2023 Recommendations: Must-Read, Must-Watch, Must-Listen To

Hello.

It's been a while.

For the better part of 2023 I was babysitting winter blues and general winter lethargy. I barely had time to stay on top of my laundry schedule let alone create content I wanted to share.

Whether you're feeling refreshed and reenergized with me now (finally... by July 2023) or still awaiting the summer dopamine kick, I hope this post provides you with something you need right now. As I oil the rusty writing gears and ease my way back into creating, I thought it best to start with something lighter - a shorter piece you can breeze through during a coffee or lunch break.

Today I’m sharing:

Book, movie, and podcast recommendations that you need to try this year.

(I also threw in some music at the end because why not)

Specifically, these are things I’ve been able to confide in for entertainment and retreat without the subconscious burden of toxic consumer culture weighing me down afterwards. In other words, I'm not left grappling with pressure to consider the male gaze, social status, body image, career envy, or generally if I'm doing "enough" after consuming these materials. In a world obsessed with self-image, this is sacred.

Book: All About Love by Bell Hooks

Brief summary:

An eye-opening and thought-provoking exploration of love in modern society. The book delves into the misconceptions and complexities of love and argues that love is not merely a feeling but an action that requires continuous effort and understanding. It is a heart-wrenchingly accurate representation of how everyone’s perception of giving and receiving love is a manifestation and impact of childhood, early relationships, mainstream media, cultural norms, and, of course, the patriarchy. In an effort to understand how we can combat notions of love that are based on toxicity in our lives, hooks encourages readers to reevaluate their perceptions of love and cultivate transformative meanings based on self-love and love for humanity, that can heal individuals and communities.

Themes include: love vs. infatuation, fear and projecting, trauma, violence, heartbreak, and toxic masculinity.

This is a great novel for anyone: single, married, divorced, in a situationship… I promise this book will help you figure your shit out and is one I believe every human being should read at least once in their life.

Book: Mutual Aid by Dean Spade

Brief summary:

A powerful reflection about the shortcomings of charity work, highlighting the fundamental interdependence between capitalism and the status quo, systemic discrimination, and urban poverty, all of which play a crucial role in sustaining economic and political monopolies. The book describes how mutual aid is a vital strategy for collective survival and resilience and examines how marginalized communities have historically relied on mutual aid networks for transformative social change. Provides an interesting perspective on how the agenda for charity work and individualism are projected by government networks as the only solution to societal problems while uncovering how they still, in fact, uphold intrinsically violent capitalist ideologies that cause and perpetuate financial crises.

Published in 2020, this book is also a representation of the recent global crisis, the pandemic, that highlighted the urgency of community-based support.

Book: Solitude: A Singular Life in a Crowded World by Michael Harris

Brief summary:

Discusses the impacts of modern-day technology (including social media, texting, emojis, and even e-books) on our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the world. A great book if you want to address a smartphone addiction you might have as it breaks down human beings’ historical and contemporary obsession with connectivity and “social grooming” (as the author calls it) and lays out a compelling and research-heavy argument for the benefits and advantages of being alone with your thoughts, and how being offline is a skill that we must practice and cultivate. It includes tips and tricks on how exactly to do this, what that means, and why as a society we don’t know how to be offline anymore.

Extremely interesting and thought-provoking but research dence. Something to think about if you're not used to reading non-fiction.

Book: Burn After Writing by Sharon Jones

Brief summary:

This is more of a participatory book since you will be 50% the author answering 140 journal prompts about your life, personality, dreams, aspirations, and fears. This book is a great way to get out of your head because it forces you to reflect on life in ways that make you feel closer to yourself (perhaps uncovering forgotten positive memories or writing through negative ones). Getting my thoughts out of my head and onto a page often helps me clear up the mental space I didn't realize they were taking up. But too often I feel paralyzed about what exactly to write about, which prevents me from ever picking up the pen. These prompts take away the pressure to write about something interesting or productive and instead guide you to the answers right away.

Movie: Someone Lives Here

Brief summary:

In a poignant testament to North America's housing crisis, this film follows Khaleel Seivwright as he courageously constructs small, life-saving shelters for unhoused individuals braving the harsh winter outdoors in pandemic-hit Toronto. Yet, what unfolds is an indescribably frustrating tale of city officials criminalizing homelessness, opposing meaningful action against police brutality, and refusing to take accountability for the consequences of policies that fall directly under their job description. Seivwright's unwavering commitment to helping meet people's basic human right to shelter and safety clashes with a city that prioritizes private property and stakeholder investment above human life. The film unearths shocking tragedy, even for those familiar with the violence and discrimination faced by Toronto's houseless community.

Includes scenes of violence and harassment.

TV Show: Bojack Horseman

Brief summary:

An animated TV show hilariously ridiculing ridiculous Hollywood norms and general American culture. Delves into complex themes about mental health, addiction, fame, identity, and existentialism. It also confronts dark realities about the impacts of trauma, social media, and mass media on the human race. I love how this show unapologetically points out precise modern-day examples of institutions knowingly upholding white privilege, systemic sexism, and political and cultural elitism, while still managing to make me laugh. If you like dark humour, this is a great show for you.

Trigger warning: sexual assault, harassment, language, addiction, childhood trauma and abuse.

Podcast: Wisdom at Work

Brief summary:

Ilana Landsberg-Lewis (an astounding global human rights activist) does a brilliant job at interviewing elder women telling their exceptional stories about how they’ve uniquely dedicated their life and careers to social justice and mutual aid networks around the world. Each with its own specialization, all these conversations are profoundly inspiring- especially if you’re motivated by strong female energy- and make complex topics like racial inequality, sexual harassment, and global poverty surprisingly digestible for the average listener. Most episodes touch on interdisciplinary multi-tiered issues surrounding the challenges and tribulations of vulnerable communities and marginalized groups within some sociopolitical context. This is a wonderful option if you’re looking to gain a better understanding of human rights advocacy in a global context using specific examples about the importance of community.

Podcast: I Have to Call My Sister

Brief summary:

For more of a light-hearted and easy listen (with the exception of one episode when they played 911 call recordings - yet I still somehow couldn’t get myself to turn them off), two sisters, Stacey and Kayla, sit down once a week to have various everyday discussions that will have you doubled over with laughter. They are well-versed in pop culture, world news, family, art, and music. Sometimes, I personally find podcasts that are too casual hard to listen to because the conversation lacks direction and flow, but Stacey and Kayla always find a way to keep each other on track while still allowing themselves the space to go on hilarious and whimsical tangents that you can't help but be invested in. One thing that sets them apart from other people/ podcasts (in my opinion) is their ability to find humour in everyday life- using humour to make mundane situations hilarious and sharing the joy with their listeners. A great podcast if you’re drawn to less deep and more light material!

Podcast: Emergency Intercom

Brief summary:

Following the same theme as I Have to Call My Sister, Enya and Drew’s podcast is a light and funny listen that will make all your worries go away for an hour. I think (and hope) they represent a wave of new young influencers who find unlimited value and humour in pure honesty, humility, and vulnerability. What I find sets them apart from other influencers their age is their mastery of dry humour and sarcasm to portray a certain level of deep connection and understanding about different taboo topics. It sounds archaic because typically humour is used to mask or avoid vulnerability within a public context, but once you become an avid listener of Emergency Intercom, you learn that humour is used as a tool to leverage conversation about universal experiences that everyone is too embarrassed to talk about (you also quickly learn that life is not that serious; which is a lesson we could all use). This podcast feels like a safe space for young people to find solidarity in shared feelings of isolation, the fluidity of gender and sexuality, identity crisis, and the absolute audacity of the male gaze.

Artists recommendations (if you need a little extra pep in your step):

- Electric Light Orchestra

- The Dixie Cups

- Fugees

- Big Smoke Brass

- Wallows (less for a pep and more for a melancholy walk, but maybe that's what you're into).

So, I lied about this being a shorter post. But I hope it was worth the read nonetheless.

Let me know if you checked any of these out and what you thought.

Xx