I won’t say too much about the two A Song of Ice and Fire books I read, mostly because I want to come back and do this massive reflective piece about reading Game of Thrones when I had no interest in the show/was too young to watch it, and how I felt reading scenes that I gathered through cultural osmosis. I will say that I really like A Storm of Swords; despite the fact that I thought the writing was getting dull at points and a little repetitive, I was having so much fun. Like, the Red Wedding and the Purple Wedding and Tywin’s death, and everything with Jon, oh! Truly an iconic series!
O Caledonia was, as I’ve said like ten times now, so good that I bought a physical copy of my own about three pages into the introduction by Maggie O’Farrell. I don’t think I have the language that book reviewers do, like how they describe things as ‘unflinching’ and ‘provocative’; I’m afraid those words slide off my brain. What I can say is that reading O Caledonia made me feel very seen, so much so that I had to take a quick ten minute crying break for myself and every other autistic girl who ever felt herself on the edges of society, unable (and unwilling) to fit in. Amazing book, easily five out of five stars.
Next was Topics of Conversation by Maria Topkey, which has been on my TBR for a while. I have a problem with reading contemporary. Nine times out of ten I leave the book feeling exasperated and annoyed; I keep feeling as if the author won’t let themselves surrender, like the'y’re always over my shoulder winking into the camera trying to make me see how hip and young and witty (and millenial) they are. Unfortunately this book was no exception to my problem, but I did have a good time. I said the same as I always do when I finish a contemporary novel by a white author— “Cute!”
If I had a nickel for every time I read a novel by a Japanese woman that dealt with late-stage capitalism, I’d have three nickels. I will say though that There is No Such Thing as an Easy Job is on the lower end of that scale, as it wasn’t as punchy as The Factory or as gut-kicking as Convenience Store Woman. But, if I had none of them to compare to, honestly, it’s a solid novel, concise and funny and delightful to read. I had a great time!
Last book I read in January was Nevada by Imogen Binnie. This book terraformed my brain a little bit. I think in my Storygraph review I said I’d find it patronizing to call it insightful, but is is insightful, having this other angle to look at. It’s very smooth and reflective, doesn’t at all take itself too seriously. I can imagine a young (white) trans person picking this up and having their entire brain blasted like this, like world changed in the way that those long-gone life changing early internet websites helped/changed Binnie herself. I had a great time, and a little bit of me feels guilty for not like, falling over it and screaming and throwing up, but like, I had fun. I also said in my Storygraph review that I love a pathetic, super sorry woman who don’t do things right and screw up their own lives by behaving like they’er the main character in a HBO show, so that’s like half of my love for it there. There is a little bit of a contemporary issue, where I felt Mrs Binnie staring really hard at me through the pages, but I guess that’s bound to happen when you’re really trying to get a point across.
WATCHED IN JANUARY
So, I don’t know how to talk about movies and TV shows. This is me trying to talk about visual medium, and try to put the words in my head and feelings onto the screen. I’m only going to write about the ones I have very hard, big thoughts on, so like, hold onto your pants if I don’t go into the finer details of Monster or Boardwalk Empire. Okay? Hold my hand, and in no particular order…
I watched Poor Things this Monday, right. Like I went to this really nice theater in Colony Square, like a dine-in theater where I got nice sushi and a Sprite, and that was more than half of the experience for me. I’m floating on a cloud of carbonated bubbles and wasabi and pickled ginger, and then the film starts, and it’s fascinating and surreal, and funny and delightful. I like Emma Stone as an actor, and she really did her thing with this! Also this movie is so good when there’s not boring people going ‘wah the sex was gratuitous’ in your ear, like every critique that came out is kinda bullshit. She was born, she fucked, she turned her abusive husband into a goat. What else is there? I kind of want to watch it again.
I rewatched season 1 of True Detective because I heard that s1 and s4 are linked, and oh my god. I forgotthat this was a show, like these are actors…actors in situations, actors that can ACT. Like, sometimes you can forget that Matt and Woody can act, but they can act, and by God, they did. Not to mention the writing was phenomenal, the setting and cinematography was phenomenal. This literally isn’t something they made, this is in different areas. Also, um, the scene where Rust is being very sexually stabbed and gutted reminded me how much I love writing, like…Yeah! YEAH!
Monster was very good, but I don’t think I fully, truly got it. I think I need to rewatch it, but I do like that it was twisty and that it needed to show many, many sides. I took notes in my diary of the movie, to help me follow along— looking back at my notes, the moment where it clicked to me that them kids was Gay and that this was a story about conversion therapy and being true to your own self and like, nuance. My God, this is really Moonlight’s cousin.
Lost Daughter was mid, but I enjoyed seeing Olivia making Choices, and I loved the rep for deadbeat moms.
As a contrast to that, Earth Mama, where a Black woman has to make these intense, life-shaking decisions for herself and her children, to have her children. It also made me realize that a Black woman could literally never decide to run off and do translation art and have an affair, leaving her kids behind, because they’d snatch them babies so fast. So, thinking about Lost Daughter and Earth Mama together is sort of crazy, like, you see what one woman is able to do by virture of privlege and position, and how another in dire straits is pushed the limit, sort of arm twisted into giving away her baby. Very interesting.
“What I can say is that reading O Caledonia made me feel very seen, so much so that I had to take a quick ten minute crying break for myself and every other autistic girl who ever felt herself on the edges of society, unable (and unwilling) to fit in. Amazing book, easily five out of five stars.” 🫂❤️ grateful that this book made you feel that way. that’s what books are for :)) I will make a point of reading it :)