Kaitlin Lounsberry

Lately I’ve been rewatching an old childhood favorite of mine, Charmed. Between the medley of magical creatures (good and bad) and the bond between the Halliwell sisters, there’s something incredibly nostalgic about rewatching a show that was in its prime over fifteen years ago. It’s been a great option for me to toss on while I’m doing household chores or in need of a show that doesn’t require my full attention to follow along. Though it might seem strange to praise something in that nature, it’s nice to have something tried and true to turn to when there’s so much saturating the realm of television and film.

Asmaani Kumar

Our Beloved Summer is one of those shows you cannot rush your way through, it must be enjoyed leisurely like your cup of steaming tea (or any warm drink you prefer). What I love so much about the story is its beautiful storytelling, cinematography, and how much it reflects ordinary life. There isn’t a lot going on in terms of everyday activities but there is so much emotional turmoil that all our characters are making their way through. Kim Dami, Choi Woo Shik, and Kim Sung Cheol shine in their roles and it’s so hard not to find a bit of yourself in the lives they have led. The overall concept is also quite interesting, it’s about two characters who fell in love while being the subjects of a documentary back when they were in high school. Ten years later, they’re asked to be a part of another documentary about their adult lives but the twist is that they’re no longer together.

There is so much nostalgia, innocence, with the warmth and unadulterated hope of youth that’s contrasted with the drudgery and exhaustion of adult life. The show is also about second chances—with love and with yourself, coming to terms with your decisions and your pain. Taking steps towards something more looks different for each of our main characters. Our Beloved Summer is a testament to the trials of growing up but it’s also so much about the wonders of youth and the endless possibilities of starting over and of doing better for ourselves and for the people we love. (An added bonus is its OST, which is full of so much warmth and heart, my top recommendations are “Christmas Tree” by V, “The Giving Tree” by Lee Seung-yoon, and “Summer Rain” by Sam Kim).

Dominic Loise

The second season of the Cursed Films documentary series on Shudder takes a look past the rumors of haunted movies and examines what actually happened during these legendary productions. I find it a reassuring show to watch as I am currently working on “notion vs. reality” in my own daily life. Cursed Films is a helpful companion to the practices I am putting in place from therapy to not get wrapped up in unproven theories and focus on simple facts of what actually happened, even if those facts may not make a romantic or scary story.

In most episodes of Cursed Films, the facts of these haunted film productions come down to money. For example, we learned last season that the tragedy of Brandon Lee and The Crow was not the Lee Family Curse. Instead, we are shown what happens with a prop gun when it is not properly checked for blockage. In a lot of these episodes, many of the tragedies come from auteur directors operating unchecked to get the shot at any cost or a production saving costs by avoiding the checks and balances put in place by circumventing union professionals and labor laws. Ghost stories may be more fun to share than spreadsheets but they don’t get to the truth of what happened at the end of the day.

Thomas Chisholm

I’ve been listening to the new Nilüfer Yanya album Painless while anticipating seeing her live later this month. I was late to discovering Nilüfer, I didn’t hear Miss Universe, her 2019 debut, until summer of 2020. It quickly became one of my favorite albums that summer. It was easily the best “rock” record of the last five years. I’ve been eagerly awaiting a proper follow up ever since. While Miss Universe was a fun and heartfelt pop-rock record, Painless is a much softer listen that caught me off guard. The singles, “Stabilise” and “Midnight Sun” remind me of Bloc Party and Radiohead. Yet the rest of the album is much more subdued. I had to adjust my expectations after a few listens. But I’m adoring this new sound from Nilüfer. I much prefer to see her grow than tread the same ground over and over. Check out “Shameless” and “Trouble” for a taste of that softer side that only two years of a pandemic could create.

Victoria Bruick

Apple TV+ released the last episode of Pachinko Season 1 on April 29th. If you were hemming and hawing about committing to an Apple TV+ subscription, now is the moment to use your free trial to binge watch all eight episodes. Set in Korea and Japan, the historical drama follows multiple generations of a family of Korean immigrants, specifically the family matriarch Sunja and her grandson Solomon. Sunja is a child in 1920s Japanese-occupied Korea, and we follow her to her new life—and new challenges—immigrating to Osaka, Japan as a young adult in the pre-WWII era. We meet Solomon in 1980s Japan when he returns home to broker a deal for an American bank. Through his work and reconnecting with people from his past, he’s forced to reconsider who he is and who he wants to be.

The TV series is an adaptation of the novel Pachinko by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee. As a huge fan of the book, I was thrilled to see it adapted to the small screen. I found the shift from the strict chronology of the novel to the alternating Sunja and Solomon timelines of the TV show kept me completely engaged (plus reading subtitles of the Korean and Japanese dialogue meant I couldn’t let myself get distracted on my phone). The cast, including Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung, (older Sunja), K-drama heart throb Lee Min-Ho (Koh Hansu), Minha Kim (young adult Sunja), and Jin Ha (Solomon), gave standout performances scene-after-scene. All this combined with the beautiful music and cinematography made this one of my favorite book-to-show adaptations to date.

If you’re looking to feel some feels, learn history you may be unfamiliar with, or get swept up in a family drama that examines the nuance of the personal and the political, add Pachinko to your watchlist.

Aisling O’Mahony

Our Wives Under the Sea has to be one of my favorite reads this month. Following her gothic short story collection, salt slow, Our Wives Under the Sea is Julia Armfield’s debut novel. This queer horror story is told from the split perspectives of Leah, a deep-sea explorer, and her wife, Leah. When a routine mission goes wrong, Leah is left stranded on the ocean floor while Miri struggles to cope with her absence on land as days turn into weeks turn into months. When she miraculously returns, Miri is overjoyed. But Leah is not the same person she was when she left, and it seems like something has come back from the ocean with her.

Armfield does an excellent job of building up a sense of claustrophobia and dread as Leah undergoes a physical and emotional transformation causing her relationship with her wife to slowly unravel. The novel switches from the present, as Miri struggles to find answers and desperately tries to salvage their relationship, to uncanny flashbacks of Leah’s time under the sea, plagued by the oppressive darkness outside the submarine windows and the strange noises that taunt the crew. A story of love, grief, and horror Our Wives Under the Sea is an excellent, eerie tale that promises to haunt you.

Suzie Bartholomew

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman! I have been dipping into graphic novels again, and this series showed up out of nowhere for me. I am glad it did though because this is such an enjoyable read. Without giving away too much, our two main characters are Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson. One is shy and quiet, while the other is a rugby player. They become friends, though that friendship soon develops into something more for Charlie. The series deftly showcases the growing relationship between the two as they deal with high school, friends, coming out, and their own personal growth. The thing I loved most about this is how real the characters felt. I honestly believe it’s because there are ups and downs to any relationship, platonic or romantic, and this series doesn’t have any of the characters shy away from issues they need to work through. There is drama and tension, but also softhearted fluffy moments that makes this such a lovely read. I’m currently waiting to read the next installment, but if the first three volumes are any indication, I’m going to absolutely love volume four.

Thomas Chisholm

On April 8, Daniel Rossen’s long-awaited solo record, You Belong There, finally dropped. Rossen is the co-lead vocalist of the band Grizzly Bear. His last solo output was the excellent EP Silent Hour / Golden Mile ten years ago. Rossen spent the better part of ten years slowly developing this project. For an album composed mostly with acoustic instruments, You Belong There is dense. It’s layered with horns, pianos, and the expert drumming of Christopher Bear—also of Grizzly Bear. The record almost verges on prog-rock with its complex arrangements but these songs aren’t showy displays of skill just to flex. They’re much more focused on experimentation or the beauty that is possible in complexity. For an album that varies so widely in sound, and given Grizzly Bear’s lush production, I’m impressed how little effects are used on You Belong There. Due to the pandemic, Rossen was forced to do most of the recording himself. He even taught himself how to play stand-up bass and woodwinds. You Belong There was well worth the wait. If you’re a fan of folk-rock, jazz, or Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House I can’t recommend this album enough.

Dominic Loise

The comic book Arrowsmith has returned after last being seen as a single-issue comic in 2003. This is a comic about dragons, wizards, and World War I—it feels like the old magic is back. When the original miniseries hit the shelves, it was from the Cliffhanger imprint of Wildstorm. The original team of writer Kurt Busiek and artist Carlos Pacheco are back and the only thing that feels different is that the book is at Image Comics. The new miniseries Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines does an excellent job of introducing new readers to its blend of WWI fought in a fantasy world, even though it has been almost twenty years since the series came out.

Busiek is a master at world building and sets believable, grounded rules for magic during The Great War. Also, Pacheco’s artwork is awe-inspiring while holding weight in a 2D reality, just like in superhero work. Pacheco’s artwork makes you not only believe in these magical creatures but that they live, work, and fight alongside the humans in this world. However, the magic doesn’t overshadow the military aspects of the book, as all these creatures and countries feel the impact, loss, and call to service of a world war. Arrowsmith doesn’t let magic take over the spotlight and keeps its storytelling sights on the global and regional impacts of war.

The original miniseries Arrowsmith: So Smart In Their Fine Uniforms is also being released this month in a new trade from Image Comics.

Gina Marie Gruss

I lived 2020 and 2021 completely online: Zoom classes, Discord club meetings, hosting Gather events for my university and my friends, so on. I kept (somewhat) updated by checking social media, meme culture, the news, life. The internet is everything and nothing. It’s exhausting. And even as I’m back in physical classes, physical life, most of my existence is tethered to the internet.

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood is a book about living terminally online, for terminally online people. It’s such a cool book, intentionally fragmented, written as little vignettes. Like the internet, it’s everything and nothing, about a woman who is “internet famous” going through a social media site that she calls “the portal.” Things in her real (non-internet) life happen. And the book remains weird, existential, and exhausting (in a way that the internet is).

It feels especially prescient in an increasingly virtual world, where other apps like the Metaverse are trying to pull people away from reality, and into virtual reality instead. While No One is Talking About This may be dated in part by its use of memes and pop culture references, it’s timeless in the sense that the “endless scroll” will likely be with us forever now. I highly suggest it!

Dominic Loise

The House is available on Netflix for older viewers who are fans of stop motion animation. This movie is three stories with each segment done by a different creative team but all the stories are set in the same massive house. Writer Edna Walsh also scripts each chapter, which allows the movie to build on the question of what makes a home versus a house. In most cases, the characters find out that bigger is not better and in some cases, they learn the empowerment that comes from moving on.

Amber Sullivan

I’ll go with the album Here Be Dragons by The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. The band isn’t active anymore, but their music is available on Spotify (or wherever else you listen to music). I found them while trying to score the five-hour DnD sessions I have every Saturday. We’re currently in the Underdark, and I wanted to find creepy music that wouldn’t dominate everyone’s focus by being too cacophonous or easily identifiable, and TKDE delivered. The beats are eerie and hypnotizing with lots of strange sounds and movements, which is perfect for exploring underground cave systems during stealth missions. I don’t really know how to classify TKDE in a genre because the music is so varied and odd. Apparently, the band formed to write scores for silent films like Nosferatu, which makes complete sense when you listen to their music. In any case, I highly recommend Here Be Dragons for anyone who loves dark DnD ambiance and/or general noir fantasy vibes (now I’m just making stuff up, but that’s how this music makes me think.)

C. E. Janecek

Pokémon Legends Arceus came to me at the tail-end of my concussion—truly the perfect timing for a game that would become my full-time job while doing my actual jobs after a brain injury. Worth it? Yes. This mainline game has fundamentally changed the structure of navigating the overworld to create the sense of discovery and exploration you imagined a Pokémon world would feel like as a kid, allowing you to move freely while your Pokémon battle and even dodge stray attacks yourself. When not in danger, the more mild-mannered wild Pokémon come curiously nosing around you and your party. The rewards system for the player character has greatly improved my engagement in Pokédex completion, using a more varied team than just my main six, and returning to “wild areas” again and again. Even shiny hunting is enjoyable now! Most importantly, completionism doesn’t feel daunting for the average player anymore—completing the Pokédex isn’t just rewarding now, but also possible. As someone who’s played nearly every Pokémon game since GBA’s Ruby (2002), Arceus has become one of my all-time favorites.

Jaclyn Morken

This past Christmas, I was gifted She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, a queer historical fantasy about the rise of the Ming Dynasty—and a girl who seeks greatness in a world that tells her she is nothing. We follow this girl as she adopts her dead brother Zhu’s identity, first making our way to a monastery, and eventually to the rebellion waging war against the Mongol rulers.

This book is, in a word, incredible.

Equal parts devastating and triumphant, this book is everything I’d hoped it would be and more. From supernatural terrors to gritty reality, grand schemes of fate to intimate betrayals, exhilarating victories to heart-wrenching tragedy, this book has it all. Parker-Chan writes with attention and intention, deftly navigating the intimate complexities of gender to bring to life such vibrant characters on all sides of the conflict. These are characters who know that destiny is hard-won and never without sacrifice. They are all so endlessly fascinating.

Zhu, for instance, has easily become one of the most compelling protagonists I’ve ever read. She is smart, methodical, and hungry. I’ve never seen a character so driven; her every move is calculated, every emotion carefully controlled, all to push herself ever forward on her path to greatness. She doesn’t allow herself to become yet another woman forced into utter insignificance—she refuses to.

I can’t say more without giving too much away, so I’ll just leave off saying that I cannot wait to see what the sequel has in store.

Asmaani Kumar

Starting the year with Larissa Pham’s memoir-in-essays collection Pop Song: Adventures in Art and Intimacy has had a massive emotional impact on me. After months, I find myself falling deeply in love with art and writing, wanting to explore my chaotic mess of thoughts. That’s exactly what Pham’s writing does to you, her vulnerable expositions give you a strong nudge to explore your own memories and the story you want to tell about yourself. One of my favorite things about this collection is how so many times, it feels like an open letter. Pham writes with so much depth and sensitivity about the world of art, photography, music, politics, loss, trauma, and heartbreak. But in each of her essays, she circles back to this one person, as though she is in conversation with him. In some essays, his presence takes center stage and in others, he’s a fleeting paragraph but he’s always there. This is why so much of her musings are about the intimacy of human connections and even though I find a gap between her experiences of building and sustaining relationships, I completely with all of my heart understand where she’s coming from. There is this endless longing to feel and to create within the larger world, to have a sense of belonging, and she validates that with so much sensitivity and with feelings of her own. And if that isn’t enough to make you pick up Pham’s collection, I’m leaving behind one of the many heartbreakingly beautiful lines. She writes, “I had come to see something beautiful; I had come hoping to be seen. I walked around the museum, hand over my heart, returning again to Bourgeois’s drawings of hands and the pages of the fabric book on the wall. I mouthed the lines, half-aloud to myself. I felt so much it threatened to spill out of me, though I had no one to tell about it, and of course the person I wanted most to tell was you.”

Dominic Loise

Astrid and Lilly Save The World airs Wednesday nights on SYFY. This show is funny, heartfelt, and truthful about the high school experience. It had me hooked with the main character and them fighting monsters from another dimension was just extra goodness. As schools enact anti-bullying programs, it is good to see a show that doesn’t sweep that topic still existing under the rug. Astrid and Lilly’s pain from the daily social anxiety of high school caused the dimensional rift so they are the only ones who can close it. And unlike Buffy, their powers aren’t the usual enhancements. Lilly gets a leg cramp which increases in intensity as she is closer to the monsters. I love this power because it means she can’t run away from her problems. And Astrid’s sense of smell has been highlighted, which represents her empathy as in “she can smell when something is wrong”. I am excited to see Astrid and Lilly not only stop the monsters but realize that life and high school are easier when you have one true friend by your side.

Jessenia Hernandez

I recently started playing It Takes Two, the video game that won The Game Award for Game of the Year in 2021. I’ve been playing this exclusively co-op game with my boyfriend, who’s a bit more experienced than me when it comes to gaming—okay, that might be an understatement—but regardless of skill level, we’ve both thoroughly enjoyed it. This action-adventure platformer follows May and Cody, a couple on the verge of divorce. By some strange magic, the two get transported into dolls of themselves created by their daughter, Rose, and must find a way to get back to her and into their own bodies. This game is filled with unexpected storytelling, comical banter between the main characters, and lots of magic. Every section of the game introduces beautiful landscapes to explore and creative, diverse boss fights. I can get easily overwhelmed with difficult games, so playing as May was the right choice since she mostly gets to fight and blow stuff up. My boyfriend has been playing as Cody, who handles some of the more strategic parts of the game that often require precision. Despite the vastly different roles we play, we are almost always working together, communicating about tasks and timing to coordinate our success. As we get a better feel for collaborating in this medium, Cody and May are also learning how to work together. Not only is the game action-packed and pleasing to look at, but its story is compelling and emotional. It’s the perfect game to play with a significant other, friend, or family member. Be prepared to get frustrated with each other at times, but also get ready for that sweet satisfaction when you pass a level together.

Thomas Chisholm

I went to LA at the end of January to see Björk’s Cornucopia showcase. The brief tour is wrapping up the original run of Cornucopia shows that were going on in 2019. The concert focuses on Björk’s most recent album, the excellent Utopia from 2017. The show is stunning on every level with unreal visuals, incredible wardrobes, a team of flutists, and even a choir. It’s closer to an opera than a typical concert; a total work of art. I was especially impressed by the reworked versions of older songs. She did a cappella versions of “Venus as a Boy,” and “Hidden Place.” The choir actually sang the instrumental for the former. Björk was basically my last bucket list artist to see live and she exceeded all expectations.

Dominic Loise

In Fatman, Chris Cringe’s yearly toy delivery is subsidized by the United States Treasury to keep US consumerism going and has his funding cut because he is giving out fewer toys since he finds kids less in the Christmas spirit these days. Fatman was billed as a gun-toting revenge movie about a spoiled rich kid who hires a hitman to take out Santa for giving him coal. I found Fatman to have subtle undertones of an older man, Chris, reinvesting in his life’s work when he is hit hard by the economy and the current social climate. Watching Chris’ relationship with his workers and others, I felt the long haul it took to bring Christmas beyond one sleigh ride, as he makes a deal with the government to keep the factory operational. Also, Fatman shows an honest adult relationship between Chris and his wife Ruth who support each other through both the storms and gifts that life brings.

Miki Schumacher

On snowy December days, I love to curl up under some blankets and play games on my Nintendo Switch. Last weekend I picked up a game called Inside, a puzzle platformer that came out in 2016. You play as a boy running from guards in the middle of a rainy forest. However, as the boy tries to escape, he finds himself running deeper and deeper into a mysterious facility. The story slowly unravels as you make disturbing discoveries, and the subtle details pull you into the strange world. The atmosphere of this game is incredible. It managed to fill me with dread, relief, terror, and wonder. I’d recommend this game to anyone looking for a dark mystery. I finished it in one weekend.

Eileen Silverthorn

I am currently watching Netflix’s Locke & Key, a series inspired by the comic books series of the same name by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. It is aaaall kinds of dark and twisty! The story begins with the Locke family moving into Key House, their father’s old family home after he is murdered in what seemed to be a senseless act of violence. (But nothing is as it seems in this show.) As the Locke siblings begin settling into their new life, they slowly start discovering keys hidden throughout Key House, each one opening special doors or activating mysterious objects, either giving the user magical abilities or access to strange new places. But the Locke’s aren’t the only ones interested in the keys—there are demons looking to collect the keys, too, and act out all kinds of destruction against their family. I’m loving this series because it has a way of capturing the teenage angst of moving to a new place, the trauma of losing a loved one, and the spooky chaos of magic all at once. I find myself getting nervous and excited while I watch, yelling at the TV for the characters to “Get out of there, what are you doing?!” I never know what is going to happen, but I love trying to puzzle out the magic alongside the Locke family. Highly recommend!

Thomas Chisholm

I’ve been a fan of Arca since her instrumental days back when she dropped her debut album Xen. But earlier this month she took the music world by storm. By December 5, Arca had dropped four albums in one week: Kick ii–iiiii. The first album in the series, KiCk i was released last year in June of 2020 and accurately foreshadowed what was to come in the following four albums. KiCk i is all over the map and offers samples of what’s to come in the following albums. KICK ii is basically Arca’s reggaeton album. KicK iii is the strongest in the series; it perfectly mixes what made her harsh, experimental instrumental albums so special with the more pop-driven sounds she’s been incorporating over the last five years. kick iiii showcases her softer more melodic side and really lets her operatic vocals shine. kiCK iiiii—the surprise, unannounced bonus album—is largely instrumental and a welcome come down from the onslaught of all the previous Kicks. For an artist who makes such chaotic music, kiCK iiiii is wonderful because it’s the first time we’ve heard an entire Arca album that just focuses on beauty. I spent a lot of time listening to it while proofreading the upcoming Literary Tarot from Brink. I found the title Kick very odd, but the artist herself offered an incredible explanation on Instagram recently: “a prenatal KiCk is the first undeniable evidence that there exists an individual with an expression distinct from one’s mother and father.”

Thomas Chisholm

When autumn rolled around I found myself once again (let’s be real, at this point it’s a seasonal tradition) listening to Fleet Foxes nonstop. I celebrate their entire discography. But their self-titled debut has always been my favorite. I’ve had it on cassette for a few years now. But this season I went all in and acquired the First Collection 2006-2009. It’s a vinyl box set Sub Pup put out in 2018 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band’s first album. The box set includes the self-title on 12” wax, plus three 10” EPs. The EPs include the band’s first long-out-of-print (also self-titled) EP, the Sun Giant EP that preceded their debut LP, and a collection of B-sides and rarities from that early era.

The whole thing is packaged in a gorgeous box with a magnetic seal. Inside is a book of photos depicting the early years of the band. This includes members of the band as teenagers rehearsing in their parents’ basements. By the end of the picture book, we see the band on tour and playing sold-out shows. Robin Pecknold, the group’s founder and primary songwriter, provides wonderful notes throughout the book. There are also a few old flyers and early sketches of lyrics mixed in between the ten inches. I also just love that the EPs are all 10″. In the last ten or so years, labels seem to have stopped putting out anything other than 12″ LPs. It’s a fun little novelty that just shows nothing was spared in putting this collection together. If you’re a big fan of this band and a record collector, you need the First Collection 2006-2009.

Kaitlin Lounsberry

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m always hunting for a weird, thought-provoking movie come October. When I saw that A24 Films intended to release a new film in the middle of the month, I knew it would likely check all the boxes. Lamb is weird. The kind of weird that I’ve come to anticipate from A24 “horror,” but also to a degree that I still haven’t figured out. It’s set in rural Iceland, which alone is kind of creepy, and then you add into some, um, unusual elements and you get a movie that I genuinely haven’t stopped thinking about for two weeks. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m unable to go into that much detail, but I promise it’s worth the watch.

Asmaani Kumar

Fruits Basket (2019 version) is this one anime series I keep going back to when I need to look for hope. Each of the characters have really emotionally turbulent lives but you also find them doing the best they can to keep moving ahead. Our lead character Tohru is very kind and nurturing and always knows the right things to say and even though she’s portrayed as a savior in the very beginning, you slowly see her coming to terms to all that she has lived through as well. Every episode has something to offer on the lines of friendship, resilience, family and when there is a multitude of characters with their own journeys to make, every one of them is given attention and every one of them is understood for the choices they made. When I watch Fruits Basket, as heartbreaking as some of the episodes are, it makes you want to live well and to believe that things can change, things can get better when you have good people around you. It emphasizes on the inherent goodness of people and how we all need each other and want to be there for one another even when we don’t know how. There is an underlying urge for compassion and empathy and forgiveness especially towards yourselves and how that can help you keep growing, keep living well even when it gets hard.

C. E. Janecek

I originally followed Xiran Jay Zhao for their kitten Kokochin, who struggled into this world and slowly won the hearts of Xiran’s cat-skeptical parents. Then, I found out that they made YouTube videos and Twitter threads that deep-dive into unraveling the historical (in)accuracy of Disney’s Mulan and that they recreate historical Chinese fashion. Turns out, all of this knowledge was accumulating research for their debut: Iron Widow, a cutthroat, Chinese-history inspired science fiction novel that I read in three days. Do you want a young woman protagonist who’s full of rage, vengeance, and a questioning of gender norms? Do you want a love triangle that concludes in a stunning and devastating polyamorous triad? Do you want giant, Pacific-Rim-esque mechas that function through a combination of spiritual power and acupuncture? Then get your butt to the bookstore!!

Nate Ragolia

As spooky season drifts slowly back to the beyond for another year, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out Over the Garden Wall to keep your autumn weird going. The 2014, ten-part, animated mini-series—created by the folks who brought you Adventure Time­—features the voices of Elijah Wood, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Melanie Lynskey, and tells a spectacularly heartwarming, funny, quirky story about two boys who get lost in the woods. Plus, the original songs and fantastic score add lushness and flavor to an already remarkable fantasy-esque world. Each episode is only eleven minutes long, so binging the series is akin to watching one feature-length movie, but I suggest giving each watch a little time to sink in. Do not sleep on this autumn classic.

Dominic Loise

With SurrealEstate, it felt good to break the TV binging habit during the pandemic and have a Friday night show again to cap off the week. It’s about The Roman Agency, which assists in moving homes that have been on the housing market for too long due to supernatural disturbances. The show is put together by creators and actors who have worked on Wynonia Earp and Schitt’s Creek. SurrealEstate is more than a just “monster of the week” with each new investigated and sold property. The backstories of the diverse cast are all handled with care as we learn that the houses are not the only haunted things. I’m interested to see the show get a second season and watch these characters’ relationships continue to grow beyond the real-estate office and more into their real worlds.

Asmaani Kumar

Jung Hae-in has been one of my most favorite actors ever since I started watching K-dramas. When his latest series D.P. was released, I had to watch it. It is the story of two soldiers searching for fellow soldiers who have deserted the army. It is a haunting tale of the cruelties that unfold within the military. With only six episodes, it leaves a mark. It’s been weeks since I finished, but even now I recall those stories and the unfairness of it all, the unforgivable tragedies, the trauma that they live through, and the entire futility of expecting change and the rage behind it. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful as well, there is so much emotion in it. I would recommend giving “Higher,” “Free,” “Tell A Lie,” and “Goodbye” a listen. I have been hooked on these tracks and they keep bringing those stories back to me with the desperation of wanting things to change and my desire for those soldiers to lead better lives.

Manal Ahmed

Recently, I’ve been binge-listening to the podcast Say More by Melissa Olivia-Lozada and Olivia Gatwood. It has strangely functioned as a sort of mirror to my internal monologue and innermost thoughts, especially during this very murky pandemic year. Melissa and Olivia are best friends, poets, and feel very real. They discuss issues like retroactive jealousy, pop culture icons like Lana Del Ray, and veer off on lengthy tangents about karaoke. What I love about them, and the podcast, is that though they’re definitely two strong, independent female writers, they also come across as deeply human, plagued by the same troubles and anxieties that their listeners undoubtedly share (I know I do). They’re spunky, wildly funny, and exceptionally perceptive. Not only do they have the best insight (on a range of issues, from capitalist power structures to The Bachelorette), the language they use to relay this insight is so precise and incisive. They’re keenly aware of the world around them, and as they respond to it with gentleness and thoughtfulness, you can’t help but get completely sucked in.

Jessenia Hernandez

A novel I read semi-recently that stuck with me and that I’ll continue to recommend is Night Film by Marisha Pessl. This is a mystery/thriller with elements of experimental and psychological fiction—genres that intertwine beautifully to make a haunting and mind-bending story. A perfect Halloween-time read, this story starts on a late October night, when Ashley Cordova, daughter of infamous movie director Stanislas Cordova, is found dead in an abandoned warehouse. The death is ruled a suicide, but investigative journalist Scott McGrath is doubtful of this conclusion due to the strange details surrounding Stanislas Cordova: he hasn’t been seen in over thirty years, and yet he and his cult-horror films, some of which are rumored to show real violence, have amassed a devout underground following. Shunned by the journalistic community the first time he tried to learn the truth about the reclusive director, Scott is determined to redeem himself, even as things become increasingly dark and dangerous the deeper he pries. Night Film had me hooked from the beginning, as Pessl does an exquisite job of building suspense and keeping her reader just as paranoid and unsure as her protagonist. The novel also directs the reader to a website with links to images, recordings, and documents to supplement the story—you can quite literally experience parts of this story as Scott does. The novel itself includes newspaper clippings, pictures, and screenshots of websites throughout to make this a truly immersive read.

Carter Elwood

I saw Pig recently and I can already tell it’s going to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Rob (played by Nic Cage) loses his beloved truffle pig, and will stop at nothing to get her back. First of all, the eponymous pig (played by Brandy the pig) is absolutely gorgeous. She’s a natural born actress with no formal training. I would watch an entire movie of Brandy running around in the dirt doing pig things. In addition to being a most excellent vehicle for Brandy footage, the movie also serves as an exploration on love, the pitfalls of prestige, loss and the avoidance of loss, and how capitalism destroys art. Nic Cage is magnetic as a mystic hermit chef/truffle hunter/secret . . . underground . . . Portland restaurant, uh . . . ? You’ll just have to watch it. If you need more convincing, watch this scene.

Gina Gruss

SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE ANIMORPHS SERIES AHEAD!

Remember Animorphs? Those goofy, human-turning-into-animal covers? The overly saturated backgrounds; the sometimes-messy, usually awkward shifts? I was entranced. My older sister had a few of those books stuck in our garage; I stole them for myself, reading through the books late at night, flipping through the pages to watch the transformation, the limbs twisting and shrinking, faces flattening. Yes, I was hooked by the gimmick. But Animorphs was much more, and much darker, than their goofy covers. It is one of the most unexpectedly mature, strange, and wild book series I’ve ever read, igniting my love for strange sci-fi and fantasy.

It begins lighthearted. We love the cast, we root for them, and maybe we expect a (children’s) book standard: a happy ending. Instead, the story ends in abject horror: the death of a main character. The series’ ultimate main character commits genocide. Characters are romantically separated, suffering from PTSD, depression; others have cut ties, left. The book is callous. The characters, ghosts. No goofiness is left; the book has calcified fully into war. It ends ambiguously, with the remaining main characters ramming their ship into the enemy’s.

People were angry with that narrative choice. K.A. Applegate, the series’ writer, responded to dissatisfied readers: “Animorphs was always a war story. [W]ars very often end, sad to say, just as ours did: with a nearly seamless transition to another war.” Animorphs showed me how powerful, mature, and nuanced children’s media could be. It still scares me, but I always return to it. I highly recommend it.

Nate Ragolia 

This month, I’ve been getting into Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, which just hit Amazon Prime for viewing with its brilliant mix of absurdist faux-80s sci-fi-horror-British humor. Also, one of my favorite long-running web comics, The Perry Bible Fellowship, continues to offer laugh-out-loud-and-think-deeply work, post after post.

Kaitlin Lounsberry

What do you get when you combine a historical political story with a zombie outbreak? Another award-winning Netflix series that you can’t stop thinking about, at least that’s how Kingdom has been for me. I’m often hit or miss when it comes to zombie stories, especially as of late as one post-apocalyptic show after another hits streaming channels. Which is why this series was so captivating to me. It felt like a political drama set in the 1600s that just so happens to be dealing with dead people trying to eat those still left alive. The family conflict and desire for the truth are elevate with the addition of the undead. Not to mention the second season ends on a gripping cliff-hanger that has me eagerly checking news sources for confirmation of a third season.

That being said, Netflix recently released a stand-alone episode, “Ashin of the North,” to satiate viewers and suggest more to come. Depending on who you ask, you could watch this before the series, but there are moments and characters of significance that filter in and out of this episode. And, personally, I think those moments hold much more significance if you understand their importance in the series.

Jaclyn Morken

Anyone who knows me is going to roll their eyes when they read this, but I have been obsessed with Nancy Drew for over a year now, especially the brilliant point-and-click PC games from HerInteractive. Mid-pandemic (can we use that as an indication of time now?), I was reminiscing with some friends about huddling around the family computer with our sisters to play as the iconic sleuth, so I dug out some of my old games for nostalgia’s sake. I was surprised at just how much fun they still are. These games are creepy, funny, educational, exciting, and relaxing in equal measure. Since jumping back in, I’ve solved a binary code, uncovered a secret network of underground tunnels, fallen off a cliff (whoops), and played the “Fox and Geese” mini-game way too many times.

And if you’re, like me, have an old laptop that won’t run a lot of PC games, at least listen to the soundtracks on YouTube. The music is perfect background noise for concentration; I listen to the soundtracks on repeat while I’m working and writing to keep me calm and focused. If you’re in the mood for something hauntingly beautiful, do yourself a favor and look up “Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy: Violin” on YouTube. It’s one of my absolute favourites.

But what I love most about these games—and the Nancy Drew character in general—is how they keep teaching girls that they can be smart and bold and resourceful, that they can trust their instincts and follow their interests, that they can be the hero of their own story. If you like puzzles and mysteries, I highly recommend checking out these games—there are over thirty to choose from!

Dominic Loise

As the Spider-man: No Way Home trailer dropped, I am reminded that Jon Watts, the current Spidey movie franchise holder, is set to tackle the Fantastic Four next for Marvel. Next year is the sixtieth anniversary of Marvel’s First Family. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created the Fantastic Four heralding “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” on issue one in November 1962. The modern Marvel universe rippled out from that comic as it hit newsstands. New readers wishing to tackle the Fantastic Four’s history may be intimidated where to begin with six decades of stories. I don’t recommend starting with Stan and Jack’s 108 initial issues (1-102 including annuals), John Bryne’s epic run, or Mark Waid’s return to core family values and stunning story, but with Tom Scioli’s Fantastic Four: Grand Design.

Marvel’s Grand Design line does retool and replay with the overall continuity of the actual comic book events as they actually played out from issue to issue. What Grand Design does right is introducing old stories from over fifty years ago in the spirit of a hip hop remix, allowing one artist to Spark Notes info from an entire run of a comic with an overarching storyline. Scioli’s art pays tribute to Jack Kirby while holding his own indie style. His panel work is tight yet detailed and Scioli conveys the traditional information without losing his own artistic touches. 

Reading Fantastic Four: Grand Design, the reader not only gets the human stories of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm/Richards (The Invisible Girl/Woman), Johnny Storm, (The Human Torch), and Benjamin J. Grimm (The Thing) but how a fateful rocket trip launched comics as we see them on the screen today. We have already been introduced to the Skull, the Kree, Wakanda, and Agatha Harkness just to name a few elements of the Marvel Universe, which came from the Fantastic Four. Tom Scioli’s Fantastic Four: Grand Design shows that the Fantastic Four comic is the missing link to what we have been enjoying in the superhero movie genre and the books they are based on.

If you’ve ever met one of our wonderful F(r)iction staffers, you’ll quickly learn that almost every one of them was once an intern in our Publishing Internship Program.

This program is run by our parent nonprofit organization, Brink Literacy Project. While our publishing internships are a great way to get a crash course in the literary industry, they can often provide a path to what can become a long and rewarding professional relationship. For more information, please visit the internship page on the Brink website.

Manal Ahmed

she/her

Where is your favorite place to read?   

Park benches, slightly dewy grass, or my bed, when it’s cold outside. When I was much younger, I loved reading books at school during Math class. I feel like every literature kid has done that, haven’t they? 

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead? 

Wherever it leads, there has to be a body of water somewhere. I grew up in a city beside the sea so everywhere I go, I look for lakes, rivers, seas, and reservoirs. So, I would open the door and then sink my feet into the blue. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.   

I alternate between being chai-obsessed and coffee-obsessed, depending on the season or place I’m in (chai in Karachi, coffee in Boston). I like both to be super milky; creamy and thick, but I almost always forget about my cup of chai/coffee while I’m working and then commit the cardinal sin of re-heating it throughout the day. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

I like words that sound exactly like what they are. Like glean, holler and unfurl. Or even something as simple as flower.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

Oh, that’s such a hard one. Melodrama by Lorde is one of those albums I can’t imagine life without so I would probably pick that. I also love Kartography by Kamila Shamsie. On a deserted island, it would provide me with some much-needed solace by reminding me of home because it relies so heavily on Karachi as a character. 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be? 

I would make it less daunting for those that wish to enter it. There’s such a kind of mystique around it, which can be cool, but that also makes it appear so inaccessible. I simply want people to believe they can be a part of it. 

Carter Elwood

they/them

Where is your favorite place to read?   

Under a big tree! 

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead? 

I had a dream similar to this a couple weeks ago! I was walking through tunnels in a mountain, so I think it’s safe to assume there was some kind of door I went through to get there. I climbed through the tunnels and found myself in a beautiful forest with canopy trees, iridescent flowers, and strangely haunting bird songs. A shoebill led me to a tall wooden ladder at the side of a tree. When I reached the top of the ladder, I saw a huge tortoise shell floating in the sky. I approached the shell and fell on my knees in reverence. Then about a dozen blinking tortoise heads emerged from all around the shell.  

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual. 

I don’t drink coffee, but I love smoothies! I like to add strawberries, bananas, raspberries, cantaloupe, kale—whatever I have around! 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

My favorite English word is open, because I feel like the ability to remain open to our experiences and the experiences of others is crucial to moving with the flow of our lives. My favorite word in American Sign Language is peaceful/serene, which is signed the way you would sign BECOME + QUIET.  

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

My one album would be The Very Best of Elton John. I can never stay totally sad when listening to “Crocodile Rock.” My one book would be The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, which I’ve probably read hundreds of times. I love it more every time I read it! 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be? 

I would make books more accessible to marginalized communities.  

Gina Marie Gruss

she/her

Where is your favorite place to read?   

My favorite place one is on my bed, with the lights just dim enough to the point I can read clearly, the air cool, and my phone playing some ambient music to match the book. The other requirement: at least one of my two cats curled up on my lap. Apollo, my cat, often likes to bite the pages, so that only adds to the experience of action/adventure books. 

My other favorite place to read is right up until sundown at the beach, when the wind picks up and the humidity fades. It’s best with friends, when we’re out of the water and a little salt-crusted from previous swims (with or without a little copper sargassum in my hair too) and the initial excitement has faded into a mutual chill. I’m someone who doesn’t mind making an impact on my books, as scandalous as it is—I write in the margins and fold pages—and I don’t mind if the book gets wet. It lets me know that I was there, and that I literally made my mark on the book, just like the book hopefully left its mark on me. 

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead? 

You open the door and— 

See a swirling constellation of dust, the breath of achy stone and dank water, and feel a full-bodied pull, something deep within, unfathomable, telling you to step deeper into the cave, to continue, sink, sink, deeper into the heart of the mountain. You have no choice but to go in, despite the darkness, which reminds you of the sliver of shadow of your childhood bedroom’s closet, you as a kid staring, fearing, the unknown.  

The walkway is lined with lights. You don’t know where they come from—no cords leading to or away from them, just one endless line above—but you don’t question it. You’re ensnared by the possibility of whatever lies ahead. Something impossible drags you forward. You’re not yourself. 

But who are/were/will be you? What will your story be? 

Sedimentary, metamorphic—the rocks are lined by history, by stories. You continue. The air thickens, cools. The stones change, unbecome, become; they crystalize like ice, like quartz—you can’t help yourself. You step towards them, set your hand against the wall— 

You calcify. You stare inside and see your mind unfurl like an accordion, a fan, a canary in-flight, feather-fall, it shoots up and away and is majestic and gorgeous and— 

Slams into a window far away. It crumples into a corpse.  

You see every moment of your life both at once and separately. You see all of the options you can take, will take—and with it, the stories. Every option, every chance, every thought, immortalized into text.  

You weren’t the you that you were a moment ago. This is your story, right? Who are you within it all? You return to the wall, the stone, the chances, the options. 

(But—) 

You’re back at the wooden doorway, the winding path. The sky shimmers. There is a deep wrongness within you. You must go back, figure yourself out, delve deeper. 

You return to the stones. The heart of the mountain. You watch, repeat; are trapped in a loop of yourself, of your actions, the potential. Could you write another story? The darkness is darker than ever, deeper than ever. Your head hurts. You don’t feel the ground beneath your feet. 

(Another bird crashes into a window, mistaking the panel for a strip of sky, and—) 

Back again. Outside of the cave once more. 

You look to look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. 

You walk past it, deciding to avoid that story for now. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.    

I drink almost exclusively water-sans-coffee beans. Though, around wintertime, and preferably when it feels like winter (see: south Florida), I make a big batch of hot chocolate for my yearly Friendsgiving party! Ever since I read and watched The Polar Express, I’ve been in search for the perfect hot cocoa that’s rich, but not too thick. I add a ton of warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg (of course, taking a cue from Mexican hot chocolate); a lot of salt, some molasses, vanilla extract, and at least five different varieties of chocolate, from Dutch-process cocoa powder to milk chocolate morsels. And I toast up some mini marshmallows and add them on top, because what’s hot cocoa without the extras? During Friendsgiving, I’ll always randomly spike a cup of hot cocoa with a healthy glug of the hottest hot sauce I have as a little game, and see which friend receives their holiday gift a little early!  

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

Namesake is one of my favorite words. It’s partly broken down into name, what someone is known as, whether that is decided by the person themselves or someone else. Names hold power and can say a lot about a person. The other half, sake, is a reason, a cause; something that drives someone to act. Together, the word namesake is about commonality, a shared name. It’s an uncommon word but can speak of lineage, and connection/disconnection. In Spanish, namesake’s translated to tocayo—which I find to just generally be a pretty word. 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

As far as music goes, my mood shifts like the tides—I’d probably take Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra. It’s a mix of some of my favorite things: jazz, electronic, and classical music. The entire album is one piece that shifts through eight movements, all anchored by one running loop, and is truly a transformative album, focusing on liminality and stillness. It’s an album I never want to get tired of and probably won’t, even if it’s the only piece of music I have on an island. 

As far as a book, for practical reasons, I’d probably pick a book that details how to live on and sail away from deserted islands, but I’d probably go for Tony DiTerlizzi’s The Search for WondLa—it’s a fantastical blend of sci-fi and fantasy in a weird, new setting. I love the use of art (and plus—maybe I judge books by their covers. Just a little.) It’s weird and experimental and everything that continues to inspire me today. The book’s themes involve exploration, self-discovery, and personal growth, which I return to even as an adult to get nostalgic, and to remind myself that I still am looking for my own WondLa. (And, if I’m trapped on a deserted island, I’m probably searching for a way off it.) 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?  

I’d love to see more diversity within the industry, both in the sense of the writers themselves coming from different (and intersectional!) points of view, as well as in the diversity in writing styles, plots, characters, and other story elements.  

The true magic of creative writing, to me, is its lack of limitations—all a person needs is to be literate enough to effectively communicate and portray their piece. They can create sprawling, intergalactic epics and fantastical worlds with only text—no need to have access to CGI or actors.  

I hope to see larger publishers take greater risks with who they sign on, as well as what they publish. There are so many wonderful writers and stories that are too weird, novel, and/or different that are turned down, so hopefully they’re willing to branch out and diversify the market, and in turn, show everyone that their story can be told, no matter who they are, or what they write. 

Jessenia Hernandez

she/her

Where is your favorite place to read?   

My favorite place to read is anywhere that I can get comfy, with natural light nearby to illuminate the pages. If I can find a big window to read beside, or just read outdoors on a pleasant day, I’m content. A dream of mine is to have my own book nook in my home one day, complete with a lounger beside a big window and bookshelves all around.  

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead? 

If I’m being honest, I’ve always been afraid of the unknown. I’ve dived headfirst into it regardless quite a few times, but I can’t say I wasn’t completely terrified of what would happen. For this reason, if I saw a door in the side of a mountain, I think I’d avoid it like the plague. My mind would likely immediately turn to any number of fiendish creatures that might be willing to eat me. While this means I might not be the most adventurous (or optimistic) person, I see myself hastening in the opposite direction of this mysterious door, content with the fact that I’ll never know what lies behind it. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.    

My go-to coffee order lately has been an iced latte with caramel and almond milk. The flavor changes depending on my mood, and I might sometimes opt for vanilla, white chocolate, or whatever novelty flavor catches my eye. Ever since making the switch to non-dairy milk, though, I am devoutly dedicated to almond milk in everything, including my coffee. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

My brain tends to short-circuit when people ask me to pick favorites, so I had to put a lot of thought into this question. The word that kept coming to mind is ubiquitous. I saw this unfamiliar word in a book I was reading when I was quite young, and this is one of my earliest memories of being in awe of language. I felt an intense need to know the meaning of the word. Defined as, “present, appearing, or found everywhere,” it made perfect sense and no sense at all to me—that’s why I fell in love with it. Now, whenever I see the word, it reminds me of my fervent passion for language and literature and their ubiquitous influence on the world. 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

On a deserted island, the one album I would want with me is Ben Platt’s Sing To Me Instead. I first discovered Ben Platt when he originated the lead character in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. This show sparked my love for musical theater, but also for Ben Platt’s voice and music. Sing To Me Instead is his debut album—a perfectly balanced collection of both upbeat and melancholy songs, as well as a heartfelt exploration of relationships between family, friends, and lovers.  

My book of choice would be The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I will always hold this book near and dear to my heart. Despereaux loves to read; books show him how big the world is and open his heart to ideas that his fellow mice never consider. This, I think, is the magic of reading, and reading this story was largely where my own love for literature bloomed. The Tale of Despereaux is also a classic story about love, friendship, bravery, forgiveness, and hope, a collection of themes I’d love to revisit time and time again while stranded on a deserted island and beyond.  

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?  

While there has been progress in the level of representation in the literary world, I believe there is a long way to go. If I could change something about the literary industry, I would want to see more diverse voices and stories published regularly. I would like to see marginalized communities represented and uplifted through literature, in stories that are about more than just race, sexuality, religion, etc. While people’s identities are integral to who they are and to their experience in this life—and literature should reflect that—people are also far more than their identities. I therefore believe the ideal literary industry would illuminate stories that are complex and engaging and varied in nature, while also having diverse main characters.     

Asmaani Kumar

she/her

Where is your favorite place to read?   

Although I mostly read in bed these days, my favorite places to read are in metros when I used to travel from one end of the city to the other—or lying on grassy lawns out in the sun. Mostly outdoors, so I have my own world to slip into as the world carries on.  

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead? 

I would open the door and when I opened it; it would take me back to the past, this moment in time when I was back in college and I used to spend my days and nights with the people who mattered to me the most. There would be lots of food and laughter and art and long walks and I would get moments to spare with everyone and it would feel as though it were a refresh button, from here on I would make some choices differently and some choices the same but I would be more open with my heart and treat time as it were a lot more precious.  

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.    

Although I do like my coffee a lot sweeter and definitely cold, my favorite beverage ritual would be getting a glass of peach iced tea whenever I’m out with my friends or as a sweet break from too much work. But warm tea for winters.  

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

My favorite English word these days is warmth because it embraces everything that I could want from the world. There is warmth in kindness, in the company of people you love, in a song, in a memory, in every little thing that brings you comfort. Warmth is what we keep asking for from ourselves and from people to feel a lot less alone, to find strength to keep moving ahead. In another language, my friend says this word Insha’Allah a lot and there is this beautiful poem by Danusha Laméris on that word, and there is so much hope and resilience in that one word. We don’t know what is going to happen to us, if we’ll even find all the things we hope for, but this is a word that’s repeated like a prayer and there is a sense of acceptance and bravery in it. It might happen, it might not happen and that is okay—but we still hope it does. 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

The one album that I will have is BTS’s Love Yourself: Answer. Even though my most favorite song is “Blue and Grey,” I will choose this one because it’s a compilation of all their songs in their journey of telling people to love themselves. There is so much hope, comfort, and strength in their music and what they’re trying to share about themselves. It makes you feel that it is possible to be that person who is soft, who is brave, more hopeful, and believes in themselves. But there is a sense of friendship too because they reiterate that in this journey, you’re not alone and they will be there too. When it comes to a book, it would be Remnants of a Separation by Aanchal Malhotra because it’s about loss and memory and storytelling and oral history and also it was the last gift that I was given by my most favorite person in this world before he passed away.  

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?  

It’s an answer which has been said time and again, but I’ll still say it: to make it more accessible to people. There are too many restrictions when it comes to publishing your stories or even working in publishing. There are these constant set guidelines and those need to be broken down. Stories can be written differently, people who are passionate about storytelling and not exactly from a literary background can become a part of the publishing industry, if the drive is there, everyone should be given a chance. There’s nothing more beautiful than telling stories. The more stories that are out there, the more chances are given to people to share themselves, and the more we’ll learn about people and about ourselves.  

Dominic Loise

I loved being introduced to the Sangerye family in Bitter Root by writers David F. Walker & Chuck Brown and artist Sanford Greene. Volume 1: Family Business sees our multi-generational monster hunters defending their neighborhood of Harlem from a supernatural attack in 1924. The Sangeryes also deal with their past ghosts and failures in this volume showing that no matter what happened in the past, family is the one group of people you can call on when all hell breaks loose.

I recommend Bitter Root for fans of the shows Supernatural and Lovecraft Country. Both of those shows are about families taking on the unknown and both Bitter Root and Lovecraft Country take on the issue of racism through horror. The step beyond tackling the unknown, which is an undercurrent through Bitter Root, is working together beyond their tight-knit circle to help others heal. We see early on that elements of the police force work with the Sangeryes and the family members are not slayers but trying to save the humans possessed by the Jinoo, which is what people become when their souls are infected with hate. Bitter Root Volume 1 is my go-to gift right now for friends and family because I feel we could all use this graphic novel right now on our bookshelves. Something fun and entertaining that digs up to the surface the issues of hate, which we need to deal with as neighbors and as a nation.

Carissa Villagomez

I recently re-watched The End of the F***ing World and getting to witness all the additional nuance I didn’t notice before made my awe of the show run even deeper. It will always be one of my most adored media products, and no matter how many times I revisit it, the show still has the same effect. Both seasons are incredible.

Evan Sheldon

I’m reading W. G. Sebald’s The Emigrants right now. I’m late to the party here, there’s already a term, Sebaldian, in reference when other authors copy his style, and it’s easy to see why so many do. He uses long, beautiful sentences, rarely uses paragraph breaks, and intersperses the prose with black and white photos. Told in four parts, The Emigrants narrator retraces the steps of four different men who committed suicide. It’s really something, all about memory and lives lost to war, even if those lives were lived for a long time after.

Esther Hsu

1. You only have twelve hours.

2. Follow my lead and change nothing.

3. Just let the past and future be.

For Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, those are the three rules of time travel. Shiguang Dailiren, or Link Click, is about two people who can travel back in time via photos. With this power, they fulfill requests and solve mysteries.

I binged this show in one night. It was that good—a hidden eleven-episode gem (twelve, if you count episode 5.5). The only caveat: it ends on a cliffhanger, so I’m counting down the days until season two is out.

Erin Clements

I have always loved more “casual” games like The Sims and Minecraft, where you can jump in and out of the game whenever without missing a beat. But recently, I’ve been on a Stardew Valley kick. In times of stress, it’s the perfect soothing, chill game to dive into. Whether you want to fight monsters in the mines, hang out on your farm with animals, or socialize with the townies, there’s an endless supply of things to do, and it’s all practically stress-free. The co-op option allows you to share a farm with up to three of your friends, which just adds more joy to the game. I’m always drawn towards the social aspects of the game, hanging out with the townies and growing my relationships with them is my favorite part of the game. But most of all I love that Stardew Valley offers essentially endless ways to play.

Dominic Loise

I am late to the Cobra Kai train but the Netflix show offers plenty of throwbacks for the Karate Kid film franchise fans. In a half-hour bingeable episode, Cobra Kai doesn’t lean on its retro relatability but offers a show about adults putting to bed the haunting relationships of their past and finding the peaceful balance they need to be present for the people who need them in their everyday lives.

Carissa Villagomez

I recently watched the 2019 Australian show Upright, and I highly recommend it. It has some of the most well-developed and well-acted characters I’ve ever had the fortune to watch. All the actors are great, but Milly Alcock, in particular, delivers an astonishing performance, and I can’t wait to see what she does next in her career. You’ll be crying and laughing as you ride along with Meg and Lucky, two complex individuals with past traumas who quite literally crash into each other’s lives and manage to develop a beautiful friendship as they travel 4,000 miles across Australia with an upright piano.

Eileen Silverthorn

I’ve been loving re-watching Criminal Minds on Netflix and Hulu. Criminal Minds has been a love of mine for years—I’m a lover of true crime, crime dramas, unsettling stories about serial killers, you name it—but I felt the urge to return to it and watch it all start to finish. I know it’s weird to say my comfort TV features gruesome murders and watching the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit break down doors and psychoanalyze every little clue, but I have a special place in my heart for all the characters and the dramatic flair of each investigation. That and they almost always get the bad guy, and in this upside-down world we’ve been living in, it’s nice to have a guaranteed happy ending, even if it is a tad predictable.

Kaitlin Lounsberry

Though my taste might be questioned, I have to admit I had been looking forward to the release of John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise on Peacock for a while. And upon its release, I quickly flew through the six-episode docuseries. Despite being one of the most prolific modern serial killers, Gacy hasn’t received much commercial content compared to his counterparts in recent years (i.e., The Night Stalker, The Golden State Killer, and Ted Bundy). This docuseries felt interesting and eye-opening to watch in part because of the lack of content on Gacy and his crimes. In particular, I appreciated the filmmakers decision to highlight and explore the mistakes of the police and legal systems in the 70s, as told through the perspective of the victims’ family, which turned a blind eye to the behavior displayed by Gacy in the years leading up to his active killing period. That choice offered up a more complex and complete retelling that I felt offered the full story without capitalizing on the pain Gacy generated. Maybe not your typical summer recommendation, but it’s one I’ve been telling people about regardless.

Thomas Chisholm

Once every other year I find myself revisiting the math rock bands I fell in love with in the late 2000s. Wikipedia defines math rock as, “characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), counterpoint, odd time signatures, angular melodies, and extended, often dissonant, chords.” The last two weeks have been a fun rehash. There are the deranged groups like Daughters, whose early work, Hell Songs, is criminally underrated. It’s an overwhelming, ugly, and bleak album from Hell. The guitarist once aptly described Daughters as his “bad guy band.” I counterbalanced the darkness with colorful and upbeat groups like Deerhoof and my personal favorite math rock band, Tera Melos. Deerhoof’s Friend Opportunity is the point where the band started veering more into pop, which makes it a great entry point into their discography. My favorite Tera Melos release is actually a two EP compilation, Drugs/Complex. It marks an era in the band’s career when vocals were only sporadic—guitarist Nick Reinhart began incorporating lead vocals upon the release of their excellent second album, Patagonian Rats.

In talking about math rock I’m obligated to bring up Hella, the Bay Area group that gave us Zach Hill of Death Grips fame. Their dizzying debut album, Hold Your Horse Is, is a bonafide genre classic. But it can be a slog of nonstop guitar and drums drilling into your head. I much prefer the more creative Zach Hill/Nick Reinhart collab, Bygones. Last but not least, I must shout out Maps & Atlases who may be the only math rock group that has soul. Their EPs, Tree, Swallows, Houses and You and Me and the Mountain somehow thread the needle of technical virtuosity and pop sensibility. These songs are sweet and somehow wholesome; dense, yet bordering on twee.

Kaitlin Lounsberry

I know it’s not October, but I’ve been on a horror kick lately. Specifically, I’ve been devouring content on the horror streaming platform, Shudder. Though it’s advertised for horror, thrillers, supernatural, and suspense genres, I’ve found it largely hosts niche horror films and loads of original content. I hate to pick favorites, but if I had to it’d definitely be the docu-series, History of Horror by Eli Roth. Roth, a la Hostel and Cabin Fever, brings together the greats that have come to defy modern horror all while diving into the genre’s biggest themes. Despite horror being a significant storytelling genre, I’ve found it difficult to find documentaries, let along docu-series, on it. But History of Horror gives me everything I’ve been looking for, and then some. Jumping from slashers to zombies to killer creatures to chilling children, the episodes are conversational and allow the filmmakers and stars to speak candidly behind their inspiration and how they came to push boundaries. While it lacks scares, I have enjoyed learning more about the genre and feel like I could crush a horror trivia section—whenever that’s a thing again. 

Ally Geist

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich made me feel ALL the things, and challenged me in ways only a great story can. Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read all year. I first picked it up for my office book club and basically didn’t put it down for three days. After all, nowadays, who doesn’t love a great book to escape into? Set in 1953, the book explores the strength, resilience, and bravery of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. We see Thomas, the night watchman at the town’s factory (and prominent Chippewa Council member) empower his community to fight back against a new bill that Congress calls an “emancipation”—a bill that threatens the rights of Indigenous folks’ land and identity. We also see Pixie’s (“Patrice”) experience working at the factory, dealing with family trauma, and searching for her missing sister, Vera. The book made me think about myself and my society in a new way, and was a truly beautiful read.

Miki Schumacher

My favorite show that I’ve watched this spring is the 2020 anime Akudama Drive. My partner recommended this to me, and I didn’t know anything about it prior to watching. But the moment after I finished the first episode, I was hooked: I watched the entire twelve-episode series in just two days. I highly recommend Akudama Drive if you enjoy dystopian sci-fi and rebellion stories.

Akudama Drive is an action-packed cyberpunk adventure following the story of several infamous criminals as they fight against an oppressive government. The main character is an ordinary citizen who unintentionally gets herself involved, and the story is filled with unexpected twists. The animation for this show is wonderfully dynamic, and I even listen to the soundtrack while working. Each episode is also titled after famous movies like The Shining and Mission: Impossible, so it’s fun to try and pick out the references to various iconic scenes. If that doesn’t convince you to try this series out, there’s also an adorable black cat in the show.

Carissa Villagomez

I listened to the first episode of National Theatre’s “Life in Stages” series with Olivia Colman and Artistic Director Rufus Norris. I found it comforting and encouraging to hear such talented people talk candidly about the parts of themselves they have to battle back when pursuing their dream careers. Norris is notoriously shy, and Colman has stage fright and impostor syndrome, yet they both continue to win acclaim for their work and live the exact life they want to be leading. Alongside passages from bell hooks’s book All About Love: New Visions, these pieces of media reminded me to not get in my own way so much and never compromise on my goals.

Thomas Chisholm

I recently watched the 2020 movie The Kid Detective and was very impressed. I heard about it from one of my favorite YouTube channels, RedLetterMedia. The movie is a dark comedy starring Adam Brody as Abe Applebaum, a thirty-something man who was locally famous in his youth for solving petty crimes. He was something like a solo Hardy Boy. Some of his rewards include a lifetime supply of ice cream and an office in City Hall given to him by the mayor himself. But when his friend and daughter of the mayor, Gracie Gulliver, goes missing and Abe can’t find her, the whole town loses faith in him. As an adult, we see Abe having no faith in himself. He never recovered from Gracie’s disappearance. He’s a washed-up joke still taking gigs finding lost cats, still collecting free ice cream cones, and ranting to his parents about how he can’t give up on his “career.” The movie takes a lot of suspending of disbelief to appreciate the world it takes place in. It’s sort of like a less stylish Wes Anderson movie with much darker overtones. It’s very funny and incredibly well written—one of the best new movies I’ve seen since the pandemic set in.