December picks. Read, watch, listen, engage, share.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
“I sometimes wonder what was disappeared first- among all things that have vanished from the island.”
A novelist living on an authoritarian island where the powers that be force the populace to forget everyday items is suddenly caught in the crosshairs of the memory police because someone she loves remembers. Abundance dies first in the memory.
The original title of The Memory Police in Japanese is 密やかな結晶, or Hisoyaka na kessho, which roughly translates to “secret crystallization” or “dense crystals.” Yoko Ogawa’s novel was initially published in 1994, it was translated into English in 2019.
ADDITIONAL READING:
“A Report From Occupied Territory” by James Baldwin [ESSAY]
READING LINKS:
BUY FROM YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE IF YOU CAN, IT’S MUCH COOLER!
GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY, GET A CARD, AND GET TO READING FOR FREE IF NECESSARY!
FILM OF THE MONTH
Mo Better Blues (1990) directed by Spike Lee
“I may have been born yesterday but I stayed up all night.”
Mo Better Blues is the story of Bleek Gilliam, an obsessed musician who seeks love with two different women and only on his terms. It is amongst my favorite Denzel Washington performances and has an excellent cast of black all-stars.
The film is helmed by Spike Lee (born 1957), who is well known for Malcolm X, Do The Right Thing, Clockers, Jungle Fever, Crooklyn, and Bamboozled.
ADDITIONAL READING/VIEWING:
A Love Supreme by John Coltrane [SONG]
WATCH:
Buy or rent this one! Not currently on any streaming services. Check your local library!
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Narrow Stairs (2008) by Death Cab for Cutie
“The ice is getting thinner beneath me and you.”
This album feels like the end of a very particular moment in time so I have come to associate it with winter and the brumal final days of the year.
ADDITIONAL READING/LISTENING:
“Expo 86” by Death Cab for Cutie [SONG]
LISTEN:
The album is available on all direct streaming platforms!
PREVIOUS MONTLY PICKS
The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara
Chameleon Street (1989)
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1989)
Tarika Blue by Tarika Blue
Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Incendies (2010)
Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta by Syreeta