june's monthly musings
june's monthly musings
some of the things I read, watched, and listened to in june
Welcome to this month’s musings, where I share mini-essays, reading lists, and other ramblings.
Monthly musings newsletters are for paid subscribers only, and drop once a month as a recap of what I’ve read, watched, and been thinking about all month long. To gain access, plus get into the entire Closely Reading archive, upgrade to a paid subscription.
From behind the paywall
Here are two favorite essays I’ve shared here. I’m moving them out from behind the paywall for a limited time!
A close reading of the Winona Ryder film, Girl Interrupted, which is based on the memoir of the same title by Susanna Kaysen. I use Foucault’s framework of disorder to unpack how the memoir and film critically differ. Fun fact, this is an evolution of my undergraduate thesis, which helped me earn an Honors distinction!
An essay about fitting in, based on closely reading Anne of Green Gables, in which I wax very poetic about the heartbreaking magic of LM Montgomery’s brilliant orphan story and how she establishes narrative outliers from the very first (long) sentence of the novel.
What I’ve been reading:
On Substack
Girl blog by Terry Nguyen, an essay about the apparent death and resurrection of the personal essay
Tash’s hilarious story about that time she may have taken her dog’s heart medication — I had to read it twice, because the first time I was laughing too hard to capture all the details
Kolina’s beautiful essay about why reading is always good enough
“Reading is the one thing I do during which I don’t tell myself I should be doing more or better or harder. I don’t calculate how productive I am being or whether I am doing enough of it. I just read. I just am.” Kolina Cicero
Online
I’ve been reading about speculative fiction: key definitions, strong examples, new research on it, because of a new piece I’m working on for The Novel Tea Substack — coming later this summer!
In print
Ada Limón’s poetry. I have all of her books and I’ve recently been rereading Bright Dead Things and I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite collection of hers
Oh Reader magazine, which I found at Barnes & Noble but now I’m thinking I need a subscription. The latest issue had a fantastic essay about slow reading in it — and why speed-reading apps and tools are kinda the worst.
On my nightstand
The Memory Police — I will finish it this week, I swear
Martyr by Kaveh Akbar, who has absolutely no business being this good at writing fiction! He’s already one of the best poets in the world and now he writes a novel that is this good? Ugh. Magic.
What I’ve been watching:
The new season of The Bear! I tried so hard not to watch all of it too fast because it’s such a smart show and I think it needs time to rest. Like a steak. But I ended up watching it all in one week and now I miss it again already.
(I’ll probably never watch the Natalie-focused episode ever again though.)
Gilmore Girls — I’ve been in the midst of a rewatch. This is the first rewatch where I’ve found myself rooting against Luke and Lorelai???? How have I ever thought they should be together??? Luke is horrible.
Field of Dreams. My husband loves baseball and this movie, which I had never seen before. So we watched it and I totally cried when they picked up the hitchhiker. I loved it and I’m really happy he shared it with me.
What movies are on your summer watch list? Because it finally reached triple-digit temps over the last few weeks, I’ve been ready to hunker down with some scary movies and some fun adventures, too. I’ve got What Lies Beneath and TopGun: Maverick ready to watch.
We also rewatched Twister a few nights ago, which remains one of my top-5 favorite movies of all time. There’s nobody like Dr. Jo Harding.
What I’m listening to:
Chappell Roan!!!!!!! Every song!!!!!! I am so glad she’s having such a *moment*
This excellent Gilmore girls-inspired playlist on Spotify
The War on Drugs 2014 album, which screams summer to me. It’s vibey, moody, synthy in the right moments and the lyrics are, like, a little goth. I love it and I’m glad it’s back in my rotation.
Okay: usually, I have a set of miniature essays to share with you but I have to say: I’ve been completely heads-down focused on The Age of Innocence read-a-long, especially because I added audio guides to the mix. And I kinda miss the post-it length musings I’ve compiled in other months, so I’m eager to get back to those as we take a break between readings.
But I do have something fun to share.
I have really started to lean into giving myself quiet time in bed to draw, paint, and color while listening to music or watching a favorite comfort show or movie. (I rewatched a season of The Hills last week — has anyone written a dissertation on why that show was so addicting for millennial women??? I’d read it!)
I have never considered myself an artistic person, and I’ve always really struggled to share any form of creativity — even in my writing. I tend to want to share the analytical or safely personal, rather than the make-believe or poetic.
But I wanted to share a few doodles and zen coloring pages I’ve created over the last few weeks, and show you where my typical mini-essay-writing time has been better spent for my body and mind over the last few weeks. I’m very happy to report that my Pinterest algorithm has realized I love art journaling inspiration, and so I’ve also been pinning lots of artistic inspo over on this board.
That’s all for June
‘Til next time, happy reading!
In the comments, if you’re so inclined, tell me about a recent writing or artistic practice that’s lighting up your mind.
I am currently rewatching Gilmore Girls and having the opposite reaction - i HATE Christopher. Hes so EW thinking he can just eff up their lives whenever he feels like it.
Loved this update. Thanks for the great Gilmore Girls-playlist! Also in the middle of a rewatch, I'm curious to see if I agree with you about Luke this time!