2021, fave media

Books

E.J. Beaton’s The Councillor (The Councillor #1)

Dom/sub UST. *chefs kiss*

Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert and All the Feels (Spoiler Alert #1 and #2)

If you read fanfic, don’t miss this self-aware series.

Kiese Laymon’s How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America

JFC the way this man writes.

Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish

JFC what Trungles accomplishes in a debut no less. Patreon.

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1)

This makes it onto the list solely for the tenderest bathing scene I’ve ever read.

C. Spike Trotman, Emilee Denich, and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s Yes, Roya (2021 color edition)

Kinky OT3? Yes, please!

Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue’s Katie the Cat Sitter (Katie the Cat Sitter #1)

A delight. I’m still thinking about Chat Guevara. XD

Some Things from Fave Authors

Ilona Andrews’ Blood Heir (Aurelia Ryder #1)

I love hidden identity hijinks. Also I also re-read Kate Daniels #1-5.

forthright’s Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate (Amarathine Saga #5)

A five book long queerplatonic slow burn! Never have I read such a thing! And I read a lot! Also re-read a lot in the series. Patreon.

T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Strength (Saint of Steel #2)

Bear nuns, ‘nuff said. Also the line about sodomizing is hilarious. Kingfisher’s releases during the pandemic have been a go-to of mine. Patreon.

Courtney Milan’s The Devil Comes Courting (Worth Saga #3)

The Chinese representation I never expected to get.

Nalini Singh

Last Guard (Psy Changeling Trinity #5), plus the Psy Changeling short story Music in the Rain. I also re-read a lot of her Psy Changeling stuff. Also shout out to her for putting a canon M/M couple in her Guild Hunter series.

Short Stories

Samira Ahmed’s “A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire”

in Vampires Never Get Old. The line “Eat your colonizer” is iconic, legendary.

Alyssa Cole’s Of Fur and Fer

Cole said it best: “A post Civil War blacksmith meets her werewolf girlfriend.”

Music

Eme Alfonso’s Tiny Desk Concert

Allison Russell’s album Outside Child

Seinabo Sey’s Blue and Rom Com

Jazmine Sullivan’s set on NPR’s Tiny (Home) Desk Concert

Jasmine Sullivan’s set on ESSENCE Fest

Tank and the Bangas with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

No longer available, but I’m holding out hope for a live album.

Wrabel’s m agic

Erez Zobary’s Saku

Music Videos

Desta French’s Bendecida

Yes.

Michaela Jaé’s Something to S ay

Joyful.

Keiyan Lonsdale’s Rhythm & Music

The dancing in this is so good.

Normani’s Wild Side (ft. Cardi B)

The scissoring dance sequence and the white outfit dance sequence? *chefs kiss*

Movies

Chloé Zhao’s Eternals

Makkari/Druig 4ever.

James Sweeney’s Straight Up

Oof, I feel seen in ways I did not expect.

Misc.

App: Chani Nicholas’ CHANI

Only paid app I have, and only app I allow push notifications on.

Dance: RAWdance’s work

Especially Katerina Wong’s stuff. I was fortunate to see them both streaming and live.

Figure skating: Jason Brown’s Sinnerman short program

This vid from the 2021 World Team Trophy in Japan.

TV: Nadiya Bakes

She is a cinnamon roll too good for this world. Also, I started cooking through her Time to Eat cookbook, and haven’t had a bad recipe.

Podcasts

Duolingo Spanish

Food 4 Thot

They also have a Substack newsletter that you can subscribe to with $ if you want to support the show.

Roxane Gay & Tressie McMillan Cottom’s Hear to Slay

Where Should We Begin?

Fiction Podcasts

The Bright Sessions S2x19 Zero Hour Live

Julia Morizawa as Damien! AAAH! Support Atypical Artists here.

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services

Patreon.

Life With Leo(h)

Hoping and praying for a S2. Support Atypical Artists here.

Monstrous Agonies

Patreon here.

Newsletters

Roxane Gay’s The Audacity

Pay if you can.

Soleil Ho’s Bite Curious

Lawrence Barriner II’s LQB2weekly

Fran Tirado’s joy digest

Pay if you can.

Articles

8 Totally Achievable Ways to Show Up for Racial Justice… When You’re White and Own an Asian Restaurant! by Irene Li

Check out the graph at the very least, that calls out all the white chefs who’ve won James Beard Awards selling Asian food and are silent right now. While aimed at restaurants, applicable in other industries too.

The Customer Is Not Always Right by Kushbu Shah

Working during pandemic times in a nutshell.

“Hospitality workers have been forced to become essential workers during this pandemic, not because they actually are, but because customers want to dine out. It is a luxury, not a necessity, to be served and waited on. Hospitality workers, on the other hand, need to come in. This is the only way they can pay their bills and keep food on the table, which many are barely able to do.”

“It’s become abundantly clear that the industry needs to stop prioritizing the wants of customers over the wellbeing of its staff. “Owners really need to rethink the idea of what hospitality is, starting with their staff,” says Friel. “[A]ll of this preaching about hospitality for others doesn’t work if your staff is miserable and being abused all the time.””

Keeping Love Close, photo series in The New York Times

Sandy Kim’s photo, staring into the camera as her parents feed her, along with her statement sucker punched me.

“Every week my parents drive an hour and half away to visit me in Los Angeles. They stock my fridge, clean my house, do my laundry, cook meals for the week and fix anything broken. It’s important to them that I stay on track ever since I overcame a decade-long opiate addiction. I’ve spent the last two years relearning how to live, replacing all the shame I had with love and connection instead. I am so grateful to be alive, and for the love, support and hope they give me.”

writing is not only for the writers by Yrsa Daley Ward

I could quote the whole thing (it’s short), but here’s a snippet: “YOU WRITE WHEN YOU NEED TO. YOU WRITE IT DOWN BECAUSE EVERYTHING HAS THE DAZZLING POTENTIAL TO TEACH, HEAL, BECOME WORK, BECOME ART. BECAUSE WHAT MEETS YOU ON THE PAGE WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY SURPRISE YOU. BECAUSE YOU WILL FIND NEW WAYS. THERE ARE ALWAYS NEW WAYS. BECAUSE IN WRITING WE CAN IMAGINE, TRANSFORM, INVENT INCREDIBLE AND NEVER‐ENDING ALTERNATIVES, DREAM THINGS UP. BECAUSE HERE YOU ENSURE THAT NOTHING WILL EVER TRULY BE LOST. AND IF THE WORDS FALL, THEY WILL REACH OUT INTO BETTER PLACES, AND WHEN THE WORDS FALL, THEY WILL DIVIDE AND LAND ON SOMEONE WHO NEEDS THEM EVEN MORE THAN YOU. BECAUSE HERE YOU ALLOW ALL YOUR EXPERIENCES TO BECOME USEFUL.”

Also in her book, The Utter.

Writing Erotica fro Trans Readers, part 3: Is Something Missing? by Xan West

Still thinking about this.

Resources on conflict

PDF: Embodied Conflict by The Embodiment Institute

“Three questions to ask yourself when you are in conflict: Do I know how to experience satisfaction? Do I believe in the possibility of repair? Am I willing to change?”

Keynote: Loretta Ross’ keynote for the PLU Wang Symposium 2020

(A video, not an article.) I think the title, “Calling In the Call Out Culture” is incendiary, but a lot of food for thought here. No transcript available.

The tips are useful for being in any sort of conflict, not just when you’re in hot water.