a seed in the ground, the ground doesn’t say, ‘Well, eight hours, I’m gonna stop growing.’ You put it in the soil, that bulb grows every second that it’s attached to the earth. That’s why I think that every minute that we’re attached to this earth, we should be doing something.“ Ruth Asawa brought creativity to every moment of her life, whether crafting looped-wire sculptures, drawing and painting or making murals with her young students. She believed that there is no separation between art and living and her work reflects her curiosity to learn, grow and experiment. This weekend is the last chance to see Asawa’s MOMA retrospective. Watch How To See for a short primer.
  
  

• On February 28th, a rare “planetary parade” will occur with Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter visible in the night sky. You’ll need a telescope to view Uranus and Neptune but the other planets should be visible if you look west after sunset on the 28th. Here’s this year’s astronomical events.
  
  

• The planets must certainly be in alignment because one of my favorite bands jazz-funk organ trio Soulive released Flowers, their first full-length album in 15 years! The trio recorded the album at Iceland’s Floki Studios and the remote location must have added some musical magic because the band builds on their original chemistry with heavier, psychedelic sounds. I’ll be writing an album review soon!

  
  

• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced earlier this week that the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building cupola will be opening to the public. The Beaux-Arts style building at 1 Centre Street opened in 1914 and is one of the world’s largest government buildings in the world. The observation deck is the first to be opened by the City since the 1965 World’s Fair.
  
  

• Two dozen Buddhist monks who set out to walk from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. will arrive in the Capitol on Tuesday. The Walk For Peace has covered 2,300 miles in 10 states and hopes to “to remind Americans that peace is not a destination—it is a practice.” Texas, where the monks are establishing a new Buddhist center, is home to over 1 million Buddhists from across the world. Spiritual leader Bhikkhu Pannakara said “unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”

  
  

What’s capturing your interest this week? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

Have a great weekend,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! We’ve reached the end of the month which means it’s a chance to reflect on the month past and the month ahead. Here’s what captured my attention this January:

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• This week I discovered the Proust Questionnaire, a series of questions designed to reveal your true personality, made famous by writer Marcel Proust. The questions are interesting so I thought I’d give it a shot. Here are my answers to 35 Questions: The Proust Questionnaire.
  
  

• Earlier this month I wrote about my 50 Favorite Things From Last Year. If you’re hoping to read more this year, I shared my 10 Ways To Love Reading. And because we’re in a new era and transparency is essential, I defined my Circles In Space AI Policy.

  
  

• In case you missed it, here are this month’s Five Bullets:

  • Five Bullets 1.2.26: Welcome to 2026!

  • Five Bullets 1.9.26: Fresh Folk Reinvention

  • Five Bullets 1.16.26: Jack Straw from Wichita

  • Five Bullets 1.23.26: Searching for New Land

  
  

• The ‘Best Of’ this month:

  • Books: Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald.

  • Music: Check out my January playlist.

  • Movies: Seymour Hersh documentary Cover-Up.

  • Shows: Severance lives up to the hype. Writer Dan Erickson said he wrote it during his corporate job lunch breaks.

    
    

• And lastly, some good news to close out the month: Indonesia banned elephant rides. The elephant riding industry causes harm and trauma to these intelligent creatures and the ban is a historic victory for animal rights.

  
  

Borrowing from the Proust Questionnaire, what was your greatest achievement this month? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

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Have a great weekend,

Keith

I was reading a copy of Vanity Fair recently and noticed a short celebrity interview on the back page. This series of questions designed to reveal your true personality is known as the Proust Questionnaire, made famous by Marcel Proust though he didn’t create it. The questions are interesting so I thought it’d be fun to take a crack at it and share my answers:

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1. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Reading outside for hours as the day moves by slowly.

2. What is your greatest fear? Something terrible happening to my loved ones.

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Laziness.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Dishonesty.

5. Which living person do you most admire? Paul McCartney.

6. What is your greatest extravagance? Travelling.

7. What is your current state of mind? Calm and focused.

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Faith.

9. On what occasion do you lie? When I might hurt someone’s feelings.

10. What do you most dislike about your appearance? I don’t dislike anything in particular except how I might be perceived by others.

11. Which living person do you most despise? I don’t despise anyone but there are some I strongly dislike.

12. What is the quality you most like in a man? Creativity.

13. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Creativity.

14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? ‘Cool’ and ‘man’.

15. What or who is the greatest love of your life? My partner Vanessa.

16. When and where were you happiest? Telling stories and laughing with family and friends or seeing a great concert.

17. Which talent would you most like to have? I always wanted to invent something.

18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d like to be smarter!

19. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Finally becoming a writer because I enjoy it and will be writing for the rest of my life.

20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? A tree.

21. Where would you most like to live? Near a lake and mountains in New York’s Hudson Valley or Catskill region.

22. What is your most treasured possession? My journal.

23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? War.

24. What is your favorite occupation? Musician.

25. What is your most marked characteristic? My powers of observation.

26. What do you most value in your friends? Positivity.

27. Who are your favorite writers? John Steinbeck, John Jeremiah Sullivan and Joan Didion.

28. Who is your hero of fiction? Captain Nemo from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

29. Which historical figure do you most identify with? I’m not sure.

30. Who are your heroes in real life? Everyday people who are kind and help others.

31. What are your favorite names? William, Mary, John and Marian, my grandparents’ names.

32. What is it that you most dislike? Close-mindedness.

33. What is your greatest regret? That it took me so long to start writing.

34. How would you like to die? At home, peacefully, with family.

35. What is your motto? Fare Quae Sentiat, which means, “Say what one feels.”

    
    

Have you answered the questionnaire? Leave your thoughts below!

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Until next time,

Keith

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s capturing my attention this week:

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• I want to be transparent so I wrote the Circles In Space AI Policy. This newsletter will always remain human-generated but I’ve used AI before to craft headlines, generate SEO tags, and create images. Thus, the policy to clear things up.
  
  

• Just a few months after recording his classic album The Sidewinder, trumpeter Lee Morgan returned to Van Gelder Studio in February 1964 backed by a lineup of Blue Note’s heavy hitters to record Search For The New Land. I’ve been spinning this album on repeat and it reminds me of Coltrane’s music, exploring both in and out, rather than the brash trumpet Morgan is known for. My favorites are the title track and Mr. Kenyatta, named for Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president after it’s independence from the British empire.
  
  

• You can’t beat used bookstores! I found a like-new copy of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle for less than $3 last weekend. Jack London called it the “Uncle Tom’s Cabin of wage slavery.” Sinclair went undercover to expose the poor working conditions of the meat-packing industry which led to the Meat Inspection Act.
  
  

• Over the holiday weekend I updated my personal website and reflected on my experiences writing online. I started blogging there a few years back and those posts became this newsletter but since coming to Substack I’ve struggled with how to use the website. I think I’m going to write pieces there which don’t exactly fit here. It’s always been a place where I can experiment freely.
  
  

• Art opens my mind to new ways of thinking, like this interview with German artist Anselm Kiefer. I’m also checking out The Sketchbook Library, which shows the limitless creative possibilities in a single book: comics, drawings, watercolor, stories, photos and more.
  
  

What are you creating this week? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

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Have a great weekend,

Keith

Hi Friends,

I want to be transparent so I wrote a policy clarifying my AI use and what you can expect to see here at Circles In Space.

First things first: Circles In Space will always remain a human-generated newsletter, written by me. But I’ve used AI in the past to craft headlines, generate SEO tags, and create images. Thus, this policy to clear things up.

Back in 2024 I became interested in using AI tools in my personal and professional pursuits. I spent the better part of last year testing and experimenting with ChatGPT at home and Copilot at work. I have a basic understanding of how large language models work plus their strengths and weaknesses.

I now have a clearer vision of what I can expect from these tools and how I will or will not use them for this newsletter. I think it’s more important than ever before to reinforce and clearly express my thoughts on my AI use and to be open about it.

AI is a tool but it can also be a shortcut that replaces real learning and understanding. These ethics are at the heart of why I started Circles In Space.

Keep reading below for the policy.

Circles In Space AI Policy

Circles In Space is a newsletter written by Keith Walpole.

Purpose: To set forth the parameters of AI usage as it pertains to this newsletter.

This policy covers the following AI tools: chatbots, transcription, & image generators.

Note: At the time of publishing, I have not used any other AI apps for the purposes of this newsletter and will update this policy if that changes.

In an effort to maintain transparency and promote the ethics of openness, clarity, learning and development embodied in this newsletter, I hereby state the following:

I Will Not Use AI For:

• Writing.

  I started this newsletter to engage my curiosity, to learn, and to practice writing. Outsourcing the actual writing, even a word, line or headline, defeats that purpose. While I’ve used AI in the past to craft headlines, going forward I will not use AI in any shape or form to write any part of this newsletter. Also, a chatbot can simply regurgitate someone else’s ideas.
  
  

• Research.

  Researching is my favorite part of writing. I enjoy scouring the internet, books, movies, and music to find the information I need. Using AI for research robs me of this essential learning experience.

  
  

• Content ideas.

  I’ve tried using AI to brainstorm content ideas before but I haven’t used even one idea. That goes against the purpose of Circles In Space which is to highlight the cyclical nature of our lives, so my content should come naturally and not from AI.
  
  

• Images.

  I’ve used AI to create images in the past but only when I was going for an AI ‘look’ back when it was a novelty. Now, image generation far exceeds those images and it’s becoming difficult to tell what’s real and what’s not. That’s why you’ll never see an AI image used here going forward. I create all images in Canva.

I Will Only Use AI For:

• Strategy.

  I’m a one-man show so I use ChatGPT to brainstorm strategy about how to reach more people. I’m not really a business-minded person and AI can be useful for highlighting areas I can improve on. But my goal is to share ideas and creativity rather than to be the biggest newsletter on Substack.
  
  

• SEO tags.

  I realized last last year I should be using SEO tags effectively to attract new readers. So while I’m learning SEO, I use ChatGPT to help identify tags for my posts. Once I’ve learned how to do this I won’t need AI assistance.
  
  

• Upskilling.

  I absolutely love asking AI questions like, “How do I embed a Substack post on my website?” AI does this really well, giving clear, accurate instructions and it’s helped me immensely.

  
  

• Transcription.

  Two tools which save me tons of time: Apple Notes and Descript. I use Notes to grab text from photos and to transcribe audio recordings. I use Descript when I need more robust audio transcription.

  
  

With this policy, I set forth the parameters of AI use for Circles In Space. I acknowledge that such tools can sacrifice learning and growth for ‘efficiency’ which is in direct contrast of the purpose of this newsletter which has and will always be to promote and share curiosity, creativity, learning, and deep engagement with facts, ideas, and the world.

Thereby, as stated above, I will not use AI for writing, research, content ideas or generating images, and limit use to those circumstances indicated above.

Keith Walpole

01.22.2026

That’s the Circles In Space AI Policy.

Clear, transparent, and in line with the ethics and ideas I embody with this newsletter. I’ve made this policy as comprehensive as I can. I don’t see it changing for the time being but I will continue experimenting and update accordingly.

There’s other considerations to take into account when using AI too, like it’s impact on the environment. But often the discourse around AI is very doom-and-gloom and while that may be true in the not-so-distant future, I don’t think it’s productive at the moment. I view AI like any other tool; what matters is the intention behind it.

My hope is you’ll continue reading this newsletter because you value curiosity, creativity, learning, and engaging with facts and ideas. You love books, music, movies, and history. I love these things too, I love learning about them, and sharing them!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, thoughts or concerns.

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Until next time,

Keith

Thanks for reading. If you value Circles In Space, please consider subscribing or by offering your support below.

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Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s capturing my attention this week:

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• This Monday January 19th we remember the life and legacy of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. During the 1963 March on Washington, King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech which you can read and listen to here or watch here.
  
  

• Founding member and guitarist of the Grateful Dead Bob Weir passed away. If there’s one thing that Bob and the Dead shared with us it’s that music has the power to heal and to give a reprieve from the craziness going on in the world. If you haven’t seen it, check out the documentary The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir.
  
  

• A continuous humming sound has been heard below the streets of Times Square since 1977. The permanent sound art installation by Max Neuhaus is located below an MTA subway grate at the intersection of 45th and 46th street.
  Neuhaus connected a sound generator to a nearby street lamp for power allowing the device to emit a droning hum amid the hustle and bustle above. Neuhaus became interested in sound art after studying percussion with Gene Krupa and performing John Cage pieces.
  
  

• Youtube journalist Johnny Harris sat down with David Perrel to talk writing and storytelling. In his videos Harris discusses complex topics with deep research and engaging curiosity that makes the information relatable. Harris shares his pillars of Youtube writing, his influences, and what makes for good storytelling. Check out Harris’s explainer on Why Everyone Suddenly Wants Greenland.
  
  

• Once upon a time I barely read any books but there was always that voice telling me to read more. Then I started reading books I liked and got hooked. I wrote about 10 Ways To Love Reading to help you read more books this year!

  
  

  
  

What are you reading, hearing and seeing this week? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

Have a great weekend,

-Keith

Do you want to read more but don’t have the time? Or haven’t found a book that really grabs you?

40 percent of Americans didn’t read even one book in 2025. And only 27 percent read 1 to 4 books.

I was once in your shoes. I read at school because I had to but it wasn’t until I found books I actually liked that I became a reader.

Then eight years ago I made reading a daily habit. Reading everyday keeps my brain engaged, enriches my life, and grounds me. Reading is an essential part of who I am.

Last year I hit a new personal best of reading over 25 books. That’s low for some but for me reading still takes planning and work. Nothing worth doing is ever easy but at least we can make it fun!

That’s why I’m going to help you fall in love with reading.

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10 Ways To Love Reading:

1. Read what you like. Don’t read what you think you should read or what everyone else is reading. Try a few books and stop reading if it doesn’t interest you. Keep experimenting until you find a book you can’t put down. Often I don’t know if I like a book until I read about 100 pages. Austin Kleon says, “Don’t read books you don’t like!”
   
   

2. Read everyday. To build a new habit or routine you need to do it every day. Set time aside to read even if it’s for 15 minutes. Use a timer. Small daily increments add up over time. But read at your own pace!
   
   

3. Read everywhere. Always have a book with you. Read between meetings, on the subway, and during your lunch break. Replace scrolling on your phone with reading. Replace watching TV with reading. Try audiobooks and ebooks.
   
   

4. Keep books around. Having lots of books around means you’ve got plenty to choose from and also serves as a not-so-subtle reminder to keep reading. I’ve got a stack of unread books on my shelf which means I’m always reading.
   
   

5. Keep a list. Hold yourself accountable. If you keep a list or calendar of your reading activity you’ll be less likely to skip a day. I also keep a list of the books I’ve read each year.
   
   

6. Take notes. This isn’t essential but I think if you really love reading you’ll get more out of it if you take notes. Taking notes helps you figure out what you like to read and want to read next. Don’t be afraid to write in your books! Underline quotes. Dog-ear important pages. Write down words to look up in the dictionary. Write a summary of what you liked and didn’t like.
   
   

7. Re-read books. Get more out of your favorite books by re-reading them. Re-read books you’re interested in but didn’t completely ‘get’ on the first read. You might find that the meaning or significance of a book changes with each re-read.
   
   

8. Invest in yourself. Ryan Holiday says that books are the best investment you can make in yourself. You can change your life for less than $20!
   
   

9. Apply what you’ve read. Books open our hearts and minds. They can help us understand our world, each other and ourselves. Whether you’re reading fiction or non-fiction, apply the lessons you’ve learned from reading in your own life.
   
   

10. Join a book club, write a newsletter, or start a podcast. Sharing books makes reading more fun! Talk about your favorite books. Gift family and friends book you like. Get excited about books!
    
    

What tips help you read? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

Leave a comment

I love when a book grabs me and I can’t put it down. At first I struggled to get through Moby-Dick but then I got hooked. Sometimes you have to put in the time before a book reveals itself to you.

And sometimes a book might not be right for you in the moment but years later it finally connects which is why it’s helpful to try a book then move on if it doesn’t catch.

I guarantee you’ll read more if you follow these steps. You’ll get addicted, enrich your life, learn more, and be curious, interested and engaged.

And you’ll be a better person. Not just because you’re reading but because you’re listening to that part of your soul that wants to read!

Happy Reading!

-Keith

Hi Friends!

I’m discovering this week that the clean slate of a New Year is inspiring my return to all things authentic and original. In recent years, that’s manifested as listening to lots of folk music! Here’s what’s capturing my attention:

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• I made a list of my 50 Favorite Things From Last Year. Now that I’ve finished my last end-of-2025 post (I promise!), I’m writing resolutions and excited for new possibilities. I can’t remember where I read this but it’s always helpful to have something on your to-do list that’s already completed and crossed off, that way it seems more manageable.
  
  

• For the price of a song, you can grab my worksheet! It’s perfect for focusing your 2026 resolutions, goals and projects onto a single page.
  
  

  Buy the Worksheet

  
  

• I’m reading Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric, the book that inspired Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. I’m learning about the early 60’s folk scene leading up to Dylan’s “electric apotheosis” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. You can watch that milestone moment here. The thing I’m finding most interesting is how Dylan reinvents himself, starting out as a rock-n-roller, becoming a folk singer and songwriter, then back to a rocker, and on and on. Future post on the book plus a playlist coming soon!
  
  

• While reading Dylan Goes Electric and listening to traditional folk artists, I’m digging back into the music of Willie Watson, one of my favorite ‘new’ folk musicians. I kept his first two CDs in my car. I love the space on these recordings and Willie’s heartfelt delivery so I ordered Folksinger Vol. 2 on vinyl to listen at home. Check out the original versions of those songs here.
  
  

• Because sometimes old things are new and new things are old, I looked through my archives to see what I wrote about this week in years past. In true Circles In Space form, I wrote about folk musician Elizabeth Cotten in 2023 and Woody Guthrie’s New Year’s Rulins in 2024. Maybe if I hadn’t heard Willie Watson, or read about Elizabeth Cotten, the Seegers and Woody Guthrie, or watched A Complete Unknown, I might not have picked up Wald’s book. The circle continues!
  
  

What are you returning to or reinventing this week? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

See you next Friday!

-Keith

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Hi Friends,

Here’s 50 of my favorite things from last year:

1. Celebrating the New Year in beautiful Puerto Rico with V.

2. Walks along the river and in my neighborhood, watching sunrises and sunsets and the changing seasons.

3. Being a tourist in my own city by exploring the Highline and lower Manhattan during the winter months.

4. Celebrating birthdays and holidays with family and friends.

5. Seeing Becoming Led Zeppelin and The Grateful Dead Movie in IMAX.

6. Art gallery walks and Nom Wah dumplings with V.

7. Visiting my grandpa’s place upstate for the last time after his passing in December 2024. The unexpected snow made everything peaceful.

8. Running errands in downtown Brooklyn then walking to Brooklyn Bridge Park and taking the ferry on a brisk April day.

9. Solo hiking in Harriman State Park and having lunch by the lake.

10. Seeing Nils Frahm perform at the Kings Theatre. (My phone rang during a particularly quiet part of the set!)

11. More concerts! Mark Guiliana, Galactic, Budos Band, Lettuce, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Dumpstaphunk, Makaya McCraven, John Scofield, Robert Glasper, and LCD Soundsystem.

12. Camping and hiking with E on a beautiful May weekend in Fahnestock State Park.

13. Visiting the Transit Museum with my parents.

14. Movie club nights with friends. Some favorites: Prince of the City, The Seventh Seal, Moby-Dick, Sweet Smell of Success, The Verdict, and Gaslight.

15. Practicing the drums!

16. Walking Riverside Park with E and getting caught in the rain at Grant’s Tomb.

17. Taking a two-day writing workshop at Center For Fiction.

18. Writing short stories and fiction.

19. Helping Dad rebuild his screened-in patio.

20. Making my first zine to celebrate the third anniversary of the newsletter!

21. Seeing Photoville’s annual festival under the Brooklyn Bridge.

22. Standing in the front row at Lettuce’s Coney Island Amphitheater show.

23. Photographing tugboats, sailboats and ferries on the East River.

24. Making music with E and walks in Central Park.

25. Getting a new car but missing my old car’s CD player.

26. Visiting Half Moon Bay for a friends wedding. Early morning runs along the foggy bay. New experiences with friends.

27. Getting an 8-week old orange cat we named Tony!

28. My friend’s documentary screening at Rooftop Festival in Greenwood Cemetery.

29. Summer rooftop barbecues at E & C’s place.

30. Recording tunes with friends.

31. Visiting Storm King Art Center on a warm summer day and taking photos of the sculptures.

32. Visiting family in Sacramento then driving to spend a week in Lake Tahoe with more family. Hiking, walking, swimming, eating, watching sunsets, and soaking in the hot tub.

33. Summer reads! Especially Blood Meridian and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

34. Re-reading Endurance and Travels With Charley.

35. Seeing an enormous amount of art at The Armory Show.

36. Watching my buddy’s rock band perform.

37. Beach trips to Jacob Riis Park.

38. More restaurants, movies, bookstores, day-trips, and picnics.

39. Talking art, creativity, music and politics on weekly walks with my good pal S.

40. Attending documentaries with Q & A’s: Not Not Jazz and Orwell: 2+2=5.

41. Seeing Larry Bell’s art at Madison Square Park.

42. Early morning runs at my local park.

43. Walking to the Newtown Creek, exploring the Nature Walk then walking all the way back home.

44. Getting film I shot over the summer developed.

45. October camping trip in the Catskills with Dad & E. The beaver who kept making nightly trips through our lakeside campsite site to chew trees!

46. Acquiring more books and records! Reading 25 books. Discovering new music.

47. Fall family trip to the Queens County Farm.

48. Watching the tree outside my window change color.

49. Resting and reflecting during the holidays. Seeing family and friends. Snowy winter walks in my neighborhood.

50. Another wonderful trip around the sun at Circles In Space: growing the newsletter, learning a lot, giving myself permission to write less, creating a clipboard worksheet, and finally completing the year end review I’ve wanted to do for years!

What was your favorite thing in 2025? Leave me a comment below.

Leave a comment

Until next time,

Keith

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Hi Friends -

Happy New Year! Here’s what’s capturing my attention week:

• Is journaling one of your New Year’s resolutions? I’ve been journaling every day for the past 8 years. Here’s my 5 Tips For Keeping A Daily Journal.
  
  

• While compiling 2025’s Year in Review I noticed Five Bullets covered several scientific breakthroughs over the past year: discovery of a dwarf planet in our solar system; the James Webb telescope’s images of a star being born; and researchers discovered ultra-high energy neutrinos under the sea.
  
  

• Over the holidays I caught up on movies and TV. In The New Yorker At 100, I loved getting an inside peek into the editorial team’s process preparing the magazine’s 100th anniversary issue. Cover-Up highlights the career of investigative journalist the writer who broke stories on the My Lai massacre, CIA domestic spying, and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.
  
  

• On December 31, 1904 the first New Year’s celebration was held in Times Square with fireworks presented by New York Times publisher Alfred S. Ochs to celebrate the opening of One Times Square. Three years later on New Years Eve 1907 Ochs began the ball drop tradition. Times electrician Walter F. Palmer suggested using a time ball like the one atop the Western Union Telegraph building, normally used for synchronizing maritime chronometers.
  
  

• Good news to begin the new year with: a Ukrainian man escaping conscription said his kitten Peach kept him alive in the freezing Romanian mountains. Rescuers found Peach curled up on his owner’s chest who said “Peach kept my heart warm and he kept my faith alive.”

  
  

What are you looking forward to this year? Email me by hitting reply or by leaving a comment below.

Leave a comment

See you next Friday!

-Keith

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TIPS

Hi Friends -

Happy Friday! Here’s what captured my attention this year:

• My post popular post this year was the Circles In Space Zine. New zine coming in the New Year!

  
  

• Complete list of this year’s bullets and posts:

  
  

• My year in 25 Quotes:

  
  

• My 10 Favorite Books:

  
  

• My Favorite Albums:

  
  

What captured your attention this year? Email me by hitting reply or leave a comment.

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Thanks for all of your support this year! See you in 2026!

-Keith

Thanks for reading Circles In Space. Subscribe to get Five Bullets every Friday.

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Support Circles In Space. Your generosity keeps the newsletter up and running.

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Hi Friends -

2025 was a landmark year for Circles In Space.

When I started this newsletter four years ago I didn’t even really know how to write a newsletter. I made a commitment this year to make Circles In Space this best newsletter and community I possibly could by re-designing, revising, and improving my writing. This year’s accomplishments include:

• 72 posts

• 245 bullets

• Circles In Space Zine.

• Clipboard worksheet.

• Deep dives on books, creativity, music, New York City, writing and more.

Thank you for all of your support. I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings!

Here’s a list of this year’s posts:

Deep Dives

Books

Creativity

Music

Field Recordings

New York City

Writing

More

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Five Bullets

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Thanks for reading Circles In Space. Subscribe to get Five Bullets every Friday.

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Support Circles In Space. Your generosity keeps the newsletter up and running.

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See you in 2026!

-Keith