And so it seems I must always write you letters that I can never send.
prelude
Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.
—The Secret History, Donna Tartt
Happy summer! I thought it would be fun to list a few things I want to read, watch, and listen to before the year ends as we approach the second half of the year! I always have a ‘media wishlist’ going, which I always look at first whenever I want something to do. If we have the same taste in books/movies/music, here are some ideas of what to put on your list as well. Any suggestions? Leave them in the comments!
Also, here is my summer playlist!
BOOKS
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Florida by Lauren Groff
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Mothers, Fathers, and Others by Siri Hustvedt
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig
In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova
Show Road Station by Elizabeth Hay
Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Abigail by Magda Szabo
Tennis Lessons by Susannah Dickey
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
Jane by Maggie Nelson
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
Either/Or by Elif Bautman
Second Place by Rachel Cusk
Don’t Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Agnes Gray by Anne Brontë
Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg
MOVIES
Challengers
Punch Drunk Love
The Worst Person In The World
Tangerine
Yi Yi
Submarine
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Carol
Inside Llewyn Davis
Vivre Sa Vie
The Iron Claw
Priscilla
Poor Things
Palo Alto
Le Bonheur
Mermaids
After Yang
Only Lovers Left Alive
The Age of Innocence
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
SHOWS
Barry
The Bear
Palm Royale
Severance
Yellowjackets (season 2)
My Lady Jane
Station Eleven
Behind Her Eyes
1883
The Sympathizer
ALBUMS (to listen to in full)
Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish
Model by Wallows
Me Again by Sasha Alex Sloan
Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
Found Heaven by Conan Gray
Bewitched by Laufey
Keepsakes by Shallow Alcove
Older by Lizzie Mcalpine
Writer’s Block by Gabrielle Aplin
Garage Sale by Between Friends
Half Songs by Sophie May
Simple Like 17 by Sadie Jean
All For Something by Tiny Habits
Supernova by Sophie Cates
Collapse List by Novo Amor
interlude i: what i read this week
I am slowly updating my Goodreads! I actually only read articles because I was so busy last week, and I was also busy rewatching The Good Place when I had free time. I’m planning to read Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howery and Florida by Lauren Groff this week, so follow along for updates on my Instagram <3
Here are twelve articles I read last week (all of these are on books!):
Also, here is my guide on finding articles and what newsletters to subscribe to (along with my favorite articles)!
interlude ii: what i watched this week
I finally updated my Letterboxd with every movie I watched over the last five months! I rewatched Interstellar and Inside Out. I watched C’mon C’mon, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and The Story of Adele H. for the first time. I enjoyed all of them, but didn’t particularly fall in love with any. I hope to watch Challengers this upcoming week!
Some video essays I watched: this video on A24’s influence on Hollywood, this documentary on Elizabeth I, this harrowing documentary on the Burning Sun scandal in Korea, this video on Manet, and this video on Bojack Horseman.
You absolutely need to watch the worst person in the world. That movie changed me
song of solomon is truly incredible :') I wish I could read it again for the first time. I just finished the second novel of the neapolitan quartet, I have to imagine the writing will be something you enjoy omg