My breakup with Amazon
JEFF BEZOS CAN KISS MY ASS
HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: Yesterday, after placing an order for $100 worth of paint and pens, I decided to enable payments on HALMAIL. Nothing will be paywalled! Everything will still be available to everyone. But if you want to show support and help me buy art supplies, you are welcome to.
You may also support my work by liking, reposting, forwarding this email to a friend, buying my books, screaming my name on a street corner, saying ‘nice’ out loud to yourself, etc. Up to you!!
Drawn with too many things to list, but the #10 Etchr pen was a particular delight to draw with. Etchr is where my $100 pen investment went – I bought a bunch of pens and a watercolor set.
Hat tip to Lynda Barry for the legal pad inspiration.
Oh my goodness. Was just texting with my bff about the Amazon of it all last night, I got similarly sucked into the Amazon forcefield after my baby was born a few weeks early in 2025. I'll never forget the midwife in the hospital saying to my husband and me, this is the time to use Amazon. The baby is more of a toddler now and it's time for us to stop it!!! Thank you for this timely reminder!!!
A week ago, a (tragically young) worker died at my local Amazon warehouse, the same day that we got a package delivered. Most likely from heart issues complicated by a too-hot warehouse. Even if he wasn't the worker who packaged our (EXTREMELY un-urgent) goods, the guilt and shame are too intense for me to ignore. We haven't had Prime accounts in years aside from occasional free trials to get a few things. But that was it - no more.
May I recommend the Kobo e-reader as a way of reading eBooks without lining Bezos' pockets? You can use Libby with it, there's a Kobo store you can use, and you can send eBook files directly to the reader. I'm a die-hard physical book person, but the Kobo is nice to have for travel.