I love reading just about everything (okay, you won't see any horror or sci-fi picks on here), watching things that make me think and especially if they make me laugh, and wholeheartedly embrace the podcast. Here's my two cents worth.
READ
(Follow the links below or click through to bookshop.org to find all books referenced in this post and past Read, Watched, Listened posts. And here’s your friendly reminder that these are affiliate links!)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
While I thought it ran a little long, it drew me right back into the Hunger Games universe. I couldn’t put it down.
Homegoing
Oof. What a novel. I’m not sure I’ve read such an ambitious novel before, in terms of time period (400+ years!). I mean, I love multi-generational family dramas and this was ALL the generations. Yaa Gyasi brings history to life in this book in the most beautiful, raw, haunting ways.
Transcendent Kingdom
Though unintentional (hello, library holds), reading Yaa Gyasi’s novels back-to-back felt fitting. This story was less ambitious than Homegoing in terms of timeline, but no less challenging in the themes it tackled: religion, science, and family. Her writing is lovely and there’s a reason you’re seeing these two works on everyone’s “best” lists.
Bright Precious Thing
Meh. It was fine. I loved reading about Gail Caldwell’s experience with second-wave feminism and her references to the #metoo movement. Overall, it was underwhelming and felt like an unfinished book to me.
Ella Enchanted
This was a comfort re-re-re-re-re-read. It was my favorite book in sixth grade. It held up. I love it so much.
The Bluest Eye
I’ve read some Toni Morrison over the years but can’t remember ever reading this one before. It was haunting. I had to race to get through it so I could stop thinking about it constantly. It’s…tough, and was often jarring to swing back-and-forth between its child protagonists and its adult themes.
Everything is Spiritual: Who We Are and What Were Doing Here
Okay, I’ll admit that the cadence of Rob Bell’s writing can often grate on me, and yet there’s still something about him that’s so freaking endearing. This one is part faith, part metaphysics, part science lesson. I read somewhere that this book was the most ROB BELL you could get and I think that’s the absolute best way to sum it up.
Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation
I’ll be clear about my bias: I will read any and everything Anne Helen Peterson writes. This book lays bare the struggles so many of us (read: all of us) have felt as Millennials. She was just preaching to me, the choir, here, and I’m confident that part of the reason I loved this so much is simply that I seemed to find myself and my generation on every single page. Still, I think this is an important book, and I am so impressed at the way she is able to distill her research down into something so inherently readable.
A Woman is No Man
Another haunting read. Etaf Rum places us in the immigrant Arab community and brings to life several generations of women in one family. It got repetitive to me; though since the main character lives such a monotonous existence I can see how that also makes sense.
The Best American Food Writing 2020
I look forward to this anthology every single year. I love it so much. This year several themes stuck out to me, more than in the previous years: 1. What even is authenticity in food and does it matter? 2. Food used as a (quite literal) weapon 3. Gentrification. A few favorite essays were the ones about crab rangoon, baby food, and the one about ice cream. If you’re interested in food writing at all, this is a must-read. (This is also the third year this volume has been released, and FYI I would rank them: 1. 2018 2. 2020 3. 2019)
Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life
I have such conflicting thoughts on this book. On the one hand, it felt completely self-absorbed. On the other hand, it’s Christie Tate’s memoir about therapy so what in the world did I expect? Also, some of the therapy strategies felt…terrible? Like, do not try this at home. But then again, they seemed to work, so what exactly is my problem? I got kind of tired of Christie as a person, who made the same mistakes over and over again in her love life (which, her professional life was just freaking fine as a prestigious lawyer, so also get over yourself?). But also, obviously that’s why she was going to therapy in the first place, so, duh. I have to admit, the last few chapters were extremely satisfactory. I guess I’d give it 3.5 stars; it was compelling enough to continue reading but I just could not make up my mind on this book.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
As if I needed another reason to be annoyed and angry with evangelical culture… * insert annoyed side-eye emoji here * This is a MUST-READ, as far as I’m concerned, for anyone who’s interested at all in politics, and especially if you’re interested in the intersection of faith and politics. I was literally reading this book as the events of January 6th unfolded and it was like I held a textbook to describe what was happening on my TV screen in my own freaking hands.
HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style
Elizabeth Holmes, of Instagram's “so many thoughts” fame, put together this GORGEOUS book on the royal styles of Queen Elizabeth, Diana, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle. I cannot overstate how gorgeous the photos in this book are. I implore you to purchase the hardcover copy because there’s no freaking way the digital version translates that well. It’s magazine-like in quality and tone (in a very, very good way), and a wonderful form of escapism for anyone interested in fashion.
The Undocumented Americans
What a book. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio details her own experience as an illegal immigrant as well as the stories around her. Every chapter was almost more painful to read than that last; the ones about 9/11 and Flint, Michigan will haunt me for a long time. If we’re talking must-reads then this is one for every white American for us to even begin to have an iota of comprehension of the crises illegal immigrants face every single day.
The Chicken Sisters
I was excited for this one—I loved the premise of a generational feud and two sisters with opposing chicken restaurants being featured on a reality show. It largely fell flat for me; it got long and repetitive. The ending was satisfying but predictable. I stuck it out but this was maaayyyybe a 3-star book for me.
RE-READS: The entire Hunger Games trilogy. Hat tip to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for kicking that off.
WATCHED
Athlete A
Oof. We put off watching this one because I knew it would hit me in all the feels. And it did. But this documentary, about the festering disease that is/was US Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and the organizations that propped him up, was so well done. All of those girls/women are freaking heroes.
The Speed Cubers
A documentary about speedcubing that’s not really about speedcubing. Didn’t think I’d need the tissues for this one; I was wrong.
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction
these are always fantastic, and we’ve recently watched the Lizzo, Kim Kardashian West, and Dave Chappelle episodes. DO NOT SLEEP on the Dave Chappelle episode. It’s fantastic.
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity
Which brought us to diving into Dave Chappelle’s Netflix specials. Listen, I don’t always love Chappelle. I just don’t need graphic descriptions of sex; I do not think it’s funny and I think he’s so much smarter than that. That said, my favorite so far has been Equanimity, and while you need to watch the whole thing, it’s the last 10-15 minutes that are incredibly poignant.
LISTENED
These episodes of The Daily are must-listens after the horrors we witnessed on January 6th: An Assault on the Capitol, How They Stormed Congress
Also, Pantsuit Politics, always here to save (read: help me process) the day: An Attempted American Coup
To strike an entirely different tone, I loved the 2021 Predictions episode of The Popcast.
And I don’t always list music here, but after writing this piece I’ve been listening to the Spotify playlist I created to accompany it on repeat.