Friday Catch Up
Welcome to the first Friday Catch Up where I talk about what I've been up to, pet updates, and what I've been working on. This is a learning experience, and I'm glad you're on this journey with me.
tansi nitotem! Salut! Hi!
Welcome to the first Friday Catch Up where I talk about what I've been up to, pet updates, and what I've been working on. I'm still in the process of figuring out exactly how this will work, so I'm asking for your kindness in understanding if some links don't necessarily work out or things seem a little wonky at first. This is a learning experience, and I'm glad you're on this journey with me.
Tentatively Wednesday and Friday will be posting days.
What I've Been Watching
The last series I completed was Carol and the End of the World (2023). This has been on my list for a while, and only recently I semi binged it. It's an adult animated series (and while some of the characters can be called ugly) it is an incredibly beautiful, lush, filled out world reminiscent of ours. There's so many visual references to other stories or series you've probably seen at some point (the pack of dogs with Dug from Up, Mel Rodriguez's character design feels like a nod to his role in Last Man on Earth) that it is delightful when you catch one. I really enjoyed the series-the way the score and visual aspects of the animation flowed together was sublime.
Trailer for Carol and the End of The World
Last Week was Canada Reads 2024 and it was wild. So many unexpected twists, such good conversation, the fashion was to die for-the panelists went harder than they needed to. It did not go how I thought it was going to at all (which is amazing in and out of itself). I am in awe of Mirian Njoh's brilliance-she brought nuance to so many discussions regarding accessibility, identity, and preconceived notions surrounding genre. Everyone in the panel had their strengths (and weaknesses) but she was my favourite panelist this year.
Canada Reads 2024 Episode 1 (it's the full almost hour)
The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down has been a soft watch. I've been watching a lot of CBC this week (it seems) and this has been nice. The stakes are low, the contestants are helpful towards each other, and so far nothing has exploded in the kiln. It feels like this month has been just one thing after another, so this a welcome respite from the ongoing of horrors of being alive at this point in history. I knew pottery was an incredible art form before, but I never realized just how many different skill sets potters need to have. Every contestant on the show is so unique, and has such a stunning point of view that it makes it hard for me to pick out one favourite. I'm sort of rooting for all of them.
The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down trailer. Jennifer Robertson is a good host, and Seth Rogen makes some appearances.
What I've Been Reading
Before this week, the stack of books on the corner of my desk hit ominous portions in height and just how much space they were taking up. A personalized Mount Doom if you will. So I decided the books I hadn't actually started could be schlepped back to a bookshelf, while the others could remain. There's still a few books, however my Mount Doom appears more reasonable now.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera has a musicality I haven't encountered in a hot moment. I heard about this novel initially on twitter from some game dev's (their book recommendations are really good) so I picked it up. This is the third recommendation by dev's that have been spot on. I'm still relatively early in the novel, but the way Chandrasekera writes (world builds) is so vibrant, believable, and engrossing it's hard to put down the book. The Saint of Bright Doors moves in a way that other fantasy novels haven't lately (for me), and I don't understand why I waited so long to actually start reading it.
The other novel I've been picking away at is And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliot. I think that Alicia is brilliant writer-her nonfiction debut A Mind Spread Out On The Ground is an amazing collection of essays-so what I've read so far in And Then She Fell is gold. I'm living for how she fleshes out her characters, the realistic portrayal of motherhood and mental health, the little pop culture interjections. The voices of Alice and her family remind me of being back at First Peoples House/the gathering room in Native studies, with all of the different Indigenous voices around me. For that reason, I've been slowly savouring it.
Finally, I've been rereading Rowan's (Rosalarian) completed, hilarious slice of life comic Love is Strange. There's so much I like in this comic: the genuine affection between Rowan and their boyfriends, polyamorous representation, and the weird little rituals or things people do when they're in love. Rowan also writes/makes more comics that are also really neat, and aren't afraid of neon colour palettes.
Small Mammal Update
I have three cats, and one doggo. This week's Catch Up is an introduction to Delphine. She is baby, she is a talented rotisserie chicken thief, and she likes to sit directly on my keyboard the most. Her other alias is smol cat. She is a small criminal at times.
What I'm Working On
A series on post apocalyptic stories written by Canadian authors. Well, novels and potentially two novellas (one for sure, one maybe) that I've enjoyed or made an impact on me. At current count there are 11 books that span a wide range, so maybe there will be something for you in it. Maybe you'll read along or follow along with me.
Wednesday's post should be an introduction into the why and what makes a post apocalyptic story Canadian. And introduction to the books. I can give you some little teasers about them to hopefully hold you over until Wednesday.
Some stats about the selection so far:
- 3 stand alone books
- 8 series (or series in progress)
- 5 of the books have made appearances on Canada Reads
- 6 are written by BIPOC authors
- 1 has been turned into a miniseries
- and 1 is being adapted into a series
