read with me: march 2021
read with me!
Spring is springing, I got my first shot (!!!!), the beautiful bush lilies are blooming in my yard, and it feels like I can let a shred of optimism creep into my heart.
I’ve also read some great books this month.
books
Foursome: This is a stunning book by one of my favorite biographers Carolyn Burke. (Sidenote, if you haven’t read her biography of the photographer Lee Miller, go do that!) Foursome explores the relationship between Georgia O'keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, and Rebecca Salsbury and it is informative, salacious, well-written and a page-turner. I particularly enjoyed the sections about Salsbury who I knew exactly nothing about before I started the book and was always sad when the chapter turned to Strand or Stieglitz who seemed like tyrannical, controlling albeit wildly talented men (sigh).
The New Wilderness: We have a bit in my house where when we’re particularly stressed out by the inane bullshit of late stage capitalist life, we talk about what it would be like to live with only what we needed, to live a life without the consuming, without the back-pain inducing screens, and without the non stop hamster wheel of it all. The New Wilderness is a climate-fiction novel by Diane Cooke (who wrote a fabulous collection of short stories Man v. Nature that you should check out) about a mother’s decision to participate in an experiment in the “wilderness state” to save her ailing daughter from the toxic air pollution in the over-polluted and dangerous city. The experiment requires her family and a small community of city expats to live on the last bit of protected land and survive with only what they need. It’s gripping, disturbing, and is a thought-provoking exploration of the insanity of our current destructive way of living.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit: I am always in awe of Jeanette Winterson. She is one of the most creative, brilliant writers and her words always leave me stunned and grateful to be a reader. Oranges is an autobiographical novel about Winterson’s childhood in a Pentacostal home in 1960s England and her experience reconciling her sexuality with her faith and her mother’s fervent (and damaging) religious beliefs. If you’re looking for a short book (it’s under 200 pages) that is heartbreaking but also laugh out loud funny at times, I can’t recommend this enough.
The Expendable Man: 20th century noir continues to be my quarantine staple and I am blowing through Dorothy Hughes novels which are all so brilliant, wry, captivating, and also filled with amazing social commentary.
The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington: This collection of short stories by the late surrealist artist Leonora Carrington is filled with talking animals, magical castles with secret passageways, elaborate parties, and straight up creepiness. I’ll leave you with this line: “I don’t like meals. I only eat banquets.”
other reading i've enjoyed
I’ve been making my way through the pile of New Yorkers sitting on my coffee table and here are some gems:
- Lauren groff short story
- Nicole Eisenman profile
- Glennan Doyle profile (Note: Ariel Levy is a genius)
- How Polyamorists and Polygamists Are Challenging Family Norms
- Living with a Visionary (Note: You will cry reading this)
things that made my life better
Bay area friends: La torta gorda, The Morris, Bini’s, Fournee bakery, Hook + Fish The best running erands bag, Tomorrow is a place, Yummy polenta + kale porridge, Machete earrings, Keap BK candles Toumani Diabaté, Laura, Call My Agent, Whisper of the Heart, Appearances (the most creative podcast I’ve ever listened to) Fargo (how has it taken me so long to watch this movie!?) Biking everywhere I can!! Keeping Quiet, Sylvia Boorstein: What We Nurture
Sending love and hopeful feelings to you. Let me know what you’re reading or enjoying and send me your favorite books or TV recs. I’m finally reading Middlemarch, so please forgive the tardiness of my next email.
And, forward this email or share this link with anyone who you think would enjoy it.