dry seasons bring lotus flowers
a book currently in my PASFALT list and the new Little Simz album.
Hello friends,
I hope you’re having a great day. That felt formal, but I am excited to be back in your inboxes this week.
You may notice something different around here… I am now sending this newsletter out on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays. That’s because I’m changing the day. Since I write about books and music, I want it to be more aligned with the release calendar. New books come out on Tuesday, and new music comes out on Friday.
I’ve also made some updates to the format to ensure consistency. If you have read this newsletter for a while, you know your girl gets lost in the weeds at times. Having this format will ensure that I’m being actionable and consistent — so we hope.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into this week’s newsletter.
📚 READING RECOMMENDATIONS THIS WEEK:
Earlier this year, in a reading roundup, I read about the book The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex by Melissa Febos, and for some reason, it piqued my interest. The book came out on June 3rd, and I am slowlyyyyyyyyyyyyyy–emphasis on slowly, making my way through the book. I'm not sure if it's because of my Love Island consumption, but I've been distracted and haven't had a chance to give it a good read yet. I will say the writing is good, and I enjoyed listening to Melissa's interview on The Shift with Sam Baker's podcast. I'm currently marking this book as PASFALT, which is a wild acronym I just made, meaning "paused and saving for a later time." If you plan to read it, please let me know your thoughts.
In the meantime, the next book on my TBR list is Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams. The book, which is out today, is described as "An insightful exploration that unveils the lesser-known dimensions of this legendary writer and her legacy, revealing the cultural icon's profound impact as a visionary editor who helped define an important period in American publishing and literature."
Also on my radar is The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie. The book, a retelling of The Great Gatsby, is described as follows: "In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.'s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions."
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A FEW MORE READS: Does love at first sight even exist? Let New York Times decide your next read this summer. I always like a money profile, and this one is local. Do you remember when Oprah had her show, and James Frey wrote the faux-memoir A Million Little Pieces? Well I remember the drama surrounding that book but…. I kind of want to read his new book, Next To Heaven.
“I’m a writer, I create books, but I’m also something else. And I don’t know what that is, but I do things with art. I do whatever I want.” - James Frey
🎧 MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS THIS WEEK:
One album I have been wanting to talk about is Little Simz’s latest album, Lotus. This album is Little Simz’s sixth studio album, and given everything going on, it feels like a labor of love. Ahead of releasing this album, she started and scrapped four different albums, all between the time of her 2022 release, No Thank You, and this album–which is a lot. I love the vibe of this album. It has a different sound from her previous albums. I thought this theneedledrop review of the album was pretty spot on, but here are some of my favorite songs:
I love “Lion” so much because features Obongjayar who was on my favorite song from her 2021 release, Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert, “Point and Kill.”
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A FEW MORE THINGS TO LISTEN TO: Mariah Carey’s “Dangerous Type,” is my song of the summer so far. I enjoyed watching how stiff and fabulous she was performing the song in this performance. Arike Ogunbowale was on Sue Bird’s podcast and I loved the conversation. I went to see The Materialists last weekend (I loved it) and I also listened to the star, Dakota Johnson on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast. I found many celebrity memoirs to add to my TBR from this episode of the Glamour Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast.
Ending with this Tiny Desk because it was perfect.