Blog Posts & Publications

Blog Post

What technology are you interested in?

This question used to stymie me. Is there a technology I'm most interested in? If there isn't, should there be? What does it say about me as a developer if there isn't? Does it mean anything?

Oct 3, 2021

Blog Post

ReMarkable Review

This is definitely one of those devices that feels like an indulgence but, much like my Kindle, give me a few months with it and I won't know how I got along without it.

Aug 10, 2021

Blog Post

The Joys of Waking Up Early

I have always been an early riser. In fact, I'm sitting in my office right now. It's about 6:00 in the morning right now, but I've been up since around 5:00. The window above my desk faces East, so most mornings I’m here watching the sun rise, the clouds sherbetty shades of orange and pink. It's my favorite time of day.

Apr 10, 2021

Blog Post

Hope in the Time of COVID

Please, to anyone reading. Wear your mask properly (covering your mouth and your nose), get vaccinated when you can, and take care of those around you. I’m happy to share some of my hope if you need it.

Apr 8, 2021

Book Review

Notes on How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens

I find it interesting, though, that now, months later, I’m looking at the passages I highlighted and find that the slip box itself is only mentioned once. It seems that for me there were other things in this book that I found more valuable. Looking through my notes, what I see is not a book about taking notes, but rather a book about how to learn and how to think about what we learn.

Apr 3, 2021

Blog Post

Nesting in the Time of COVID

Over the last couple of months I have bought myself (and then put together) a new desk, changed the deadbolt on our front door, installed new smoke detectors, assembled new nightstands and dressers for both kids, cleaned out my closet (like, completely), replaced our kitchen garbage can, and taken several large loads of things to Goodwill. Apparently this is how I deal with anxiety.

Mar 23, 2021

Blog Post

Throwing Away My Journals

Last weekend I decided to throw out most of my old journals.

Feb 25, 2021

Blog Post

Rebuilding My Site - 2021 Version

Rebuilding my site with GraphCMS and Nuxt was overall a good experience, but not without its challenges.

Jan 24, 2021

Blog Post

The Human Story

The human story always matters more. The human story is always what we relate to more. And building a better human story for ourselves in real life matters most of all.

Sep 27, 2020

Blog Post

Procrastination

I've been thinking a lot lately about writing more regularly on my blog. Of course this involves a lot of wondering what I'd write about, thinking about why I'd want to have a blog at all, and a whole lot of procrastination.

Sep 26, 2020

Technical Article

An Introduction to Running Lighthouse Programmatically

Being able to run Google’s Lighthouse analysis suite programmatically provides a lot of advantages, especially for larger or more complex web applications. Using Lighthouse programmatically allows engineers to set up quality monitoring for sites that need more customization than straightforward applications of Lighthouse (such as Lighthouse CI) allow. This article contains a brief introduction to Lighthouse, discusses the advantages of running it programmatically, and walks through a basic configuration.

Sep 11, 2020

Blog Post

Literature of Katrina

I am not very good at typing on a typewriter. I have to press the keys really hard and my pinkies and ring fingers are not always up to the job. They are weak and I find myself retyping the letters "a" and "s" and "l" over and over. The scenes in movies where people are typing on old typewriters using only their index fingers make a whole lot more sense now.

May 25, 2020

Blog Post

Among the Mad: A Maisie Dobbs Novel

It felt good to revisit this one. The subject matter isn't easy, having to do with mental illness, the aftermath of war, and the way we humans use each other sometimes to further our own interests. But I love the character of Maisie Dobbs.

May 15, 2020

Blog Post

How to Build a Girl

The job of building yourself is never finished. And that's a beautiful thing.

May 15, 2020

Blog Post

My New Typewriter

I am not very good at typing on a typewriter. I have to press the keys really hard and my pinkies and ring fingers are not always up to the job. They are weak and I find myself retyping the letters "a" and "s" and "l" over and over. The scenes in movies where people are typing on old typewriters using only their index fingers make a whole lot more sense now.

Feb 17, 2020

Blog Post

Funny, Not Funny

I've been doing writing exercises from the book The 3 a.m. Epiphany by Brian Kitely. It's my favorite book of exercises, they always challenge me and, in the past, I've come up with some great stories by going through them. This morning, though, I completely struck out.

Jan 30, 2020

Blog Post

My Favorite Books from 2019

My top 5 books from 2019

Jan 1, 2020

Technical Article

What Do We Value Most About Design Systems

Katy dives into the answers to the 2019 Design Systems Survey open-ended questions and presents the three benefits of design systems that both agency and in-house team respondents value most.

Nov 4, 2019

Blog Post

What I've Been Reading - October 20, 2019

I'm sitting here watching Booksmart and remembering what it was like to be a completely nerdy girl in high school. And I'm sure absolutely zero people are surprised that I was a complete nerd in high school because I am now, at 40 years of age, a completely nerdy woman sitting on her couch writing blog posts about the articles she's read. And I'm totally OK with that. Because I read some interesting shit this week.

Oct 20, 2019

Blog Post

What I've Been Reading - October 13, 2019

My reading was a bit all over the place this week, but these were the articles I felt were worth sharing. There are so many more I tagged to read, but wasn't able to get to. Just one of those weeks.

Oct 13, 2019

Blog Post

On Curation

I love being surrounded by books, having all those minds and stories to dive into and learn things from. But I have a couple of shelves in my office next to my desk where I rotate out a smaller group of books that I want to have immediate access to. These are the ones that feed whatever I'm currently interested in and represent not only aspirations but interests and passions.

Oct 8, 2019

Blog Post

What I've Been Reading - August 11, 2019

It's been a rough week here in Dayton. A week ago, we woke up to the news that in less than 30 seconds a man managed to kill nine people and wound almost 30 others in a popular downtown district. I don't know how to internalize that or what else to say about that. There are no words for that kind of horror. Anyway, here are some things I read this week. Maybe they'll help, maybe they'll distract, though distraction can be a form of help.

Sep 11, 2019

Technical Article

4 Strategies to Advocate for Project Improvements

Ever have great ideas for improving projects but don’t know how to bring them up? Katy shares how you can effectively advocate for your improvements while being considerate of your team and clients.

May 27, 2019

Blog Post

I have a confession to make...

It's probably time to admit that blue isn't my favorite color anymore.

May 27, 2019

Blog Post

I Fell in Love with GraphQL Last Night

When I started, I didn't really know much of anything about GraphQL. And, to be honest, the only thing I really knew about Gatsby was that I could use it to build a static site with React. Plus it works well with the Netlify CMS, which is something I also really want to use. Since then, I've learned a lot. But last night, my knowledge of GraphQL took a leap forward and now I really love it.

May 5, 2019

Blog Post

Routine as Self Care

What if prioritizing self-care is really about prioritizing doing those things that bring you back to yourself every day, day after day?

Apr 29, 2019

Blog Post

Cheryl Strayed on Being of Service

Strayed is one of those writers who always seem to have some nugget of wisdom that really resonates with me, whether it's in an essay, an interview, a story... I keep a mental list of writers whose work feels like home to me and she is definitely on it.

Feb 24, 2019

Blog Post

The Joy of Having Problems

I can expect that there will be problems, there always are. But that’s what makes life interesting. And recognizing that allows me to take some joy in solving them.

Jan 15, 2019

Blog Post

2019 Priorities

Take care of yourself and learn new things.

Jan 1, 2019

Book Review

The Western Wind

Harvey's brilliance lies in her ability to humanize and complicate her characters, to give them lives and loves and losses, jealousies and pain and secrets.

Dec 25, 2018

Blog Post

I Moved My Phone Out of My Bedroom

Last week, it occurred to me to do something entirely obvious and yet also a little radical. I moved my phone out of my bedroom.

Sep 9, 2018

Blog Post

I Need to Read More Lauren Groff

I read an interview on The New Yorker blog with Lauren Groff the other day and I realized that I need to read more of her work. And by more I mean any at all because, somehow, I have thus far missed out on her genius.

Jun 9, 2018

Blog Post

From The 3 a.m. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley

...the best fiction...

Jun 9, 2018

Blog Post

My New Analog Workspace

Feb 2, 2018

Technical Article

Friday is Coming! The Scientific Case for Why Programming is so Darned Satisfying

The process of solving a programming challenge turns out to follow The Hero's Journey story structure, a pattern our brains recognize and reward.

Jan 8, 2018

Book Review

The Overneath

In this fantastical collection, flawed characters face the unintended consequences of their actions.

Nov 26, 2017

Book Review

Beast: A Novel

A deeply philosophical tale that explores the grey areas between reality and fantasy.

Sep 7, 2017

Blog Post

I Was At the Women's March

Just two short weeks ago, I was at the Women’s March on Washington, and yet it already seems a world away. Not like it didn’t happen, but like it happened in some other world, in some other timeline, separate from my everyday world of kids, husband, dogs, and work. And in a way, I suppose it kind of did.

Feb 7, 2017

Blog Post

Morning Pages

Last week was a tough week for creative work. I had family coming in from out of town and I hosted dinner for 18 on Friday, which means my creative work really was just cooking. Which is fun for me. Especially since I was trying out a couple of new recipes this year (and they were successful!).

Aug 11, 2016

Blog Post

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

From the Introduction, by Richard Baker, to Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki.

Sep 26, 2015

Book Review

The Wake: A Novel

Powerless, damaged, and damned, Buccmaster of Holland is an unsettling character and his story is as disturbingly human as they come.

Sep 21, 2015

Book Review

Up the Hill to Home

Yacovissi shines in her descriptions of daily life, whether that life is taking place in Civil War-era Washington as Jubal Early and his Confederate troops are closing in, or in the crowded mid-1930s household that Lillie calls home as the book begins.

Jul 1, 2015

Interview

An Interview with Contributor, Rick DeMarinis

We recently interviewed Rick DeMarinis, whose story “Afternoon in Byzantium” ran in The Antioch Review, 2014 summer all-fiction issue and garnered the Review recognition as a finalist in the fiction category of the 2015 National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors.

Mar 18, 2015

Blog Post

Elizabeth Gilbert's Magic Lessons Podcast

I just spent pretty much all day listening to Elizabeth' Gilbert's Magic Lessons podcast. I highly recommend checking it out. Especially episode 12 where she talks with Bréne Brown. I listened to that one twice. Although I learned a lot from all of them. It was interesting hearing from the different women about where they are with their creativity and what was blocking them from doing the work they felt they needed to do.

Mar 15, 2015

Interview

An Interview with O. Henry Prize Winner, Asako Serizawa

We recently interviewed Asako Serizawa, author of The Visitor, which appeared in our Summer 2011 (Volume 69, Number 3) issue and which won an O. Henry Prize award in 2013.

Jul 14, 2014

Essay

Being a Fiction First Reader at The Antioch Review: An Interview with Katy Bowman

On average, nine readers cull through the approximately 3,000 per year fiction submissions looking for the thirty or so that will ultimately end up on the pages of The Antioch Review. These readers do a close reading of the submitted stories, find the ones they like, and send them on to editor, Robert Fogarty, who makes the final decision. The Antioch Review is grateful for all its first readers and thought you might like an inside look at how just one of them, Katy Bowman, approaches this important task.

Dec 6, 2013

Essay

The Last Poem I Loved: Revolutionary Letter #1 by Diane DiPrima

The summer I turned 19, after my first year of college, I took off, leaving behind my small midwestern campus, to work in a gift shop in Yosemite National Park. That’s a whole other story, and maybe someday I’ll tell it, but for now it’s enough to know that I was there. And that one night, some friends and I decided to take a trip to San Francisco on our day off.

Aug 17, 2011

Essay

Katy Bowman: The Last Book I Loved, Breakfast at Tiffany's

I have tried for the better part of three days to figure out how to write this review/adoration. I wanted to write some grand theory or expound on some deep wisdom gained through the reading of this book. I wanted to write something about this book that hadn’t already been written.

Apr 18, 2011