June 2021, baby

I wrote the title of this newsletter weeks ago and then abandoned it until right now, which is actually about 13 hours after I usually send this thing out. I mention this because Junebaby was a restaurant in Seattle until two weeks ago when Eduardo Jordan was exposed for being a fucking power-abusive creep like every other cis man in charge of anything and his entire staff quit and now Junebaby is over. And even though Junebaby the restaurant (and the phrase) were things I once found special, they’re not anymore. Bart Simpson saying, “what happened to you, man? you used to be cool” has been running through my head for hours now.

I said that to my brother last week when we were texting about our skin melting off of our skeletons. “Nothing is cool anymore.” Summer used to be so thrilling, especially in childhood, and now it’s all about taping up foil and shoving backward boxed fans into windows because no one has AC around here. Seattle used to average around 66 degrees in June and this past Monday, it was 108. The five hottest days in Seattle history were June 27th and June 28th of this year. Of this fucking week. And since we’re having a Hot Planet Summer, it means the first collection of idiots to celebrate the birth of this great country (lol) are going to ruin the rest of it because we’ll be back in our homes trying not to inhale smoke while the sky turns orange and unseasonably cold.

Anyway, junebaby indeed. Things that used to feel magic and exciting are either exposed for their bullshit or are no longer sustainable. Usually I’d try to say something like, “and new things come in their place” which is certainly true but I’m just not in the mood to go there right now so you can pep talk yourselves.

Speaking of things that feel magic, I’m holding on to books, even if I at least felt like I didn’t spend much time reading this month.

[Books I Read]

The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada, published 2020
Quick summary: a new bride and her husband take advantage of free rent living next door to his family. And things aren’t quite as they seem!! | Oyamada also wrote The Factory, which I read a month or so ago and really enjoyed. The fantastical, bizarre (and short!) story is enthralling, eerie, so weird. I loved it.
[novel, absurdist fiction, written by a Japanese cis woman, translated into English, short read]

Passing by Nella Larsen, originally published 1929
Quick summary: two childhood friends run into each other years later and become interested in each other’s life choices, including that one of them is passing as white. | If you’ve been reading this letter or know me in real life or both, you probably know that I am drawn to stories of identity, especially when it comes to ~passing.~ Nella Larsen’s novel is quite famous and I am so surprised I’d never picked it up before. I was enthralled from the top and sped through it. I really enjoy reading books published in the early 1900s, especially written by Black people. I can’t get over that this was published in 1929, as so many of the characters’ thoughts and feelings resonated with me today.
[novel, classic fiction, Black literature, written by a biracial Black woman, short read]

Grown Up Pose by Sonya Lalli, published 2020
Quick summary: Anu is sick of her married life and wants to live a little, which includes some self-exploration through a beloved practice. | This book has been glaring at me from my cute book cart for nearly six months. I bought it to encourage myself to read more light-hearted, fun books, especially in the summer, so I decided to actually make myself sit down one weekend and have fun reading a fun book. This did the trick. It’s a perfect little romcom and Lalli is a really good writer. It’s written by an Indian woman about an Indian woman and challenges stereotypes and cultural norms and it’s cute. What more do you need?
[novel, romantic fiction, written by a Punjabi and Bengali cis woman, medium-length read]

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, published 2021
Quick summary: a seemingly chance encounter on the train flips little August’s life on its head. | If you recognize McQuiston’s name, it’s from 2019’s Red, White & Royal Blue which was the most fun any of us have had reading a book. One Last Stop is their highly anticipated follow-up and you know what, shoutout to ladies this time around but I gotta admit this didn’t totally land for me. There’s more of a sci-fi plot in it than I anticipated, the banter didn’t work for me, and I’m a little nervous that books published this year will have strong infographic-on-instagram vibes. I’m not trying to be a buzzkill — it was totally fun and if you can get behind time travel, you’ll like it more than I did.
[novel, romantic fiction, written by a queer white nonbinary person, medium-length read]

Look What You Made Me Do by Elaine Murphy, publishing 2021
Quick summary: Carrie finds herself at the whims of her sister, who kinda likes to habitually kill people, until they discover there’s another murderer in town. | I am delighted that Grand Central Publishing asked me to read this before its official release because truthfully, I’m not sure I would have picked it up on my own. As soon as I started reading about Carrie and her sister Becca, I was in. A quarter of the way through, I was so excited to have a new answer when people ask me for a recommendation that’ll hook them. Murphy has a real knack for horrifying her reader and somehow also making them laugh. What a delight to read. Look What You Made Me Do is out on July 13th and you can find it through Grand Central Publishing or the author’s website or really anywhere but please try not to buy from Amazon. (Review there, though!)
[novel, thriller, written by a white cis woman, medium-length read that goes quick]

[Books I Heard]

How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones, published 2019
Quick summary: a coming-of-age memoir about a gay Black man in the 90s in Texas. | Nothing thrills me more than a memoir or a coming-of-age story so I was destined to love this. Jones’s book has been on my list for quite some time but after a friend who is always right about everything finished and loved it, I finally prioritized it. I chose to listen to this memoir but it’s already on my short list to purchase and re-read in book format. Beautiful, wrenching, complex. Saeed Jones really can write!
[nonfiction, memoir, written by a queer Black man, medium-length listen, read by the author]

The Wreckage of My Presence: Essays by Casey Wilson, published 2020
Quick summary: Casey Wilson is a comedian and actress and these are essays by her! | Casey Wilson is so funny, you guys. She’s so funny that when the first essay in this book was about how much she loves hanging out in bed and eating meals in bed, she still kept my attention by being…so funny. I laughed a lot listening to this and appreciated Wilson’s candor around losing her mother. I listen/read a lot of celebrity memoirs and feel pretty confident determining when they are Actually Good and when the book just exists because the person is famous. This is almost the latter, but she saves it with humor and vulnerability. (Gotta call it out though, the book ends on some shitty note about a food addiction group that she’s recently joined and idk if I missed a joke but that was a bummer.)
[nonfiction, memoir, written by a white cis woman, medium-length listen, read by the author

[What I Recommend]

Everyone should read/listen to: How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

If you want to read the classics that weren’t assigned to you in school: Passing by Nella Larsen

If you’ve always thought Back to the Future could be sexier: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

If you like suspense and/or want to have a mysterious and fun few days: Look What You Made Me Do by Elaine Murphy

Also for the record, other than a free digital or physical copy of the book, I don’t get paid when someone asks me to review so you can trust that I actually recommend it. (I upset an author a few months ago for being honest! Sorry!)

That’s all! Please be safe in the extreme heat and remember that the planet is dying so just take as much care of yourself as you can and don’t be a selfish prick.

“She didn’t like it to be warm and springy when it should have been cold and crisp, or grey and cloudy as if snow was about to fall. The weather, like people, ought to enter into the spirit of the season.” Passing

“Sometimes the point is to be sad. Sometimes you just have to feel it because it deserves to be felt.” One Last Stop

“I realize how easy it is for him to pass as normal. How easy it is for all of us. We get dressed, we go to work, we make small talk, we kill, we hide the bodies.” Look What You Made Me Do