#Paul Zauner

[searidings]

reading wrap up 2022 GO

ok so my goal this year was to read 100 books and then i went ahead and read 109. and if i read the locked tomb series three times through that's no one's business but mine <3

italics are queer, bold are amazing, bold italics are queer and amazing

jan:

middlesex - jeffrey eugenides

the mountains sing - nguyên phan qué mai

the vegetarian - han kang

the galaxy and the ground within - becky chambers

to be taught, if fortunate - becky chambers

when we were orphans - kazuo ishiguro

americanah - chimamanda ngozi adichie

h of h playbook - anne carson

klara and the sun - kazuo ishiguro

the space between worlds - micaiah johnson

feb:

normal people - sally rooney

circe - madeline miller

blood of elves - andrzej sapkowski

gideon the ninth - tamsyn muir

time of contempt - andrzej sapkowski

baptism of fire - andrzej sapkowski

march:

the tower of the swallow - andrzej sapkowski

lady of the lake - andrzej sapkowski

harrow the ninth - tamsyn muir

the last wish - andrzej sapkowski

we should all be feminists - chimamanda ngozi adichie

a memory called empire - arkady martine

burnt sugar - avni doshi

a psalm for the wild built - becky chambers

april:

the alchemist - paul coelho

sword of destiny - andrzej sapkowski

oranges are not the only fruit - jeanette winterson

the colour purple - alice walker

the midnight library - matt haig

where the crawdads sing - delia owens

10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world - elif shafak

the discomfort of evening - marieke lucas rijneveld

crying in h mart - michelle zauner

my year of rest and relaxation - ottessa moshfegh

the shadow king - maaza mengiste

the virgin suicides - jeffrey eugenides

sapiens - yuval noah harari

the manningtree witches - a. k. blakemore

may:

parable of the sower - octavia butler

hot milk - deborah levy

an unkindness of ghosts - rivers solomon

the water dancer - ta-nehisi coates

pure colour - sheila heti

this is how you lose the time war - amal el-mohtar & max gladstone

five little indians - michelle good

june:

indian horse - richard wagamese

ducks, newburyport - lucy ellmann

the vanishing half - brit bennett

medicine walk - richard wagamese

crier's war - nina varela

a quality of light - richard wagamese

after the quake - haruki murakami

death in her hands - ottessa moshfegh

the school for good mothers - jessamine chan

bluets - maggie nelson

of women and salt - gabriela garcia

lapvona - ottessa moshfegh

mcglue - ottessa moshfegh

songbirds - christy lefteri

july:

to paradise - hanya yanagihara

sankofa - chibundu onuzo

the argonauts - maggie nelson

jane: a murder - maggie nelson

eileen - ottessa moshfegh

iron widow - xiran jay zhao

homesick for another world - ottessa moshfegh

a desolation called peace - arkady martine

the art of cruelty: a reckoning - maggie nelson

the witch's heart - genevieve gornichec

dune - frank herbert

aug:

never let me go - kazuo ishiguro

the island of missing trees - elif shafak

the marriage plot - jeffrey eugenides

almond - won-pyung sohn

all over creation - ruth ozeki

the water cure - sophie mackintosh

drive your plow over the bones of the dead - olga tokarczuk

sep:

the remains of the day - kazuo ishiguro

the blind assassin - margaret atwood

go set a watchman - harper lee

a pale view of hills - kazuo ishiguro

seven fallen feathers - tanya talaga

an artist of the floating world - kazuo ishiguro

the atlas six - olivie blake

the inconvenient indian - thomas king

a tale for the time being - ruth ozeki

ru - kim thuy

split tooth - tanya tagaq

wintering - katherine may

nomad century - gaia vince

dune messiah - frank herbert

the unbearable lightness of being - milan kundera

oct:

nona the ninth - tamsyn muir

indians on vacation - thomas king

severance - ling ma

nocturnes - kazuo ishiguro

nona the ninth - tamsyn muir

a prayer for the crown-shy - becky chambers

nov:

gideon the ninth - tamsyn muir

harrow the ninth - tamsyn muir

nona the ninth - tamsyn muir

embers - richard wagamese

dec:

starlight - richard wagamese

the buried giant - kazuo ishiguro

autobiography of red - anne carson

notes on grief - chimamanda ngozi adichie

cloud cuckoo land - anthony doerr

on fire: the burning case for a green new deal - naomi klein

sufferance - thomas king

[libraryleopard]

Favorite books of 2022

In the order I read them

The Accursed Vampire by Madeline McGrane

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero edited by Anna F. Peppard

Spirit Abroad by Zen Cho

From Dust, a Flame by Rebecca Podos

Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

Messy Roots by Laura Gao

The Scapegracers by H.A. Clarke

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

Lost and Found by Kathryn Schulz

Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto and Ann Xu

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

¡Hola Papi! By John Paul Brammer

Seeing Ghosts by Kat Chow

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

The Sandman vol. 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman and others

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

Black Spring by Alison Croggon

What Souls Are Made Of by Tasha Suri

Spear by Nicola Griffith

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott

Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola

Thrown in the Throat b Benjamin Garcia

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Sword Stone Table edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington

R E D by Chase Berggrun

[directedbynoraephron]

all the books i read in 2022!

why be happy when you could be normal? by jeanette winterson

paul takes the form of a mortal girl by andrea lawlor

pride and prejudice by jane austen

shrill by lindy west

three women by lisa taddeo

kissing tolstoy by penny reid

the duke and i by julia quinn

shout by laurie halse anderson

transcendent kingdom by yaa gyasi

dancing in odessa by ilya kaminsky

the diviners by libba bray

neon gods by katee robert

females by andrea long chu

the powerbook by jeanette winterson

vladimir by julia may jonas

jane eyre by charlotte bronte

empire of pain by patrick radden keefe

the right to sex by amia srinivasan

a touch of jen by beth morgan

crying in h-mart by michelle zauner

conversations with friends by sally rooney

woman, eating by claire kohda

honey girl by morgan rogers

writers & lovers by lily king

the hellion's waltz by olivia waite

everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily austin

the scorpio races by maggie stiefvater

the hating game by sally thorne

tomorrow sex will be good again by katherine angel

beach read by emily henry

we run the tides by vendela vida

the highwayman by kerrigan byrne

the deal by elle kennedy

girl, woman, other by bernardine evaristo

practical magic by alice hoffman

nevada by imogen binnie

the companion by e.e. ottoman

station eleven by emily st. john mandel

the anomaly by hervé le tellier

the hunter by kerrigan byrne

everything i need i get from you by kaitlyn tiffany

gregor the overlander by suzanne collins

the highlander by kerrigan byrne

gregor and the prophecy of bane by suzanne collins

beautiful world, where are you by sally rooney

sarahland by sam cohen

the bride test by helen hoang

the song of achilles by madeline miller

a lady for a duke by aliexis hall

the rogue of fifth avenue by joanna shupe

people we meet on vacation by emily henry

the prince of broadway by joanna shupe

the great believers by rebecca makkai

cleopatra and frankenstein by coco mellors

the devil of downtown by joanna shupe

maybe in another life by taylor jenkins reid

fight night by miriam toews

eligible by curtis sittenfeld

the marriage of opposites by alice hoffman

franny and zooey by j.d. salinger

book lovers by emily henry

[nedlittle]

i read 12 books in september (133% of my yearly goal) and 3933 pages (147% of my yearly goal). my favourite was gideon the ninth (locked tomb #1), and my least favourite was rooks and romanticide by j.i. radke. i did not finish bringing down the duke (the league of extraordinary gentlewomen #1) by evie dunmore [review]

full breakdown of star ratings and reviews under the cut! 🖊📚

the book of salt by monique truong 4 ⭐ [historical, queer] [review]

the serpent’s tale (mistress of the art of death #2) by ariana franklin 4 ⭐ [historical, mystery] [review]

the house of dudley: a new history of tudor england by joanne paul 3.75 ⭐ [history, biography] [review]

the needle’s eye: passing through youth by fanny howe 2.75 ⭐ [poems, essays] [review]

rooks and romanticide by j.i. radke 1.75 ⭐ [alt history, steampunk, queer] [review]

crying in h mart: a memoir by michelle zauner 4⭐ [memoir] [review]

dr. mütter's marvels: a true tale of intrigue and innovation at the dawn of modern medicine by cristin o'keefe aptowicz 3 ⭐ [science, medical history] [review]

the living is easy by dorothy west 3.75 ⭐ [classics, historical] [review]

gideon the ninth (the locked tomb #1) by tamsyn muir 5 ⭐[fantasy, queer] [review]

far from the madding crowd by thomas hardy 3.75 ⭐ [classics, romance] [review]

grave goods (mistress of the art of death #3) by ariana franklin 3 ⭐ [historical, mystery] [review]

love beyond body, space & time: an indigenous lgbt sci-fi anthology by hope nicholson (ed.) 3.75 ⭐ [sci-fi, queer] [review]

[hydr0logicoutlook]

How many books did you read this year? not sure, I didn't keep track until like october unfortunately. But 70+

Did you reread anything? What? I reread Lirael/Sabriel/Abhorsen by Garth Nix which I've read like 4 or 5 times. my favorite YA fantasy of all time

What were your top five books of the year? Top 17 in no particular order:

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepnzna-Samarasinha The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Briefly, a Delicious Life by Nell Stevens The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews Sterling Karat Gold by Isabel Waidner Old Enough by Haley Jakobson Chlorine by Jade Song The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz Love by Toni Morrison

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year? Yes I read two books by Ruth Ozeki and loved both. I also got more into David Graeber, I read Debt and Bullshit Jobs at the end of last year and really enjoyed The Dawn of Everything this year.

What genre did you read the most of? Hard to say since again I didn't keep track of everything and I haven't used goodreads in a couple years lol bc its owned by amazon but I would say leftist/leftist leaning nonfiction, contemporary fiction written by women and queer people, and fantasy/magical realism.

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to? So much lol. But the oldest books on my tbr are No Touching by Ketty Rouf, Nature is a Human Right by Ellen Miles, Overtime by Will Stronge and Kyle Lewis, Ecrits by Jacques Lacan, and New Animal by Ella Baxter

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones? Did not have any but I read way more than I have since I was in high school so I'm so happy about that!

Did you get into any new genres? I hadn't read a lot of magical realism (non heavy fantasy) that I'd really enjoyed before.

What was your favorite new release of the year? The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton, Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, or All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read? Geek Love by Katherine Dunn I think was the oldest book I read this year that I really liked. Or People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn is also a strong contender. Or Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag. Or Love by Toni Morrison.

Any books that disappointed you? While I really enjoyed Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and I would recommend it, I do think it has been somewhat overhyped and failed to live up to my expectations in some respects. I also did not enjoy Venco by Cherie Dimaline as much as I wanted to, given the premise is like a perfect intersection of things I enjoy in books. Try Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson instead, or the Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix for similar vibes but way more enjoyable.

What were your least favorite books of the year? I usually DNF books I don't like so hard to say for sure. Milk Fed by Melissa Broder was really not my vibe. I wasn't really surprised because I couldn't stand her previous book about the mermaid(?) but I did like her So Sad Today stuff. I also liked Norwegian Wood exactly as much as I was expecting to, which was, not very much. I've also decided I don't really enjoy reading short story collections.

What books do you want to finish before the year is over? I am currently reading My Tiny Life by Julian Dibbel and Fossil Capital by Andreas Malm, both of which are very dense and I have kind of been sloughing through. Both are super interesting though so hopefully I finish them by the end of the month instead of just reading fiction which I read way faster.

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them? I just looked at the lists for all the awards listed here and literally the only book I read was Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldor which was nominated for best novel at this years Hugo awards LOL. I added some other ones to my tbr though. I thought it was fun but nothing incredible! I'll read the sequels (my standard of quality for fantasy is a lot lower than other genres lol)

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year? Def Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin even though it WAS really good!

Did any books surprise you with how good they were? Yes I was not expecting to enjoy Pageboy by Elliot Page as much as I did! Really well done celebrity memoir. Also I was worried that Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz would just be about stuff I already knew but it was actually super interesting and went down a bunch of rabbit holes I didn't know a ton about and had great analysis.

How many books did you buy? Way too many. But mostly very cheap on Thriftbooks!

Did you use your library? Oh boy, you wouldn't even believe.

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations? I was very excited for README.txt by Chelsea Manning and it did not disappoint (yes it came out in 2022 but I took a second to get to it okay). I also had The Free People's Village by Sim Kern on hold way before it came out and I really enjoyed it!

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama? no lmao. i watched a couple youtube videos about tiktok book drama and it was the stupidest shit ive ever seen

What’s the longest book you read? Probably Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez. I did listen to it on audio which is the only way I am really able to get through books that long. The longest book I read with my eyes was probably The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki.

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book? This is a silly question bc I read some pretty short books. Several books under two hundred pages only took me a few hours.

Did you DNF anything? Why? so much stuff i can't even explain

What reading goals do you have for next year? Keep reading at the pace I am now! and hopefully keep track of the books this time, but not feel pressured to share about books im reading if I don't want to

[boyiwakwambvukuta]

Stella By Starlight · Gregory Porter - Donald Smith - Mansur Scott - Paul Zauner's Blue Brass

I found this song with #BeatFind

Stella By Starlight · Gregory Porter - Donald Smith - Mansur Scott - Paul Zauner's Blue Brass

http://www.deezer.com/track/78682978

[em-java]

💙

[gregwdbk]

Playlist for November 5, 2018 Part II

Ben Folds - Cologne Japanese Breakfast - This House Frankie Cosmos - on the lips Rihana, Kanye West, Paul McCartney - FourFiveSeconds Ermine Coat - Hillary Clinton Shelf Life - Gown Fraternal Twin - Horses Snail Mail - Deep Sea Krill - It Ends

[zombiesun]

To Read List

I'm compiling the rest of my 2022 read list as a record and for accountability. I have thirty-three novels left, in no particular order.

Chokehold: Policing Black Men / Paul Butler

The 48 Laws of Power / Robert Greene

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy/ Jostein Gaarder

The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland / Mary Condren

God: A Human History / Reza Aslan

The Art of Seduction / Robert Greene

The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness / Ichior Kishimi

From Goodwill to Grunge: A History of Secondhand Styles and Alternative Economies / Jennifer Le Zotte

Going to Trinidad: A Doctor, a Colorado Town, and Stories from an Unlikely Gender Crossroads / Martin J Smith

Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver / Mary Oliver

Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film / Carol J. Clover

Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Santanism / Ruben Van Luijk

The Origins of Totalitarianisms / Hannah Arendt

Fight Club / Chuck Palahniuk

American Psycho / Bret Easton Ellis

Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex / Erica A. Stanley

Women, Race, Class / Angela Y. Davis

Last Ones Left Alive / Sarah Davis-Goff

The Time He Desires / Kyell Gold

A Psalm for the Wild Built / Becky Chambers

Pictures & Tears: A History of People Who have Cried in Front of Paintings / James Elkins

Regarding the Pain of Others / Susan Sontag

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales / William M. Bass

Crying in H Mart / Michelle Zauner

The Poppy War / R. F. Kaung

Don't Kill Him! The Story of My Life with Bhagwan Rajneesh / Ma Anand Sheela

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison / Michel Foucault

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America / Margot Adler

Ignatz by Monica Youn

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness / Michelle Alexander

Other People's Comfort Keeps Me up at Night / Morgan Parker

Iscariot / Tosca Lee DF

On Ugliness / Umberto Eco

[searidings]

hi hello it's the end of june which means!!! half of the year is already gone!!! i love your book recs and was wondering if you have a list of everything you've read so far this year??? and your favourites. i need to buy some books!!! thanks <3333

thank you so much for the reminder that this year is half over <3 yes i have been reading A Lot to quiet the brain demons so here are my very long list & recs!!

italic = gay/queer

bold = so good. SO good

italic and bold = so good AND so gay

-

JANUARY

middlesex - jeffrey eugenides

the mountains sing - nguyên phan qué mai

the vegetarian - han kang

the galaxy and the ground within - becky chambers

to be taught, if fortunate - becky chambers

when we were orphans - kazuo ishiguro

americanah - chimamanda ngozi adichie

h of h playbook - anne carson

klara and the sun - kazuo ishiguro

the space between worlds - micaiah johnson

FEBRUARY

normal people - sally rooney

circe - madeline miller

blood of elves - andrzej sapkowski

gideon the ninth - tamsyn muir

time of contempt - andrzej sapkowski

baptism of fire - andrzej sapkowski

MARCH

the tower of the swallow - andrzej sapkowski

lady of the lake - andrzej sapkowski

harrow the ninth - tamsyn muir

the last wish - andrzej sapkowski

we should all be feminists - chimamanda ngozi adichie

a memory called empire - arkady martine

burnt sugar - avni doshi

a psalm for the wild built - becky chambers

APRIL

the alchemist - paul coelho

sword of destiny - andrzej sapkowski

oranges are not the only fruit - jeanette winterson

the colour purple - alice walker

the midnight library - matt haig

where the crawdads sing - delia owens

10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world - elif shafak

the discomfort of evening - marieke lucas rijneveld

crying in h mart - michelle zauner

my year of rest and relaxation - ottessa moshfegh

the shadow king - maaza mengiste

the virgin suicides - jeffrey eugenides

sapiens - yuval noah harari

MAY

the manningtree witches - a. k. blakemore

parable of the sower - octavia butler

hot milk - deborah levy

an unkindness of ghosts - rivers solomon

the water dancer - ta-nehisi coates

pure colour - sheila heti

this is how you lose the time war - amal el-mohtar & max gladstone

five little indians - michelle good

JUNE

indian horse - richard wagamese

ducks, newburyport - lucy ellmann

the vanishing half - brit bennett

medicine walk - richard wagamese

crier's war - nina varela

a quality of light - richard wagamese

after the quake - haruki murakami

death in her hands - ottessa moshfegh

the school for good mothers - jessamine chan

bluets - maggie nelson

of women and salt - gabriela garcia

lapvona - ottessa moshfegh

mcglue - ottessa moshfegh

songbirds - christy lefteri

to paradise - hanya yanagihara

sankofa - chibundu onuzo

[rockislandadultreads]

Hit Non-Fiction of 2021

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

An unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn

Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture—and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly antisemitic attacks—Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: she was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, and so little respect for Jewish lives unfolding in the present. Horn draws upon her travels, her research, and also her own family life—trying to explain Shakespeare’s Shylock to a curious ten-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children’s school, the profound perspective offered by traditional religious practice and study—to assert the vitality, complexity, and depth of Jewish life against an antisemitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget," is on the rise. As Horn explores the (not so) shocking attacks on the American Jewish community in recent years, she reveals the subtler dehumanization built into the public piety that surrounds the Jewish past—making the radical argument that the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity.

¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer

The first time someone called John Paul (JP) Brammer “Papi” was on the popular gay hookup app Grindr. At first, it was flattering; JP took this as white-guy speak for “hey, handsome.” Who doesn’t want to be called handsome? But then it happened again and again…and again, leaving JP wondering: Who the hell is Papi? What started as a racialized moniker given to him on a hookup app soon became the inspiration for his now wildly popular advice column “¡Hola Papi!,” launching his career as the Cheryl Strayed for young queer people everywhere—and some straight people too. JP had his doubts at first—what advice could he really offer while he himself stumbled through his early 20s? Sometimes the best advice to dole outcomes from looking within, which is what JP has done in his column and book—and readers have flocked to him for honest, heartfelt wisdom, and of course, a few laughs. In ¡Hola Papi!, JP shares his story of growing up biracial and in the closet in America’s heartland, while attempting to answer some of life’s toughest questions: How do I let go of the past? How do I become the person I want to be? Is there such a thing as being too gay? Should I hook up with my grade school bully now that he’s out of the closet? Questions we’ve all asked ourselves, surely. ¡Hola Papi! is “a warm, witty compendium of hard-won life lessons,” (Harper’s Bazaar) for anyone—gay, straight, and everything in between—who has ever taken stock of their unique place in the world. “Readers are likely to become addicted to these stories; they’re that good…Brammer comes to know himself very well, and readers will be delighted to make his acquaintance, too,”

Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

For as long as she could remember, Ashley has put her father on a pedestal. Despite having only vague memories of seeing him face-to-face, she believes he's the only person in the entire world who understands her. She thinks she understands him too. He's sensitive like her, an artist, and maybe even just as afraid of the dark. She's certain that one day they'll be reunited again, and she'll finally feel complete. There are just a few problems: he's in prison, and she doesn't know what he did to end up there. Through poverty, puberty, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley returns to her image of her father for hope and encouragement. She doesn't know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates; when the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Still reeling from the rape, which she keeps secret from her family, Ashley finally finds out why her father is in prison. And that's where the story really begins. Somebody’s Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she provides a poignant coming-of-age recollection that speaks to finding the threads between who you are and what you were born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them.

[libraryleopard]

All the books I read in 2022, under the cut (* = reread)

January

Giant-Size X-Men by Jonathan Hickman et al

The Accursed Vampire by Madeline McGrane

House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman et al*

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Once & Future vol. 1: The King is Undead by Kieron Gillen et al

X-23: Innocence Lost by Craig Kyle*

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Heartstopper vol. 2 by Alice Oseman*

Heartstopper vol. 3 by Alice Oseman*

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

Once and Future vol 2 by Kieron Gillen et al

Once and Future vol 3 by Kieron Gillen et al

Die vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans

Moon Knight vol. 1: Lunatic by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood

Die vol. 2: Split the Party by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans

The Conductors by Nicole Glover

Die vol. 3: The Great Game by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans

Excalibur vol. 3 by Tini Howard and Marcus To

Die vol. 4: Bleed by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans

February

Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Something Is Killing the Children vol. 1 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

Not For Use in Navigation by Iona Datt Sharma

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

Sabrina and Corina by Kali Farjado-Anstine

It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

The Drowned Country by Emily Tesh

March 

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby

Some By Virtue Fall by Alexandra Rowland

The Sandman vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Druids: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe

April

Homesick by Nino Cipri

The Longest Night by E.E. Ottoman

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Hellions vol. 3 by Zeb Wells

S.W.O.R.D. vol 2 by Al Ewing

Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Tales of the Elders of Ireland translated by Ann Dooley

May

Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero edited by Anna F. Peppard

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho*

June

Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie

From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos

Fangs by Sarah Andersen

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho

Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson and Jo Rioux

Queer As All Get Out: 10 People Who’ve Inspired Me by Shelby Criswell

Messy Roots by Laura Gao

The Wolf Among the Wild Hunt by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

Vampires Never Get Old: New Tales With Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derick

The Scapegracers by H.A. Clarke

Abbott vol. 1 by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä

Abbott vol. 2 by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä

Ready When You Are by Gary Lonesborough

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes

July

X-Men vol. 1 by Gerry Duggan

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

Lost and Found Kathryn Schulz

X-Men: Season One by Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie

Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto and Ann Xu

Harleen by Stjepan Šejić

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

Marvel’s Voices: Pride (2022)

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud*

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor

¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer

Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service by Tajja Isen

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Lockwood*

The Department of Truth vol. 1: The End of the World by James Tynion and Martin Simmonds

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Excalibur vol. 1: The Sword is Drawn by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis

The Memory Librarian and Other Stories by Janelle Monáe and others

Excalibur vol. 2: Two-Edged Sword by Chris Claremont and Alan Davus

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

X-Men Hellfire Gala bind-up by various authors

X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine di Giandomenico

Seeing Ghosts by Kat Chow

Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass

Black Bolt vol. 1: Hard Time by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward

Black Bolt vol. 2 by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward

The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud*

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

August

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud*

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

The Nice House on the Lake by James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

Sandman vol. 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman and others

The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert

Sandman vol. 5: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman and various

King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Off the Record by Camryn Garrett

Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery

Sandman vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman and various

Ireland in the Medieval World AD 400-1000: Landscape, kingship, and religion by Edel Bhreathnach

Sandman vol. 7: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman and others

The Many Death of Laila Starr by Ram V and Felipe Amdrade

Sandman vol. 8: Worlds’ End by Neil Gaiman and various

Sandman vol. 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman and various

Sandman vol. 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman and various

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

Hellblazer vol. 3: The Fear Machine by Jamie Delano

Something is Killing the Children vol. 1 by James Tynion Iv, Werther Dell’Edera, and Miquel Muerto

Something is Killing the Children vol. 2 by James Tynion Iv, Werther Dell’Edera, 

Black Spring by Alison Croggon

September

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

What Souls Are Made Of by Tasha Suri

Spear by Nicola Griffith

Piranesi by Susanna Clark

October

Bach in the Barn by Leigh Ellis

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

Hellblazer vol. 4: The Family Man by Jamie Delano and others

John Constantine, Hellblazer: All His Engines by John Carey and Leonardo Manco

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Hellblazer vol. 5: Dangerous Habits by Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis and others

The Táin translated by Thomas Kinsella*

Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott

Hellblazer vol. 6: Bloodlines by Garth Ennis and others

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

November

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Wild, Again by Bertha Rogers

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Heart of Stone by Johannes T. Evans

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin

Hellblazer vol. 7: Tainted Love by Garth Ennis and others

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola

Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney

Hellblazer vol. 8: Rake at the Gates of Hell by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and others

December

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios

The Hurting King by Ada Limón

My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Ghost Of by Diana Khoi Nguyen

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Sword Stone Table edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington

Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis

R E D by Chase Berggrun

Truth Be Cold by Alexa Barstow

Ravage the Dark by Tara Sim

[absencesrepetees]

michelle zauner, the musician behind japanese breakfast, whose new album jubilee comes out june 4, and author of the new memoir crying in h mart, out april 20, shares her ten favorite films from the last ten years.

(in no particular order)

the handmaiden (park chan-wook, 2016)

burning (lee chang-dong, 2018)

parasite (bong joon-ho, 2019)

the skin i live in (pedro almodóvar, 2011)

holy motors (leos carax, 2012)

mad max: fury road (george miller, 2015)

the meyerowitz stories (noah baumbach, 2017)

a separation (asghar farhadi, 2011)

phantom thread (paul thomas anderson, 2017)

the farewell (lulu wang, 2019)

https://projectr.tv/blog/10-10-japanese-breakfast

[eveninginparis]

tagged by @aequariusmoon to share my 2022 reading list ☆.｡.:*

open water - caleb azumah nelson

paul takes the form of a mortal girl - andrea lawlor

before the coffee gets cold - toshikazu kawaguchi

crying in h mart - michelle zauner

everything i never told you - celeste ng

the idiot - elif batuman

a tale for the time being - ruth ozeki

after dark - haruki murakami

daisy jones & the six - taylor jenkins reid

✷ if u wanna share urs i tag @sheepnosed @theoperahouse @pleatsplease @celestialkisses @aileenlikestea @wildlavenders @angelhilt

[boyiwakwambvukuta]

Moanin · Gregory Porter - Donald Smith - Mansur Scott - Paul Zauner's Blue Brass

I found this song with #BeatFind

Moanin · Gregory Porter - Donald Smith - Mansur Scott - Paul Zauner's Blue Brass

http://www.deezer.com/track/78682972

[disparatevibes]

2021 time capsule for my memories:

MUSIC

releases i loved from 2021

For Those I Love - For Those I Love

Home Is Where - I Became Birds

Low - HEY WHAT

Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

Helado Negro - Far In

Water From Your Eyes - Structure

Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8

Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime

Porches - All Day Gentle Hold !

Hand Habits - Fun House

Lowertown - The Gaping Mouth

Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders/The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy - Son

Black Midi - Cavalcade

Holly Humberstone - The Walls Are Way Too Thin

Indigo De Souza - Any Shape You Take

Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature

Pinegrove - Amperland, NY

Bartees Strange - Live at Studio 4

Claire Rousay - A Softer Focus

Yves Tumor - The Asymptotical World

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect

Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki

Samia - Scout

Nation of Language - A Way Forward

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Superwolves

Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE

Hannah Peel - Fir Wave

Lucy Dacus - Home Video

Wiki - Half God

L’Rain - Fatigue

Snow Ellet - suburban indie rock star

Runnner - Always Repeating

Tim Hecker - The North Water OST

great older releases i discovered in 2021

Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again, Cody

Majical Cloudz - Impersonator, Are You Alone?

Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak Of It Again, STREET DAD

Pharoah Sanders - Karma

The Dead Texan - The Dead Texan

Brian Eno & Kevin Shields - The Weight of History/Only Once Away My Son

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Herbert - Bodily Functions, Scale

Bat For Lashes - Two Suns, The Haunted Man

Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe

Huerco S. - For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)

Alex G - Race

Burial - Rival Dealer

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Superwolf

Hiss Golden Messenger - Haw, Heart Like A Levee

Destroyer - City of Daughters

Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

Sam Amidon - All Is Well

Eno & Hyde - High Life

The John Lurie National Orchestra - The Invention Of Animals

BOOKS

books i loved this year

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

Second Place by Rachel Cusk

The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Bubblegum by Adam Levin

To Be A Man by Nicole Krauss

Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard

The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard

The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

Fraternity by Benjamin Nugent

The Country Life by Rachel Cusk

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke (Audiobook)

Gold Custody by Barbara Bloom & Ben Lerner

“Sea Oak” by George Saunders

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson

books i liked this year

The History of Bones by John Lurie

So Much Blue by Percival Everett

Dear Life by Alice Munro

Zona by Geoff Dyer

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

No Art by Ben Lerner

Weather by Jenny Offill

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Don't Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Tuff by Paul Beatty

The People In The Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

Best American Essays 2007 ed. by David Foster Wallace

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

All That Man Is by David Szalay

On Freedom by Maggie Nelson

Remote Feed by David Gilbert

other books i read this year

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Look At Me by Jennifer Egan

MOVIES

movies i loved this year

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

The French Dispatch

Nomadland

The Green Knight

Pig

Soul

Dick Johnson is Dead

The Power Of The Dog

Zola

Sound of Metal

The Card Counter

There Is No Evil

Titane

Spencer

The Killing of Two Lovers

Minari

French Exit

This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection

LCD Soundsystem Holiday Special

Pinegrove: Amperland, NY

movies i liked this year

Lover's Rock

The Nest

Annette

Dune

David Byrne’s American Utopia

Wolfwalkers

Mangrove

Red, White and Blue

Alex Wheatle

Education

Reprise

Traffic

Identifying Features

Pusher II

Days of Being Wild

Slow Machine

Gunda

other movies i saw this year

Da 5 Bloods

On The Rocks

Limbo

The Year of the Everlasting Storm

Mank

TV SHOWS/COMEDY SPECIALS

shows i loved this year

Succession - Season 3

Mad Men (finally got round to this)

Painting with John

Fishing with John

Bo Burnham: Inside

Master of None - Season 3

Ramy

The Underground Railroad

Mrs. America

O.J. - Made in America

Chewing Gum

The Americans

30 Rock (second time through, still the best sitcom)

Mare of Easttown

The Great

What We Do In The Shadows

Rick & Morty - Season 5

The North Water

James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999

shows i liked this year

The Chair

The White Lotus

The Queen’s Gambit

The Good Lord Bird

Fargo – Season 4

Lovecraft Country

Tig Notaro: Drawn

other shows i saw this year

Squid Game

MISC

video games/board games

Halo Infinite

Red Dead Redemption 2

Twilight Imperium

7 Wonders

Wingspan

The Search For Planet X

podcasts

Welcome To LA

Heavyweight - Season 6

My Year in Mensa

The Organist

Invisibilia - Season 8

Wiretap

Floodlines

Aack Cast

The Experiment

The Ezra Klein Show

literature podcasts

The New Yorker: Fiction - Susan Choi Reads Jennifer Egan; Donald Antrim reads Donald Barthelme; Ben Lerner reads Julio Cortazar; Will Mackin reads George Saunders

The New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice - Adam Levin reads “A Lot Of Things Have Happened”; Colin Barrett reads “A Shooting in Rathreedane”; Greg Jackson reads “The Hollow”; Karen Russell reads “The Ghost Birds”; George Saunders reads “The Mom of Bold Action”; Sam Lipsyte reads “ My Apology”; Jonathan Lethem reads “The Crooked House”; Lauren Groff reads “ The Wind”; Jennifer Egan reads “What The Forest Remembers”

Between The Covers - Percival Everett: The Trees; Teju Cole: Fernweh

LRB Bookshop - Claire-Louise Bennett and Sheila Heti: Checkout 19; Rebecca Solnit and Mary Beard: Recollections of my Nonexistence; Rachel Kushner and Hal Foster: The Hard Crowd; Dana Spiotta and Alex Clark: Innocents and Others

fave gigs (not enough of them)

Nala Sinephro @ Horniman Museum and Gardens (best venue of all time)

Richard Dawson @ End of the Road (opener was a 15 minute acapella medieval tavern style folk song about a 17th century quilt-maker)

Richard Dawson @ Green Man

Hot Chip @ End of the Road (best sabotage cover of all time)

Porridge Radio @ End of the Road

Thundercat @ Green Man

Cassandra Jenkins @ The Louisiana

other great events

Green Man festival

End of the Road festival

Connor & Fiona McFarlane's wedding weekend

living with Jon, Abi, Sean and Louis for 3 weeks

lots of swimming in the avon