Usually I have a good idea what I want my non-media roundup posts to be. This time I’m not sure what idea is ready to be given focus (body image? intimacy? salty poetry?). So, I’ll just let my ideas marinate until one of them is ready.

Until then, here’re my faves from July!

Books

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (Teixcalaan #1)

jadl;fjasl;fdja;l s this book is AMAZING. I knew it’d gotten a lot of buzz and good reviews, but honestly the back of the book and the cover made this book unappealing to me. I can’t remember whose review swayed me to take a chance, but hooo girl am I glad I did. It might’ve been a review that mentioned Mahit has a Trill-like memory of her preceding ambassador (who died under mysterious circumstances) … one that is a decade out of date.

POC, queer people, political intrigue! Intricate world-building from architecture to poetry drawing from both the Byzantine and Aztec empire.

Will absolutely be checking out Martine’s future books and cannot wait for the second book in this series.

Tamiko and the Two Janitors by Forthright. (The Amarathine Saga #3)
My love for this series parallels my love of Nalini Singh’s Psy Changeling series. This series is an insta-buy for me, as well as a big comfort read. I’m not sure what genre this series is though. It’s not a romance, if anything the deeply queerplatonic intimacy between chosen family is more emphasized. And I am here for it.

Game

NixHydra’s The Arcana (Asra route)
MicheleCDraws mentioned this game on her IG, and I wound up playing it (for free; the paid content doesn’t effect the ending you get). I really enjoyed woo-ing my NB POC wizard boyfriend. Plot’s intriguing (you have to play multiple routes to get the full picture), and I like that you had to overcome Asra’s character flaw (how much he cares about you) to receive the happy ending.

Movies

The Farewell dir. Lulu Wang
Or, more specifically, seeing this in Oakland. There’s something about seeing a film in a packed theater, and with people who laugh when you do. Who get it.

Music

Reliably Bad’s If You Feel (The Way I Do)

Erez Zobary’s Before I Knew You

Masego’s Tiny Desk concert

Ashley Jayy & Tank’s Big Ol’ Freak (Megan Thee Stallion cover)