Week 3: Catch of the Week
This week’s recommendations run the gamut of genre including an alternate-history novella about monster hunters hunting literal racist monsters to angst-filled indie rock that’ll make you feel young and sad again. And high-quality writing, but not from me.
All aboard.
Kindred – Octavia Butler
I watched the first episode of the TV adaptation of Butler’s sci-fi classic, Kindred, but wasn’t immediately hooked. I may go back to the show just because I think seeing the story unfold in another medium would be worthwhile but I can’t over-emphasize just how good Kindred is.
When Dana is ripped from her own time (1970s LA) and finds herself dropped on an antebellum plantation in Maryland, she must do whatever it takes to survive the horrors of slavery and save a child she has some mysterious connection to.
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them – Jason F. Stanley
If it talks like a fascist, posts on social media like a fascist, and embraces the strategies used by fascists to advance a fascist agenda, is it a fascist? Jason Stanley seems to think so. I read this book because I didn’t pay attention during AP US History and remember nothing about WWII. Seeing the word “fascist” enter the zeitgeist over the last few years, I felt uninformed. Stanley’s approach of drawing comparisons to the fascist powers of WWII and modern nations may feel like a stretch until you start focusing the lenses.
The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen
I cannot think of a character in a book who helped me to feel more seen than the split-personality protagonist of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer. As an Asian-American, I’ve often felt out of place. When I catch someone giving me that look of scrutiny as they read my license or try to pronounce my last name with a distinctly Spanish accent, I’m reminded of this quote from The Sympathizer,
Ah, the Amerasian, forever caught between worlds and never knowing where he belongs! Imagine if you did not suffer from the confusion you must constantly experience, feeling the constant tug-of-war inside you and over you, between Orient and Occident. East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.
The protagonist is half Vietnamese, half french, a by-product of colonialism. He possesses the blessing/curse of being able to see both sides of everything, plagued by contradictions and dualities that take him from an airstrip in Saigon to a liquor store in Los Angeles to a Vietnam War film set in the Philippines. Likely in my Top 5 favorite books.
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters – Thomas M. Nichols
This book seems especially poignant with the increased calls to “do your own research” and “question everything“ never really fading since the pandemic. One major takeaway: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but some opinions are better than others.
Ring Shout – P. Djèlí Clark
I’m a bit apprehensive about including Ring Shout on the list only because when I first recommended Clark’s novella about an alternate history America where the Ku Klux Klan summoned literal monsters from another dimension that literally fed off the hate of racists, the people I was talking to about it were A) most certainly not going to read this book, and B) not going to engage me in a conversation about race, the Klan, and demonic activity.
Seeing as Ring Shout is now in active development for a Netflix series, I figured I’d give it one more try to convince a few more people to read this imaginative, brutal, and exciting book about a band of monster hunters trying to make the world a better place for everyone.
Life Kit – How to start new traditions that feel right to you
Though we’re a few weeks out of the holiday season, there’s never a better time to rethink long-held traditions than in the light of day now that we’ve detoxed from the sugar and over-eating. This podcast from Life Kit helps ease you along to severing the ties of traditions you maybe never thought about stopping. One tradition I’m committed to abandoning in my home and family in perpetuity: no more thanksgiving turkey.
The Blocks with Neal Brennan – David Letterman
Comedians with podcasts are a dime a dozen nowadays, but after watching Brennan’s new Netflix special, and remembering my fondness for Three Mics, I put it on. I don’t think Letterman really committed to the premise but the conversation was fun to listen to. Special thanks to my little sister for this recommendation.
Rabbit Hole from The New York Times
This series came out nearly two years ago but I feel the premise and findings are just as relevant for today as they were when it first dropped. Kevin Roose (NY Times tech columnist) tries to answer the question, “What is the internet doing to us?” through the experiences of one user.
On this week’s music recommendations: I didn’t start my angsty teen emo music phase until my mid-20s, finally catching on to the music my peers in the millennial cohort were crying to and tumblr’ing ten years prior. But since it wasn’t a genre I felt I had to grow out of to be considered mature, I’ve been able to throw on a record here and there to keep me young and forlorn without too much shame. Some of that sentiment threads through this week’s list with an old favorite and some newer releases.
Ginger Root – Rikki
Billing itself as “agressive elevator soul,“ Ginger Root is the project of Cameron Lew. A talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Lew’s Rikki is just as at home poolside in a lounge chair as it is wandering the air conditioned aisles of your hometown Kmart. Favorite Tracks: Friend, Karaoke, Le château.
POLIÇA – Give You the Ghost
When I got really into Bon Iver in college (when else do people get into that guy) and was entertaining the thought of going to Eaux Claires with the other hipsters in 2015, I started making my way through the list of acts slotted for that year. POLIÇA became one of my favorites.
On Give you the Ghost, the heavy reverb on almost every lyric can be a lot but gives it a dreamy and even spooky effect. Pair that with the double drumset driving hard and you get something special. Favorite Tracks: Amongster, Violent Games, Dark Star, Form, The Maker.
Stolen Jars – A Reminder + Adeline
Stolen Jars came through on a Spotify recommendation and I have to thank the algorithm for this gem. The single, Adeline, linked above, is straightforward indie rock while A Reminder has some light math rock sensibilities. Favorite Tracks: Ghost Towns, Younger Nights, A Reminder.
boygenius – the record
On yesterday’s New Release Friday, I swapped out the recommendation I was going to make for this EP preview by supergroup boygenius (Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus). Each a heavyweight in their own regard, Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus together are a triumph. Three songs from an upcoming record appear on this release and the full album drops March 31st.
Large Multiple Layer Linocut “The Smell of Rain” BY Emils Salmins
On this week’s wild cards: Three other Substack writers that I’ve started to read.
The Honest Broker: Ted Gioia – “8 Best Techniques for Evaluating Character“
I’ve been skimming Gioia’s posts as they come through my inbox because I really resonated with his About Page. The post linked above where he listed some truly insightful techniques for evaluating character in others was interesting to think about. As he recommends at the end of the post, using these techniques for self-evaluation can be an even more worthwhile pursuit.
Writing Advice That Doesn’t Suck by Dylan Kurt
I think for the longest time I let the myth that writing is more art than craft keep me from trying to write. There’s no doubt creativity, talent, and inspiration are prerequisites for great writing, but there’s a reason every book on writing tells you the first step to becoming a great writer is to just start writing consistently. Writing, like woodworking and cooking, is a craft that is refined through discipline, technique, and practice. Starting small with this weekly newsletter of actually helpful writing advice is a good first step.
The New Fatherhood – “9 recent events that pushed me to my gentle parenting limit“
There are many times throughout the day when I don’t feel like a competent parent. I have no problem reassuring my wife with an, admittedly, not helpful reminder that she’s “never been a parent before so of course you feel like you’re not good at it,” but I have great difficulty extending the same grace to myself when I don’t be the dad I want to be.
I found a lot of comfort in the linked post because it reminds me I’m not the only one who struggles and teeters over the edge of my anger limits. What’s more, the writing in The New Fatherhood is so familiar and relatable that I can’t help but laugh as I recall a time in my own short tenure as a parent being described almost shot for shot. Macguire also provides space for dads to discuss, something that, unfortunately, isn’t too common in my neck of the woods irl.
That’s all for this week.
Ad meliora
If I put you on to something in this list, or you like what I’m sharing, tell me about it! If you like Wide Net, share it with friends or people you think would like it too.