They added a tiny baby squirrel! Too cute!

Watch Meg and Joseph talk about their book with Dylan Marron! Very interesting stuff, especially for writers and appreciators of general cuteness.

A TV interview of Meg and Joseph! Super cute. 

“In this candid, soul-baring memoir, Joseph and Meg recount their first ten years together, each telling their story as they remember it, without having consulted the other. We hear both sides of their first kiss, first breakup, first getting back together, the death of a father, marriage, international fame, world tours, mental illness, and discussions about having children. Sometimes, they recall things differently—neither agrees on who paid for the morning after pill on their first date. Sometimes they remember the exact same details in the same way—but still have their own narrative on just what those details mean.”

This is so romantic! A must have for all the Megseph shippers, for sure. I love the concept of a real life love story told by both partners without consulting each other. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book with this concept before. I’ve only ever read/watched 2-minute plays by Meg, so it will be really interesting to read her writing in a longer format. Meg and Joseph obviously have a very strong relationship, and the book might contain some good advice on how to keep a relationship going. Or it might just be specific to Meg and Joseph’s lives. Either way, I can’t wait to read this! 

The book is out on May 11. 

“The First Ten Years”: my thoughts

Updated: this is the review I wrote at Goodreads. Amazon won’t let me write a review, because apparently my account isn’t verified or some shit.

I have followed Meg and Joseph's artistic careers for a while, both through Welcome to Night Vale and the New York Neo-Futurists, so I was very excited to read this book, and I was not disappointed. It was moving, it was funny, and it offered quite a few insights into Meg and Joseph’s personalities and their life together. Both are very intelligent and insightful, and obviously very much in love with each other.

The book has a lot to say about change and growing up, adapting to new things together, falling in love with each other all over again as you find yourselves in a new place. There are fights and difficulties, but the story is generally very joyful and uplifting. Fights are not described in too much detail, and happy moments are given more weight. I found it interesting that they often don’t mention the same exact events. A small moment that meant a lot for Joseph might not be in Meg’s story at all, and vice versa. This makes you think about memory, how our emotions shape the things we remember.

This is Joseph’s first nonfiction book, and while I found his writing moving and vulnerable, I would say Meg is the stronger writer of this format. Her bits were raw, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny. That said, Joseph’s recollections of his father’s death are perhaps the most moving part of the book.

I felt a strong connection with Meg. Her painful relationship with her body was particularly relatable to me. She discusses her eating disorder, substance abuse issues, and insecurities about her body very openly. I also have an eating disorder and recognize that ongoing anxiety, as well as the negativity and hatred people throw at fat women. Joseph's kindness and acceptance of her body was something that made me happy; other guys could learn from that. But there’s something more to that feeling of connection with Meg, maybe just being a woman in this world. I recognized the fears when Trump won the election, for instance. When Meg said that living in a woman's body puts you at risk, I felt that deeply. I would be curious to know if a guy would feel more of a connection with Joseph instead.

There were a few parts I didn’t find it so relatable. For instance, I haven’t traveled much and have never been to the US. They talk a lot about very specific New York and New Jersey things, and I simply don’t have the frame of reference for those bits. Since I haven't gotten married, some of those thoughts felt more distant for me as well.

I found the earlier years were more interesting than the later ones, for some reason. Possibly because their relationship became more stable and they settled into a routine. However, Meg’s letter to their possible future child was a highlight. She is now expecting said child - talk about impeccable timing!

I was surprised by how little Night Vale stuff there was. I thought it would be this huge thing in their lives, but they talk mostly about the practical side of things, like the strain of constant touring. I started to question whether Night Vale was a bigger thing for me and other fans than it was for them. Of course, much of the Night Vale stuff was between Joseph and Jeffrey and Cecil, not between Joseph and Meg. That might be why it’s slightly on the backburner. Meg also writes about her work with the Neo-Futurists, which I personally found very interesting. You don’t need to be in the theatre scene to enjoy these bits, but it probably helps if you're into art in general.

The main thing that I felt was missing were photos. It would have been nice to see Meg in the outfits she describes, and perhaps some early selfies from before the Night Vale tours. Joseph describes a specific photo in detail, and it feels a bit odd to not actually see it.

All in all, I’m happy they wrote this book and that I got to read it. Maybe there will be another book in the next 8 years. Night Vale fans will obviously get a lot out of this story, but I would imagine it’s relatable for anyone who’s been in a long relationship, especially artists.

More personal thoughts under the cut. 

I realized I have a lot in common with Joseph. I’m anxious and messy, I love fiction, I get nervous and stressed about everything. In other things, I’m not like him: I’m not good at making big changes, I don’t have have great confidence in my work. Meg says the world would be a better place if all artists had Joseph’s confidence.  

Despite the similarities with Joseph, I felt more connected with Meg. We definitely don’t have as much in common. She’s neat and organized and wants to be in control. I’m messy and unorganized, and I like when other people are in control. Meg likes running and working out, I don’t. Meg loves to cook, I just love to eat. We do share a fear of change and a tortured body image. 

Meg says she’s been a size 6 and a size 26; I’ve been ca. size 20 for the last ten years, and never really lost weight. I’d like to say I’ve had it harder, with my apple shaped body and not-so-pretty face, but reading the book, I don’t know. I think she’s so beautiful, and she really doesn’t talk about herself that way.  

I’m used to reading a story that goes from fat and sad and weak to slim and confident and strong, and I honestly hate that story and was worried I would have to read it in this book 

The book could easily have been very triggering if she had chosen to do that. Instead, I found an intensely relatable writer who wrote about her body at various sizes with that trademark self-deprecating wit. Sometimes she mentions insecurities regarding her body, other times she says nothing at all about it. There’s no “that year I was xxx pounds and then I went down to xxx pounds and here’s how I lost the weight and I feel great now” blabla. 

I saw her use phrases like “fatphobic” and “thin privilege”, and referring to herself as “fat”. To me, these are signs of allyship. She’s obviously done some reading into the topic and given it a lot of thought. Her painful relationship with her body is something most women can relate to. Joseph is shown to be a caring and compassionate husband who has no issue with her changing body. (Her blonde phase, however...) 

They mention they think of Helsinki as an “exhausted city”, because they were exhausted there. But I can say as a Finn that Helsinki really is exhausting. Nice to visit for a day, but wouldn’t want to live there. I was glad that there were a few mentions of Helsinki. Finland is never this exotic location that stands out, for anyone. Certainly not for people who have visited Australia and Hawaii.  

Thats about all I have to say today. Maybe I’ll add some thoughts later when I re-read the book. I just really wanted to post this today .

Symphony: Is that how you felt about Joseph the first time you saw him? Meg: I felt, being honest about the first time I met Joseph, I did not think that he was uh.. I thought he was gorgeous, I mean like he’s a good-looking dude. Symphony: Yeah. Meg: But we did not get along on a personal level, I think cause I didn’t quite understand who he was, and then once I got to know him I fell in love, over time slash instantly. But yeah we met in the box office of the Kraine Theater, which is, the Kraine Theater is the place I met Joseph, I met Jeffrey Cranor, and I met Cecil Baldwin. So it’s a sacred, sacred space, yeah when I met Joseph and.. Symphony: Most of the important men in your life. Hal: Yeah. Meg: Yeah. When I, all of them except for, you know like my Dad and Hal Lublin. Hal: Correct. Meg: I met my Dad in the hospital when I was born. [laughter] It was a good day. Like I met my Mom and my Dad and maybe my sister all in the same day, which was pretty great. Symphony: That’s a big day! Hal: That’s pretty important. Meg: Did I know at the time like how important these people would be to me? No, I was an infant, I was a newborn but, I felt it I think, maybe. [laughter] Alright. So when I first, but this isn’t a love podcast. When I first met Joseph I was like, who is this kid? What does he want? And then yeah we became friends and I, only wanted things from him from that point out. Symphony: Then you made him yours. Meg: Yeah so then I realized how wonderful and smart and, I always knew he was attractive, he is a good looking kid. He really is.

Good Morning Night Vale, episode 1: “Pilot”

The happiest day of my life was the day I became a father.

Idiot Tree Bear!

Big Day!

“Hardly working.” from Meg’s Instagram.

❤️💯 from Meg’s Instagram.

April 23, 2017

“Do not touch the underwear.”

From Joseph’s Instagram.

The live video was a lot of fun, but it jammed in the end so it cut off a bit abruptly. Instagram doesn’t store live videos, so it’s gone forever, much like we will all die one day. 

People didn’t actually ask a lot of questions. It’s actually quite hard to suddenly think of something to ask, and I felt shy about it. I thought of a few questions eventually, but the chat jammed before they could answer me. What do we learn from this? Don’t be shy like me and ask your questions instantly.

Here’s the responses I remember:

-New tour dates will be announced in tomorrow’s episode 501!

-Meg is going to have a new character!

-Cecil’s favorite episode is 105, he said it was fun to record!

-Meg said the new book is a page-turner, and Joseph said it’s more plot driven than the first novel.

-Symphony told fans to come to the theater in their Glow Cloud cosplay, because she will judge them. (as in which is the best one, I think she said)

-They’re impressed by cosplayers, because it takes a lot of work and creativity to make a cosplay 

-Symphony’s cat has her own (adorable) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mambokitters/ 

-She got the Khoshekh plush from a fan at a show, and now she always bring it on tour with her

-There was a lot of talk about coffee. Ceci likes his coffee with half milk and sugar (real sugar!) Symphony likes it with sugar and no milk 

-Symphony is lactose intolerant 

-Joseph follows dozens of podcasts, including their own - he said it’s good to follow your own podcast, just so you know it loaded. 

-Cecil and Symphony said they can’t always come outside after a show, depending on how tired and busy they are, etc. 

-They also said people wouldn’t want to meet them, because they smell really bad. I think they were kidding, but it wasn’t smell-o-vision so I can’t confirm it. 

-Someone told Cecil to sing and Symphony was like “NO”. Cecil said he’d do it for money. 

-Meg ruffled Joseph’s hair. That’s not informative, but it was adorable.

“#barcelona” from Meg’s Instagram.

“End of honeymoon selfie with washed out sunset.” 

“Hi.”