In advance of a long weekend in the US, I’m in the mood to offer up some random recommendations.
Here are a few impactful/interesting/lovely things I’ve read, watched, or listened to lately.
Because sometimes the best storytelling advice is to simply to go out and absorb some great stuff.
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“Y.A. Author A.S. King Lost Her Child. She’s Still Trying to Save All the Others” by Anthony Breznican
This beautifully written Vanity Fair article talks about YA author and wonderful human A.S. King’s novels, her frankness about mental health in her talks with students, and her experiences in the wake of her daughter Gracie’s death by suicide. Breznican calls King’s books a “sneak attack” on some of the darkest aspects of our society, and I couldn’t agree more. I loved this piece and am looking forward to diving into King’s latest book, Switch.
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Daddy’s Home, St. Vincent
St. Vincent’s latest studio album, released May 14, is just as weird and wide-ranging as one would expect from Annie Clark’s musical alter ego. But it’s also surprisingly warm, and after enjoying a few listens over the weekend, I was interested to find out the story behind the deeply personal title track, written after Clark’s father’s release from a decade-long prison stint. I never feel like all Clark’s songs or thematic explorations quite hit the mark, but I love how ambitious the music is. It’s always fascinating to see what she’ll come up with next.
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The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
This 2015 book’s subtitle is “On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins,” so, ya know, a light summer read. The sprawling anthropological exploration had been on my TBR forever when I found it on a table display at Lost City Books the other day. I picked it up, and thirty minutes and many pages later was like, well, I guess I need to buy this. I’m still savoring it bit by bit, and am amazed by scholar Tsing’s ability to tell such a layered story through one little mushroom from Japan.
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Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
This YA graphic novel, out June 1, mixes a little bit of summer love, a little bit of mythology, and a lot of exploration about what it means to come into your own identity as a still-figuring-everything-out teenage girl. Plus, who doesn’t love selkies? I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader’s copy––will link to my review when it’s up!––and found it such a lovely read: the perfect mixture of bittersweet and just plain sweet.
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Couples Therapy Podcast, hosted by Naomi Ekperigan and Andy Beckerman
Naomi Ekperigan has been one of my favorite comics for a while, so when I stumbled across this podcast where she and her husband interview other couples (romantic couples, BFFs, creative duos, and more), I knew I had to subscribe. My favorite episode so far is the one where they talk to Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach. After listening, I felt like I’d just gone to one of those dinner parties where everyone hits it off and you know you’re going to be best friends. A magical feeling during those deep quarantine months, for sure.
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OK, that’s all for today. Those of you in the US, have a lovely long weekend. And everyone, make sure to kick back and take in some stories.
<3
Erin
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Erin Becker (she/her)
Writer | Communications Consultant | Storytelling Expert
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