“History wanted to be remembered. Evidence hated having to live in dark, hidden places and devoted itself to resurfacing. Truth was messy. The natural order of an entropic universe was to tend to it.” Last issue, I reviewed a novella written by Rivers Solomon (they/them) in collaboration with LA experimental hip-hop group clipping. As I hope that review adequately expressed, I find Solomon...
“Their story took one of the most gruesome details of the Atlantic Slave Trade and reframed it. The murder of enslaved women was reimagined as an escape from murderous oppression, and the founding of a utopian civilization.” Written by Rivers Solomon (they/them), The Deep is a creative collaboration between Solomon and the members of the experimental hip-hop group clipping., made up of Daveed...
“I’ve fallen in love with the warrior woman who walked through fire, the one who came through stronger, reshaped by sorrow, reformed by grief, reborn in joy.” Yasmen & Josiah fell in love and got married young, had two children, and built a successful local restaurant from the ground up. But after a series of devastating experiences that neither of them could control, their combined trauma...
In a world with tens of streaming services, with thousands and thousands of TV shows and movies accessible to us at any time, Nathan For You does something that is hard for a comedy to do. It stands out. The show introduces us to Nathan Fielder, a graduate of the University of British Columbia in (insert degree here). He helps people. He finds struggling businesses, and gives them solutions in...
Fantasy is my genre of choice, but it’s also the most difficult to review—I find there is such a fine line that, if crossed, gets dangerously close to spoiler-territory, and I would hate to do that to you, dear readers. I’m a person that never reads a summary immediately before picking up a book (I may have read it months, sometimes years, earlier, but then thrown it on my TBR and never looked at...
And it was everything I could’ve ever wanted. I am a big fan of Lizzo’s work, and have been listening to her newest album (also titled “Special”) on repeat since its release back in July. Shortly after their Emmy win, I also watched her Amazon Prime reality TV show titled Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, where the superstar auditions and selects plus-sized dancers to join her on crew full...
A spoiler-free rant featuring my latest TV obsession: The Sandman is a dark, dreamy, and whimsical piece of storytelling, and Netflix needs to renew it right now. After the success of Good Omens’ debut season in 2019, it’s safe to say that The Sandman was on my immediate “to-watch” list, which, considering my general failure to keep up with what most people are streaming these days, is quite a...
Raybearer is a beautifully written, thoughtfully woven story that only further astounds once you realize that it’s author Jordan Ifueko’s debut novel. Start to finish, every aspect of this novel is absolutely brilliant: from its sweeping fantasy setting to its myriad of unique and diverse characters and its riveting story… right down to the incredible way that story is told, following an African...
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev was an enthralling story from the start. Considering my propensity to skip the summary and dive right into the book (especially when it comes highly recommended, which this one did), I admittedly had to take a second to confirm that the book was indeed fiction. I am absolutely in awe of debut author Dawnie Walton—this book was incredible. The interview-style...