I recently started reading non-fiction again: OMCA’s Hella Feminist exhibit motivated me to pick up some feminist prose, the most important component of the Kat Stratford trifecta. I started with some blog posts from the Crunk Feminist Collective, which gave me a good introduction to some of the authors, what they wrote about, and which works to check out first. Blogs are great for getting comfortable with the vocabulary and general concepts of complicated and expansive fields like feminism, critical race theory, and disability studies. However, nothing compares to the primary source—no matter how unintelligible it seems at first, it gets easier the more your brain has to grapple with difficult words and concepts.
My reading list, which I have not updated since March (for shame) was an attempt to keep my information intake accountable and organized. In college, I accumulated a very long reading list that has since been discarded in favor of my reading pipeline, and a very short spreadsheet of recommendations. Going through the work of tracking stuff makes me consider whether or not I really want to commit to a book. Recommendations hold me accountable to actually making time to read/watch/listen to stuff.
MYTH: you need to finish everything you read
Please don’t finish everything you read. If you’re not into it, it’s probably not worth your time. And you’re probably not absorbing much of it anyways. I never understood this desire to stick with things (books, movies, friends, partners) that don’t make you happy or otherwise add value to your life. If it sucks, just put it down. There are other books on the shelves.
Reading, like any information source, influences our thoughts; so, it’s important to be selective with what we read. When you read, you’re giving the author permission to influence your thoughts. Choose wisely.
P.S.—I’ll update my reading list soon. And that’s a promise.
This Week’s Top 3
- Bullet Train 🚄 – Fight scenes. Aaron Taylor Johnson’s mustache. A lit soundtrack. A Bad Bunny Cameo? Say less.
- The Philharmonik 🎷 – fresh funky beats. If you can see him live, drop everything and go.
- Tacos Oscar 🌮 – Amazing, inventive tacos. Great vibes. The line out the door is worth it, I promise. Also, check out their flyer archive for some cool artistic inspiration.