My latest book The Beautiful Death of Ozzy Osbourne: How Metal Teaches Us To Live was published by Harper North in June 2026. More info on the book and my work can be found at kahn-harris.org.

PHYSICAL

• Wobkey Rainy 75 Mechanical keyboard (with Gateron Oil Kings switches): It’s no exaggeration to say that my discovery of mechanical keyboard culture over the last year has made my life much sweeter. It has also helped me as a writer. I never knew that typing could be a gorgeous, synaesthetic experience; a feat for the ears and the hands. Since I replaced the stock switches with Gateron Oil Kings, the Rainy 75 has felt almost scandalously good to type on.
• Tom’s Studio Wren pen: I have always been a stationery aficionado so, when my wife sung the praises of this pen, I didn’t need much persuasion to get one for myself. As a fountain pen lover, the Wren has really surprised me - not only is it refillable, it has a smooth feel that I wouldn’t normally associate with a fibre tip pen like this. Using the Wren with my MD Studio A6 notepaper is pure loveliness.
• Plain yoghurt: I am on the weight loss drug Mounjaro/Tirzepatide right now. I’ve not only lost a lot of weight, the drug has also improved my general health and raised my energy levels. The side effect is some stomach bloating and discomfort. Plain yoghurt soothes and comforts. Some days it constitutes the bulk of my diet.

DIGITAL

• Fedora Atomic Cosmic Linux: I installed this distribution on a spare laptop a few months ago and I have been really enjoying it. It’s zippy, reliable and comes with auto-tiling, which makes organising the desktop a cinch. I still have to use my clunky windows 11 laptop for work but, every chance I get I switch over to an operating system that is a joy to use.
• I switched over from Evernote to Obsidian a few months ago. I use it for note-taking, web clipping and as a personal knowledge base. The learning curve was a bit steep and the endless customisation options can be overwhelming. But it has allowed me to build a system that reflects my needs and working style. Plus everything is stored locally as markdown, rather than in a proprietary format as with Evernote.

INVISIBLE

Early mornings: One of the unexpected benefits of Mounjaro/Tirzepatide has been that I sleep well and wake early. I am often at my desk at 7am, rested and ready for the day. This has had a revolutionary impact on my life. Instead of waking late after a broken night’s sleep, I start the day before many other people are even awake. The world is quieter then and there is space to think and to create.

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