Jen V’s July Recs
My biggest recommendation this month is appreciating your own space. 10/10, would return home again. Highly advise against getting stuck in other countries. It’s so good to be back, and to have access to all my stuff!
To be honest, I didn’t have much variation in my life this month, because the only thing I’ve really cared about is Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch. Listen, I’ve been on a journey with the Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On series over the last four weeks and it has been absolutely emotionally compromising. The final book in the series, Any way the wind blows, came out earlier this month and I feel like I have been turned inside out and scorched clean. I have to exert enormous amounts of self-control to not talk about it ALL the time. I’m not ok.
So, other than rereading Carry On, and reading Wayward Son and Any way the wind blows twice each in the space of days, what can I tell you?
I read Fable by Adrienne Young (high seas adventure! If a bit on the nose for me) and Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (so sweet! My new favourite genre is books that feel like fanfiction). I’m just about to start Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhoarse–there are a lot of names/tribal info at the front so that does not bode well for my ability to retain anything the author wants me to know before I start reading. Will report back.
I want to give a shout out to my local library who are being incredibly patient with me, letting me reserve a lot of books. Libraries are amazing, and the one thing that I would probably go to war for, so highly recommend joining your local library if you can! Here are all the books I’ve borrowed this month (oops!):
In the first episode of season 2, I mention being really into My Chemical Romance, and I have been reliving my emo phase a bit this month (it’s not a phase mum!).
The Black Parade still holds up as an absolute banger of an album. Tangentially, I’ve become mildly obsessed with Panic! At The Disco’s 2018 album Pray for the Wicked. If you are partial to the peculiar delights of 2006-2010 emo, I combined my tragic love of the genre with my all-consuming love of Baz Pitch to create this playlist. It may give you whiplash – it was a bizarre time for music.
Side note: if you’ve ever wondered what it was like being a lil emo in Australia back then, please read this article that I unearthed this week. I was at this festival. It was somehow even worse than described. I was actually crying with laughter reliving this experience, I had somehow supressed most of it. It truly is amazing we made it through. (Hashtag no regrets seeing Placebo, AFI and Nine Inch Nails though!) (But actually many regrets for what I now recognise was heat stroke.)
I also recommend the Beatles’ White Album for all your lying on the living room floor, staring at the ceiling needs. I listened to ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ on repeat for a whole day and, you know what, I don’t regret it.
And! Lucy Dacus’ latest album Home Movies.
I’ve just started watching Merlin (one of those shows I never finished cause I knew how it ended) which is the perfect length and requires just the right level of attention to make it ideal for my cooking-and-eating-dinner entertainment needs. Another show perfect for this is Bob’s Burgers. Louise is my favourite.
That’s it from me! I’m really looking forward to getting to the cinema, finishing a big project at work, going to a Harry Potter birthday party at my fave cocktail bar, getting lots of writing done, and (maybe) regaining some of my mind post-AWTWB.
See you next month!