What I've been reading & listening to
I haven’t done one of these in some time. Those of us in the US who observe Indigenous People’s Day may be home tomorrow, so I thought I would share a bit of reading for your time off work; or, if you do need to be at work tomorrow, maybe you’ll get around to these in your off hours. I encourage you to reply to this and send me your recommendations, too! I’m currently into travel & adventure memoirs, as well as self-help and advice columns. Music, through the Bandcamp platform, is surging in my brain all the time now. I love listening through my airpods and especially on my brand-new iPhone 13 which obviously is still an older model. (I’m constantly dreaming of re-buying my old Nokia navy blue 3710 model flip phone, which felt like a smooth river stone in my hand and pockets, but my kids insist I have to be able to look at the links and tiktoks they send me. And my job probably wouldn’t like it. And I wouldn’t have Bandcamp or Bluetooth on it. But I would love it.)
Let’s get to it.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
Big Thief. They have a new EP out. Natalie Merchant. Her first album in 9 years came out this summer and it’s wondrous. Allison Russell. Brittany Howard. Amanda Shires. Patti Smith. Meshell Ndegeocello, whose praises I sang a couple of months ago.
WHAT I’M READING:
Books: The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser, a book of personal essays about a woman deepening the relationship with her self each time she breaks up with a man. This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared by Alan Lew, a mystical and mythological Jewish deep dive into the Days of Awe (In my head, I often repeat this phrase as the Days of Awwwwwww like I’m seeing a cute puppy or something. Weird, I know.). Barbarian Days by William Finnegan, his memoir of growing up as a surfer and now I am hella jealous of him. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, into which I’ll admit I haven’t gotten far.
Articles: Two things I’ve read recently for my new job: “The Tyranny of Structurelessness” by Jo Freeman. “Civic Wealth Creation: A New View of Stakeholder Engagement and Societal Impact” by Tom Lumpkin and Sophie Bacq. I think there are big dimensions missing from the analysis in this last piece, namely the role of government, taxes, and regulatory climates inhibiting equitable distribution of resources, but they’re interesting in terms of defining stakeholders and looking at how institutions and structures can become vessels for social change.
Newsletters: The Red Hand Files by Nick Cave. The Querent by Alexander Chee. Offering by Jessica Dore. Witness by Robert Jones, Jr. Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed. Haram AF by Nada Chehade. I wholeheartedly recommend all of these.
Thank you, dearest reader, for staying with The Creative Aid Society!
Love,
Mariya