We thought we’d give a little roundup of the things we’ve been consuming of late! Let us know what you’ve been reading, watching and listening to…
Jack
As usual I’ve got several books on the go at the moment. I’m always normally trying to read something technical, a novel, and perhaps some poetry too.
The technical choice at the moment is Crafting Interpreters, a massive six hundred page software engineering tome which walks the reader through building a compiler - a special piece of software which takes a programming language and makes it possible to run it on an actual machine - nerdy and fun 🤓
For poetry, I’ve been a bit obsessed with Joanna Klink’s latest book, Days & Chances, which I wrote about here. I’ve already read through Days & Chances once, but as I often do with a book of poetry, I’m making a second pass and trying to take each poem in at a more measured pace. I’m hoping some of my notes/thoughts on this book will make it into an essay I’m due to write as part of my Creative Writing MA.
Finally, last week I started re-reading The Shards, Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 autofiction/horror romp. I like Ellis’ work a lot and I loved The Shards when it first came out - watching the recent FX adaptation over the summer (not great) spurred me to return to the novel. Here’s an excerpt from the opening paragraph, which I think shows what a great writer Ellis is:
Many years ago I realised that a book, a novel, is a dream that asks itself to be written in the same way we fall in love with someone: the dream becomes impossible to resist, there’s nothing you can do about it, you finally give in and succumb even if your instincts tell you to run the other way because this could be, in the end, a dangerous game — someone will get hurt.
I’d forgotten how ‘real’ this intro feels - how much Ellis convinces you that what he’s writing is a confessional/memoir, rather than a piece of fiction (a question that the book tantalisingly never really resolves).
Luís
I recently read Camila Sosa Villada’s debut novel Las Malas (Bad Girls in English), a deeply touching book about the lives of a group of trans sex workers in Argentina. I found it equal parts funny and moving, and I especially enjoyed how it blurs the line between reality and a fantastical world that mirrors the prejudice these characters face.
At the moment I’m reading Stephanie McCarter’s translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the first English translation of the epic by a woman in over six decades. I spent much of the summer rereading Homer (in Portuguese translations this time), so I was on the lookout for another classic. Unlike Homer, Ovid is new territory for me, and it has been a fascinating read so far, largely thanks to this remarkable translation. McCarter’s use of iambic pentameter gives the verses new life, but what I’m appreciating most is her feminist lens on the poem’s depiction of women, sexual violence and gendered power dynamics.
I’ve also been spending a lot of time with a few recent records, especially Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend. Those close to me know I gravitate towards a sad girl with a guitar, and Phoebe has always been a favourite. I’d even venture that she’s one of the best lyricists of our generation. This album has resonated with me in many ways, but I find it especially beautiful in how it explores grief, love and disillusionment.
Chris
Some books I’ve loved recently include Anahid Nersessian’s How to Have Sex in a Poem which comes out in Feb with Daunt Books - it’s these short essays on poets throughout the centuries and how they figure sex in their work. It’s funny, filthy, expansive and ultimately liberatory. And of all the books I’ve read recently on Palestine, Mohammed El-Kurd’s Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal really got under my skin. Beautifully and sharply written, it’s a marvel of political nonfiction.
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Two podcasts are really speaking to me at the moment. Heavyweight is in its tenth season and I’ve listened to every episode since it began. It’s about people returning to moments of their past and honestly I cry almost every time. It’s such beautiful storytelling and an example of empathy in its most full-throated form. I’m also now hooked to the series ‘A History of the United States in 100 Objects’ from 99% Invisible and the BBC. If you like material or design history, you’ll love it—episodes on Nunchaku, missing children milk cartons, and sharpened screw-drivers are so fascinating.
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So, I am obviously still not over Dolly’s death. She was, and will always be, so important to me. I love her music, her story, her self-fashioning, her activism. A queen. I keep listening to ‘Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That’ and ‘Heartbreaker’ because they are such different parts of her musical world and they never fail to make me sing along. If you know me, you also know I love Tiny Habits and their new album Keepers is a banger. This song, ‘Love Ruins Everything’, is SUCH a bop and the video is perfect. I have listened (and danced) to it every day since it came out.
I am also still luxuriating in the new Meshell Ndegeocello album, Synonym. Ndegeocello is an icon and musical genius but this album is totally wild. She’s reimagining songs with other huge artists: ‘Islands in the Stream’ with THEE Chaka Khan (what), ‘I Got You Babe’ with ANOHNI, and ‘Be Real Black For Me’ with Lizz Wright and Emily King. This album is so my thing. Ndegeocello said, ‘This project is an expression of queer liberation as a synonym for liberation of all kinds. The queer community claimed me when others didn’t…’. Love her.