2024 Recommendations: Books & Movies
I've started seeing movies in theaters again!
BOOKS
Non-Fiction
The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu: Yu’s book is very good, and is history, push back and frank language about how disabled and non disabled have been identified, cared for and impacted. The majority of disabilities are not apparent, which is something I think even the most progressive allies struggle to acknowledge in life and work. The book also has workbook sections that are simple but probing questions for each of us to ask ourselves.
Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil: Nezhukumatahil is a favorite poet and essayist - her work is infused with and shaped by her Filipino, Indian, southern, parental, professorial perspectives and experiences, and first and foremost by her love of nature. The illustrations are wonderful and the Mango, Lumpia, Jackfruit, Vanilla, Cherry and Onion essays are worth reading again and again.
The Cost of Free Land by Rebecca Clarren: This book is about the stories we tell, why we tell them, and what is left out, by families, by countries, and by history books. It’s impossible not to connect the history and stories of this book to events of the last 14 months and 75+ years in Palestine, and the last 400 + years on this continent. Clarren interrogates the stories her own family shared about their Jewish immigrant history (forced to survive by leaving Eastern Europe in the 19th century) alongside the centuries of genocidal history of Native Americans in the American West, specifically the Lakota. This book is an exceptional exploration - historical, personal, and spiritual.
Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America by Rebecca L. Davis: I didn’t know I wanted a 400 year history of sex and sexuality in this country, but I did and it was very interesting, with lots of history, science, and most importantly the fears and biases of people (mostly white men) in power. A worthwhile, if not infuriating, read.
Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley: I’ve read a lot about grief recently and this was one of the most honest and reflective, because it captured the all-over-the-place thoughts, feelings and emotions in context of how society treats grief.
The Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in America by Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz: With a fusion of history and her own journey to get her and her children’s paperwork - their Indian cards - Schuettpelz gives us plenty to question about who gets to call themselves Indian. I also appreciate the deep dive into how various Tribal Nations allied together or conspired against other Tribal Nations because, as the US government does so well, a scarcity of resources for tribal nations, then creates fights for limited resources.
Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia by Kate Manne: Manne has an engaging writing style and mixes individual stories, including her own, along with history and science, and societal expectations and biases. I highly recommend it whether you consider yourself fat or not, struggle with how you judge and see (and others judge and see) your body, and especially if you judge fat people for our choices.
Poetry
[…] by Fady Joudah: Joudah is a Palestinian-American poet, translator and doctor who I first encountered when I noticed he was often the translator for many of the the Mahmoud Darwish poems I have loved over the years. I have re-read the poems many times since the collection was released this year.
Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha: You may have heard of Toha last year as the Palestinian poet who was kidnapped by Israeli forces, stripped and beaten while in detention as he tried to migrate with his family. This new collection was very strong and I also encourage you to listen to his reflections on his detention. His other collection, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza was in my 2023 recommendations.
The Moon That Turns You Back: Poems by Hala Alyan: Palestinian-American Alyan has 4 poetry collections, I’ve read them all with joy and appreciation, this one being her most recent. I am convinced her training as a clinical psychologist is what makes her work resonate so strongly.
You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limón: US Poet Laureate as and one of my favorite poets Ada Limón conceived this project of her Laureate term, with 50 new poems from contemporary poets about their connection to nature. I loved the poems from José Olivarez, Eduardo C. Corral, Jericho Brown, torrin a. greathouse, Jason Schneiderman, Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Ruth Awad in this collection.
Romance (Historical and Contemporary)
Historical: The Rake Chronicles Series by Lydia Lloyd. The final two books in this series came out this year and I read them immediately. The whole series is funny, steamy, and with good lead characters.
Historical: You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian: As always, Sebastian captures a love story, and puts us squarely in a moment in time, 1959-1960 New York City, around journalism and athletics, when being gay was hidden and finding companionship took a lot. This MM romance series is second in a series with We Could Be So Good, a recommendation for 2023. I love the characters and their found family, and loved seeing characters from the first book show up as well.
Contemporary: Him Series by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy: Regular readers know I don’t like sportsball IRL but I love sportsball TV, movies and romance books, specifically Hockey romances! I know! Random! Anyway, Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy are well known for their romances and sometimes they pair up to write books. This series of 2.5 books, Him, Us and Epic, are not new this year, but are by far one of my favorite romance series of all time about two hockey players, friends to lovers, MM romance. The characters in the books are also part of another series from Bowen/Kennedy that take place in the same Hockey universe for MF couples.
Contemporary: The Long Game by Elena Armas: I recommended her other books (The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment) in my 2023 Valentine’s Day newsletter and this is just as fun - a little sports genre, a city woman in small town, some cute kids and pets, and steam!
Contemporary: Sleeping with the Frenemy by Natalia Caña. I already loved and recommend the first two books (A Dish Best Served Hot and A Proposal They Can’t Refuse) in this Vega Family Series and this third book was no exception with meddling family members, bickering yet supportive families, great children and medium steam levels!
Contemporary: When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein: A classic romance trope is the title of this fun and steamy book of a ghost writer for a retired footballer (UK football).
MOVIES
Mississippi Masala is finally available on streaming (Max). This iconic movie from 1991 changed my life - for real -mostly because teenage me couldn’t believe that Denzel could love someone like me:) The iconic Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) directed it and had to fight for funding because neither of her leads were white. An Indian woman (a young Sarita Choudhury) and Black man (a young Denzel Washington) fall in love in the deep south. It’s sweet, fun, sexy and one of the few times you will ever see Denzel Washington even kissing a woman on screen. It reflects so much of what I knew in the South - where being Black and Brown brought folks a sense of camaraderie, and still showing the very real biases and prejudices that our communities hold for each other. Add to that the history of her family’s expulsion from their home in Uganda, it’s a very global, very southern and very American love story and beautifully shot in the Mississippi gulf. Also stars the excellent Charles Dutton, Sharmila Tagore, Roshan Seth.
All We Imagine As Light (In Theaters Limited Cities): This movie is about three women of different backgrounds and generations trying to make a living in Mumbai, away from their homes. It’s beautifully shot, captures so much of what I love about Mumbai, well directed and acted, and I highly recommend you find the time to see it if and when it opens in your city. The cinematography and the soundtrack put me in a dreamlike state.
Conclave (Theaters and Online Rental): This Vatican thriller was fun and also ridiculous, and stars great performers. It goes off the rails often, but they took me along with them, and while a thriller, still surfaces the hypocrisy and problems of institutional religions and especially Catholicism.
Dìdi (Apple TV): I cringed throughout this entire movie, mostly because being 13 is/was the worst for me, and this is for a teenage boy, and this movie captured it all, good, bad and ugly - both the home and family cringe and the friend cringe. And the added portion of being part of an immigrant Taiwanese - American family and how we push against it, punished and bullied for it, and also crave it.
The Fall Guy (Peacock): My kind of movie, funny, romantic chemistry, and an action movie, but not solely about the action, and the two leads, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt were perfect in these roles. Hannah Waddingham, always welcome on my screen, was in it as well!
Fry Bread Face and Me (Netflix): Written and Directed by Billy Luther (Navajo, Hopi, and Laguna Pueblo), this is a quiet coming of age movie taking place in 1990, when Benny is sent to spend the summer with his grandmother on the reservation. His cousin, who everyone calls Fry Bread Face, also joins and they become each other’s companions. What follows is the normal family fun and drama, windows into code switching and cultures that are missing for one but not the other, and the evergreen struggles about what it means to be a man across so many cultures, ancient and modern.
Girls Will Be Girls (Online Rental): A coming of age movie about a young woman in a boarding school in the Himalayas and the push/pull of striking out on her own, first love, pushing against her mother and schoolmates. I cringed a lot in this movie, because I couldn’t figure out people’s motivations, but it was so good. The actress, Kani Kusruti, who plays the complicated and confusing mother, is also one of the leads in All We Imagine As Light and is quite a talented actor.
HitMan (Netflix): This was a fun movie with Glen Powell who I never want to like, but then always do especially in this, Twisters and when he played John Glenn in Hidden Figures, and also in the new Top Gun. This movie was fun, and I think it might make you “get” the Glen Powell thing.
A Real Pain (Theaters): This was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while, funny and moving. It’s about family, generational trauma, mental illness and friendship, and it all works. It’s two cousins going on a Jewish Heritage Tour in Poland, and I smiled and laughed and cried. Kieran Culkin is freaking amazing, and Jesse Eisenberg who wrote and directed this, is perfect in a role he wrote for himself.
Thelma (Hulu): This movie about an elderly woman who decides to get the money she was scammed out of by elder fraud is charming, funny, and moving. June Squibb is delightful and it’s one of Richard Roundtree’s (SHAFT!) last roles before he died late last year. We need more stories that capture the lives of aging folks, like Grace and Frankie, a Man on the Inside, and I hope more that show some elder folks who aren’t as financially well off and live at home with families too.
Wild Robot (Theaters and Online Rental): I had never heard of this apparently excellent children’s book but the trailer made me emotional and the movie was lovely. And there are two new excellent songs by another Americana fav of mine, Maren Morris!
Will and Harper (Netflix): I didn’t know what to expect from this documentary made by Will Ferrell, as he and his best friend, Harper, who transitioned in the past few years, travel the country together. I found it to be sweet and thoughtful, AND not a lot of savior stuff, nor pedantic. And it was of course funny, given they are both comedians! Both were open and vulnerable. Stay post credits for the original song by Kristin Wiig.