That is an version of The Surprise Reader, a publication through which our editors advocate a set of tales to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Join right here to get it each Saturday morning.
Through the years, my fellow Atlantic writers have revealed many daring arguments. However the case Ian Bogost made this month is maybe one of many bravest lately: Flaking on plans will not be so horrible, he argued. I possible discovered Bogost’s declare so controversial as a result of I used to be a flake in earlier eras of my life, and the suggestions I obtained steered it was not a very good factor. However Bogost’s philosophical case was fairly smart: “Flaking, taken selectively, means that you can acknowledge that life is porous,” he writes. “Errors seep by way of its gaps.”
Nonetheless, there are guidelines for flaking kindly and gracefully. In the present day’s publication explores the artwork of canceling plans, in addition to the logistical woes that may make the act so unavoidable within the fashionable period.
On Flaking
The right way to Flake Gracefully
By Olga Khazan
An introvert’s information to canceling with out shedding your mates
There’s No Disgrace in Flaking
By Ian Bogost
Embrace chaos. Don’t present up.
Podcast: What Do We Owe Our Associates?
By Julie Beck and Becca Rashid
A tradition that prioritizes romance and household relationships can push individuals to undermine their friendships.
Nonetheless Curious?
Different Diversions
P.S.
In 2019, my colleague Olga Khazan described a artistic method to managing her flaking behavior: She’d ship her boyfriend to “social engagements in my stead, like a tragic overseas minister from Flake Nation.” I’ll go away you with this selection to signal certainly one of your family members up for a really awkward political appointment.
— Isabel