November roundup

Dec 03, 2024

A mostly election-free recap, because you don’t need me to tell you things are bad. But before we begin, your monthly Otis:

Eve Babitz, LA Woman. My dumbass thought this was a memoir for the first third until I was like…wait, who’s Sophie? Anyway, a fun ride.
Lev Grossman, Codex. I wanted to read about this when I finished it and one of the few reviews on offer is titled “Heart of Dorkness” lol. I liked this though! Interesting to read right after The Bright Sword, you can see seeds of his obsession with the Knights of the Round Table here.
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall. I was into this, but it does get a little long. Has anyone seen the TV adaptation? Is it worth a watch?
In progress: Nicola Griffith, Spear. More Knights of the Round Table, I can’t quit ‘em. Terrible cover art, though, let’s get this book a better cover.

This interview with Scott Hawkins. He seems like a really down to earth dude and I hope his current project works out because would love to read him again. The Library at Mount Char is excellent and fun, you should read it!
This read on brands failing to capture the cool factor of zines. I feel like calling them zines is generous, aren’t they just ads? When is a zine a zine?
A few poems from the month: Denise Levertov’s Aware, Matthew Rohrer’s Poem, and Jane Mead’s I Have Been Living.

Conclave — Leaving the theater Ben asked me “Why are Catholics so weird?” and I was like “wdym? that all seemed normal to me.” Should’ve been a miniseries. 10 hours of gossip, backstabbing, and smoking. And more nuns! (I recommend
John Paul Brammer
’s review.)
Martha — C’mon. Endlessly quotable woman. “She’s dead now, thank goodness.” (Pair with
Alicia Kennedy
’s essay On Martha.)
The Red Shoes — What a stunner! The look of this thing! That extended dance sequence!
Anora — Loved. So fun. I gasped, I laughed, I cried. We love a 70s-style “tough shit” ending.
Fallen Angels — I’m genuinely sorry to report that I hated this. Hated it. Our local indie did a one-night screening and I was so excited to finally see it and then like 20 minutes into it I was crawling out of my skin.
Industry — Are they supposed to actually be good at their jobs? And am I alone in thinking the 3rd season dropped off majorly? And when will people start being nice to Robert??? (Also, as a PLL survivor, I don’t believe for a second that [redacted] is dead.)
Rewatch: Serpico (wardrobe firing on all cylinders), Skyfall (Javier!), The Lives of Others (a contender for the silliest use of freeze frame but man I love this movie), Network (uuuuuuuuuggggggghhhh, things are BAD)

Beirut, Hadsel. Spotify put their new single in front of me so I was like, huh I wonder what they’ve been up to, and now I haven’t been able to stop listening to this album from last year.
Naima Bock, Below a Massive Dark Land.
The Last Dinner Party, Prelude to Ecstasy. Theater-kid-y, but fun.
Nils Frahm, All Melody.

Every now and then I check back in with Marc Maron and was delighted by these episodes with Josh Brolin and Jessica Lange
This MUBI podcast episode on SORCERER in which I learned Friedkin flew in some mobster named Marvin “the Torch” (who specialized in blowing up businesses for the insurance money) to help blow up the tree in that one scene.

Photographer Deanna Dikeman took photos of her parents waving goodbye from the front seat of her car for 27 years. It’s beautiful and tender and devastating.
Bop Spotter is a project by Riley Walz in which a solar-powered phone is set up somewhere in the Mission of San Francisco to Shazam any passing tunes, 24/7/365.

Alright, that’s all this month! Take care of yourselves and the ones around you. Send me good food, movies, books, and music plz.

Slow Beauty