Watch / Read / Listen (January 2021)
WATCH
This 8-episode series from Apple TV is truly exquisite. It’s an anthology series, which means each episode tells a different story, but all of them are true stories of American immigrants. Apple bills them as “funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring, and surprising,” and I’d say that’s pretty accurate. I felt both joy and despair during almost every episode. Each one is such a beautiful picture of humanity.
Do NOT skip the intro. I repeat, do not skip the intro. Each episode has unique music during the opening sequence, and it tees you up for the story you’re about to fall in love with. The soundtrack to the rest of episode is equally delicious.
I really enjoyed the detailed scene-setting and creative filmography, but it’s the people that make the show worth watching. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
LISTEN
White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes
Who doesn’t love a good round and perfect vocal harmonies? And this one is just what winter ordered. Whether it’s about cute little foxes in red scarves or something more sinister, this song has been soothing my January blues all month. Released in 2008, this folk song isn’t packed with lyrics, but the layered instruments and voices somehow have me daydreaming of winter snowstorms.
It’ll Shine When It Shines by Ozark Mountain Daredevils
We’re going back even further with this tune, dropped in 1974 on the under-appreciated Southern rock band’s second album. This song shares the slow pace of the first, but message is less ambiguous: you can’t fast forward through the hard stuff, so try to relax. I want to be mad, but the laid-back delivery and full melodies are so soothing I can’t help but sing along.
READ
FICTION: Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This novel won the US National Book Critics Circle Award in 2013, the year it was published. I just read it last month, though, so you’re in good company if you haven’t picked it up yet. (Unless you already read it, in which case, why didn’t you tell me?) Adichie tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States to attend college. The novel traces her life in both countries, intertwining her love story with Obinze, her high school classmate. Her writing is both intimate and universal, and I couldn’t put this book down.
NON-FICTION: Hunger, by Roxane Gay
Gay described this 2017 memoir as “by far the hardest book I’ve ever had to write.” I’m not even sure how to describe all the things this book is about. Most obviously, I guess, is her struggle make peace with her body in a world that shames fat people. She tells her incredibly moving first-person story while simultaneously offer cutting commentary on societal issues. This book is vulnerable and brave, and it forced me to ask myself hard questions about what it means to really know, love and accept someone.
ESSAY: Notes to Self, by Emilie Pine
In this debut essay collection, Pine, who is an Irish professor, covers everything from infertility to depression to menopause. Her opening piece details caring for her father in the hospital after a near-death experience, and she unflinchingly faces what we owe our parents, and what we owe ourselves. But she also talks without shame about female bodies and sexual violence, using her own story to ask why we have been silent about these things for so long, and giving the reader permission to use her own voice.