Jen V’s February Recs
Goodbye summer, I will miss you.
February has been a right misery so forgive me if I don’t have loads of good things for you this month. On the plus side, I’ve been getting up early to exercise along the waterfront which means loads of good sunrise shots.
I had two cinema trips this month. I managed to catch the very last session of The Matrix: Resurrections. It was meta af. I thought it was fine, you know, but the overwhelming thing I got from it was the urge to rewatch the first film. It is still so good. I remember when it first came out (I was 12), I got a VHS of it and just watched it over and over and over. So in a way I think Resurrections suffers because it keeps reminding you how good the first one was, but it’s also agonisingly self-aware, so that’s almost the point, I think? I just love Neo and Trinity. It’s also not nearly as incomprehensible as the other two, so that’s nice.
I also saw Spencer which I cannot in good conscience recommend to anyone, ever. Somehow it’s not even 2 hours long but when I tell you it was the longest almost 2 hours of my life in my recent memory, I am not exaggerating. Good lord. Kristen Stewart is very good in it but there was no real narrative drive to speak of, so it’s basically just… why. But anyway.
TV wise, I started watching Arcane but only got two eps in before I got distracted.
It’s been much more of a reading month. So here are the highlights:
Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong – The second part of the These Violent Ends duology, a modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shangai. I found this fascinating because I learned so much about Shangai and the civil war, things that are just completely outside my frame of reference. I did find it a bit slow and bloated, but overall, a solid read.
A long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers – Jenn D recommended this to me ages ago and I’m so glad she did! This is just really fantastic scifi that has genuinely interesting diversity (i.e. not just various humanoid species). It’s also super accessible, light on the hard science, so it’s just a chill read that still manages to impart some really important social commentary, as all good scifi should.
Solitaire by Alice Oseman - Depressing YA. This one is polarising, like Catcher in the Rye is polarising. And I know that is an ironic comparison when making it is directly called out in the text… but it does have major Catcher vibes. Full disclosure, because I read it at the correct time in my life (as a 17 year old emo), I am actually a big Catcher fan. Not surprising then that this book grabbed me by the throat and did not let go. Probably helps that I am a bit depressed due to the general state of the world but holy heck. I felt this in every part of my being.
Now, podcasts:
Stories of Scotland which is just a lovely delve into Scottish history and heritage. I started with this episode about blacksmithing. So good!
Also, Bluiríní Béaloidis is a great podcast that looks at Irish and European folklore.
Also also, if you need more Irish things in your life, Whistle through the Shamrocks.
I don’t have any new music insights to share but you can have this playlist I made to psych myself up while I dismantle the patriarchy.
See you in March!