Hello there, reader, and welcome to the first Kat’s Kable of 2026! I’ve unfortunately come down with a bit of a fever and cold, so not too much brainspace remains to write a witty intro. As always, though, enjoy the list of ten great things to read!

1. I opened a bookshop. It was the best, worst thing I’ve ever done (Financial Times):

“Chloe Fox shares the hopes and heartache of fulfilling a life-long dream”. In case you haven’t read this yet (it’s been doing the rounds online, do yourself a favour and read it today.

2. The wealth whisperers who save super-rich families from themselves (The Economist):

Pretty interesting read: “A new caste of consultants is helping to avoid “Succession”-style crises”.

3. How to be more agentic (Useful Fictions on Substack):

Loved this.

Agency is the skill that built the world around you, an all-purpose life intensifier that lets you make your corner of it more like what you want it to be, whether that’s professional, relational, aesthetic, whatever. Build a better mousetrap. Have an enviable marriage. Start a country. No one is born with it, everyone can learn it, and it’s never too late.

4. Consider the Giraffe (London Review of Books):

I’d shared Why children’s books by Katherine Rundell a month ago (issue #366) and came across this other series of hers about different animals. Her giraffe article here is fun and informative!

5. The Decline of Deviance (Experimental History):

Nice detailed read about a theme many have commented on in the past couple of years. For various reasons, “weirdness” is less common in richer and more modern societies. In some ways, this is a good thing (less crime, less drugs) and in some a bad thing (less artistic creativity or risk-taking ability).

6. Carryology x rofmia Daypack (Carryology):

I loved, loved this. Carryology is an American backpack community, and rofmia is, well, it’s a beautiful and intentional Japanese design house. When I mean house, I mean house. It’s run by a couple inside a heritage building which is the essential inspiration behind their work. This collaboration is pretty cool - I’ll never get one of the bags, but American storytelling talent meeting rofmia conscientiousness is great to read (and look) about.

7. Leeches and the Legitimizing of Folk-Medicine (Asimov Press):

Fun read about the use of leeches in traditional medicine systems around the world, and how modern treatments aren’t that much better on pretty much any count.

8. How Did the C.I.A. Lose a Nuclear Device in the Himalayas? (NYT):

Phew! “A plutonium-packed generator disappeared on one of the world’s highest mountains in a hush-hush mission the U.S. still won’t talk about.”

9. I sell onions on the Internet (Deep South Ventures):

Really heartening post from 2019. Peter Askew had a habit of buying random domain names, and later figuring out what to do with them. He bought VidaliaOnions.com without knowing anything about farming or the super-sweet specialty onions that go by that name. He now sells these onions online, and is seemingly doing a great job of it.

Ultimately, I refused to let something like that kill this. Honestly, my customers would be quite upset if we disappeared. Last season, while I called a gentleman back regarding a phone order, his wife answered. While I introduced myself, she interrupted me mid-sentence and hollered in exaltation to her husband: “THE VIDALIA MAN! THE VIDALIA MAN! PICK UP THE PHONE!”

10. The Factory Workers Who Build the Power Grid by Hand (WSJ):

Not a longread but nice pictures.