#4: October in review
Mid-October kicked off an 8-week period where I’m traveling basically every single weekend. On the plus side, I’ve had a lot of time to read, and I’ve seen so many friends! On the minus side, my fridge is so barren I keep expecting to see tumbleweed drift through the vegetable drawer.
The Mars House
by Natasha Pulley
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Mars House is a standard Natasha Pulley book. It’s got a Strong Traumatized Himbo that falls in love with a Soft Nerdy Traumatized Older Person. It’s got an adorable animal companion, and scientific theories just the other side of believable. Most importantly, it’s got the gutwrenchingly slow building of trust that characterizes all of Pulley’s romances.
The Mars House is also not a standard Natasha Pulley book. For one, it eschews a historical setting and instead takes place on a terraformed Mars that housing both 7th-generation colonists, whose bodies have adapted to Mars’ lower gravity, and immigrants and refugees freshly landed from Earth. Moreover, Martian society has abolished gender, resulting in Pulley’s first nonbinary love interest. This book also leans more comedic, with sassy footnotes peppered throughout.
Pulley occupies a fascinating role on my bookshelf, where I’m absolutely obsessed with everything she’s ever written, but I’ve never rated one of her books 5 stars. The Mars House left me similarly conflicted. I’m not sure how I feel about Pulley’s commentary on gender vis-a-vis her attempt to create a genderless society. And I think the central societal conflict — how best to keep Earthens’ natural strength from injuring the weaker Martians — was underdeveloped, with an ultimate resolution that left me dissatisfied. But that didn’t stop me from devouring the book in a matter of days and subsequently going completely crazy about it. I would read 500 pages of January and Gale holding hands if it existed.
Cake by the ocean…
Regular readers will remember I mentioned a Taylor Swift concert in my previous email! In fact, some friends and I combined the Eras Tour in Miami with a cruise to the Bahamas to create an incredible, much-needed vacation.
I’m going to be honest, the Taylor Swift concert was absolutely breathtaking. From the bedazzled bodysuits to the outlandish set design to the mega-talented background dancers to the pyrotechnics, this concert was less musical performance and more full-blown theatrical production. I get why this tour has made more than $1 billion; you really do get what you’re paying for (provided you’re paying face value).
My goal for the rest of this vacay was to be completely uncontactable, which means I usually left my phone in the room and, therefore, don’t have many photos. There’s not much to share, though! 98% of this cruise was spent drinking cocktails, chilling in the water, or drinking cocktails while chilling in the water. The other 2% was spent hanging out with this iguana named Rico Suave, who is almost bigger than I am.
Beyond Beyond Beyond
by The Crane Wives
The Crane Wives dropped their latest album almost 2 months ago, but I only just got the chance to listen to it.
The verdict: it absolutely rules.
In many ways, this album embodies everything that makes The Crane Wives quintessentially The Crane Wives. But there are forays into new territory, too — jazzier tones reminiscent of Sammi Rae and the Friends; a song in 7/4 time. This album was a long time coming, but it’s 100% worth the wait.
Upcoming events
November 7 @ 6pm: SPLASH networking happy hour
📍 VERS, 714 9th Ave, NYC, 10019
🎫 Free to join! Just show up :)
📝 Come join me and the rest of NAAAP-NY PRIDE at a chill, low-key event where you can expand your LGBTQ+ AAPI professional network! SPLASH is held monthly, so no worries if you can’t make it this time around — we’ll see you at the next one :)
December 13 @ 8pm: GVCS choir concert: Alleluia, I Heard A Voice
📍 Our Lady of Pompeii Church, 25 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
📝 My choir, the Greenwich Village Chamber Singers, will be presenting a fully a cappella program centering Victoria’s Missa O Magnum Mysterium amidst a number of more contemporary pieces. And continuing a burgeoning tradition, yours truly will be a featured percussionist!