I took my mom to DC and absolutely wore my Bitch Planet leggings to the White House. It’s the little things.
Books
Squirrel Girl by Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Rico Renzi
I’m up to volume 5. Everything about Squirrel Girl is perfect. KICK BUTTS EAT NUTS.
The Kingdom of Gods by NK Jemisin
Usually trickster characters don’t do it for me, but I had so many Sieh feels. This is the last of the Inheritance trilogy, so start with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
Podcasts
Wolf 359 is in its final season. Come for the comedic space life vignettes, stay for the huge government conspiracies. I’m sad to see it ending.
59. One To Another by The Allusionist
Helen Zaltzman interviews the man translating The Memory Palace stories into a Portuguese book. I also love The Memory Palace, but I don’t do anything productive with that love. Instead, sometimes I cry a little at work.
Episode 70: The Procedure by Criminal
CHURCHES MADE A NETWORK TO HELP WOMEN GET ABORTIONS WHEN ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL. Uh, spoiler?
265- The Pool and the Stream by 99% Invisible
Skateboarding history. Suburban pool history. Don’t listen to this on a sweaty train, you’ll get really jealous.
266- Repackaging the Pill by 99% Invisible
I need Roman Mars to give me the design history of everything remotely feminist.
Games
Dream Daddy
I’ve been playing this one a little bit. You’re a dad that goes on dates with other dads. You’re nice to your daughter and make dad puns. There are cryptids and dogs!
Music
KESHA IS BACK.
I’m prepared to stockpile glitter the second she announces a tour.
The Long Winters
I’ve been listening to these guys on repeat, too. They have a sad song about astronauts.
We’re late this month! I decided to be very patriotic and go to DC for July 4th. It was as busy as you’d expect.
Books
Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
I pulled out of my bad novel slump! This is the first two installments of a trilogy. The first one starts a little rough, but it was her first book. She figures it out.
Mixed race girl saves the world! (Kind of). Fantasy! Magic! Demons! Falling in love with maybe evil incarnate. Yeah, I’m here for it.
Enigma by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo
I normally cannot deal with the 80s/90s dirty gritty edgy comics because I get really bored when people are irredeemably terrible and I’m supposed to want to read about them. This is my exception. It opens with this:
Recommended for fans of S-Town.
Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
I’m so happy that coming of age stories about angry goth girls exist now.
05 Alessandra: Lips by Mortified
I put off listening to Mortified for a really long time because I cannot. do. secondhand. embarrassment. They somehow keep the secondhand embarrassment to a minimum despite being exclusively embarrassing stories. Girl just wants a boyfriend in this one.
36 Tyler & Janelle: Love, America Online Style by Mortified
Remember saving AIM conversations to read back later? Remember printing out AIM conversations with your crush and then collecting them in a binder to give to them, and then reading them on stage together years later?
45 Emma: The Girl Who Cried Y2K by Mortified
I now need a series that explores weird adult doomsday bunker men and their reactions to Y2K. I’m calling Emma if I ever need to survive nuclear war, she was on top of stuff.
I’m on Goodreads if you want to see the number of one star reviews I give in between liking things. I’m not having great luck with books that don’t have pictures.
Giant Days by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Whitney Cogar
I wish college had been like this. Volume 2 was a little rough, but everyone is back to ‘normal’ in Volume 3.
Casanova by Matt Fraction, Gabriel Bá, and Cris Peters
I almost recommend reading Volume 3 first. All of the bad weirdness starts to get smoothed out there. Now we’re left with good weirdness, time travel, and ukuleles.
Thor by J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel, and Mark Morales
Movie Thor hasn’t been doing it for me, but this Thor is promising. This picks up after Ragnarok so spoilers for the next movie? Maybe. Who knows what the MCU is doing these days. LADY LOKI, guys.
Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig
I really need to stop reading this before bed. One of the few ‘dark’ comics that actually reads as dark for me. Volume 1 sets the stage. In volume 2 a class of assassins takes on some rednecks.
One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry
You know how some books feel like a friend and when you read them you feel closer to the human race? Yeah, this is one of those.
Podcasts
I still have a huge Radiotopia problem.
I got to see Roman Mars and Helen Zaltzman in 99% Allusional! It’s everything you’ve ever wanted. (If everything you’ve ever wanted is Roman Mars singing about Rosalind Franklin).
CHVRCHES – Clearest Blue by Song Exploder
I’m having a hard time coping with how Chvrches makes songs because it’s the exact opposite of what I would do.
Honeypot by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
All of these advertising algorithms and they still don’t know that I’m not interested in getting a degree from the school that I already have a degree from.
The Architect of Hollywood (Episode 255) by 99% Invisible
Paul Revere Williams learned to draw upside down so white people wouldn’t feel uncomfortable sitting on the same side of the table as him. Man.
Sounds Natural (Episode 256) by 99% Invisible
Pros of this episode: Talks about how nature documentaries are crafted, and how they can be a little misleading. A cat purrs while Roman Mars talks.
Cons of this episode: They don’t burn down fake documentaries from the Discovery channel, which I have personally had to debunk to people.
Still a good time.
Entrapment by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
Can FBI surveillance cause what it’s trying to detect?
The Album Leaf – The Outer Banks by Song Exploder
I hadn’t heard of The Album Leaf before this episode. I’m into them. There’s a glockenspiel in this song. Is that a selling point for you? It is for me.
The Authority (Episode 54) by The Allusionist
“Sometimes you want to make the dictionary sexy but it’s just not a sexy thing”.
The Long Winters – The Commander Thinks Aloud by Song Exploder
I’ve listened to this episode three times. I’ve listened to the song a lot more. I made a whole playlist of sad astronaut songs because of this song. It’s that good.
I left my volunteer job for my grown up job this month. This is what I made for my boss:
There’s an embroidery section up on the menu now. Hobbies > homework.
I got this really expensive sheet of paper in the mail, too:
It’s been a busy month.
Books
Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, and Takeshi Miyazawa
I read Volume 1 back in December. I don’t think I knew then that Hulu was making it a show. The next logical step is for Netflix to make a competing Young Avengers show, right? Please.
Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli, translated by Christina MacSweeney
A beautiful little novel where the characters all blend together as the story progresses. “A horizontal novel, told vertically. A novel that has to be told from the outside in order to be read from within.” Set aside time to read it twice.
Skyscrapers of the Midwest by Joshua Cotter
Joshua Cotter has a way of telling stories linearly while tying every little thing together in unexpected ways. It’s wonderful.
Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat! by Kate Leth and Brittney Williams
If I made a comic book character, it would probably be Hellcat. Because cats. And all of my favorite comic book ladies hang out. I was stuck on a train for half an hour when I was reading this and I didn’t even care.
Casanova by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba
I normally wouldn’t include this one because I only gave it three stars on Goodreads..but it’s Matt Fraction. I love Matt Fraction. I’m having the same problem with this as ODY-C. It’s not the book, it’s me. I just don’t understand it. Maybe you will. There are alternative universes and spies.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North, Erica Henderson and Rico Renzi
Sometimes you want to see everyone in the Marvel Universe get punched. I also read Volume 4 this month because sometimes you want to see Squirrel Girl go on bad dates. She has the powers of girls AND squirrels.
Kaptara by Chip Zdarsky and Kagan McLeod
It takes place in space and there is a motivational orb. I’m the target audience.
Podcasts
As you can tell from the length of this list, I’ve been regularly commuting again! Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything has been there for me. Surprise, he’s also a member of Radiotopia.
It’s not a Presidential coin, but..that’s not as meaningful anymore.
Usonia 1 (Episode 246) & Usonia the Beautiful (Episode 247) by 99% Invisible
I remember learning about Frank Lloyd Wright in elementary school. They told us that he was really famous for making houses that blended in with nature. I never felt any need to look more into him. (I know this is really embarrassing for someone who frequently yells about loving an architecture podcast.) This impression was wrong. Frank Lloyd Wright was radical and (good) crazy and I’m going to go read eighty books about him now.
The Clouds (Parts 1, 2, and 3) by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
Benjamen Walker explains ~the cloud~ to you. He also probably almost gives himself cancer trying to touch rare earth metals in illegal mines. I learned stuff AND I was stressed out. Just like college!
Hacked by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
This episode stressed me out a lot less. It probably doesn’t contain Game of Thrones spoilers.
Vanish (Episode 61) by Criminal
Have you ever thought about running away from your life and faking your death? Now you will.
Not Soon Enough by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
The John Singer Sargent bits of this episode are spectacular.
F is for Fake by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
This goes from buying Twitter followers to Chinese internet censorship. Yeah, that escalated quickly.
The Bootlickers by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
I don’t usually learn about feminism from men, but here we are.
Stages on Life’s Way by Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything
I haven’t been much into philosophy lately, but this episode made me want to read Søren Kierkegaard. It almost made me want to have a bachelorette party (because feminism!) but..no thanks. Those two things are related.
Oh weird, this blog post isn’t a list of things to be outraged about. I feel like I should fix that.
Books
Mockingbird by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk
Twitter Could. Not. Handle. This Cover:
I can handle it. There is a corgi and Clint Barton, too. It’s like they know me.
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
The first part in a trilogy.
Summary: Humanity manages to war itself to near death. An alien race picks up the survivors and tries to prepare them for a new life alongside them. Humans are bad at getting along with people different from them (surprise! re: war). The aliens ask a lot in return for their lives.
I didn’t like the rest of the series as much as this first one, but this one made me cry.
Ms Marvel by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
If a weird mist descended upon me and gave me super powers, I would also turn into Captain Marvel. I plowed through volumes 1 & 2 this month.
Captain Marvel by Kelly Sue Deconnick, Dexter Soy, Emma Rios and Jordie Bellaire.
Speaking of Captain Marvel..I love her. I reread In Pursuit of Flight this week because I needed some boss lady vibes in my life. This volume switches artists a decent amount. (I know I’ve forgotten some here.) That usually bothers me, but doesn’t here. Two years until we get a movie!
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson, and Jared K. Fletcher
The library finally got volume 2 in! I read volume one back in November. Two giant tardigrades fight to the death, the Bechdel test is passed so hard it explodes, and Matt Wilson colors.
Podcasts
I’ve finally listened to every episode of 99% Invisible. 10/10, do recommend them all.
Guano Mania (Episode 239) by 99% Invisible
The legal limbo of Puerto Rico can be linked to penguin poop. Laws are weird.
Walnut Grove (Episode 58) by Criminal
This is the best episode Criminal has made. We need to have a talk about for-profit prisons.
Games
Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag You get to climb all over buildings, be a pirate, and pet cats.
Movies
Hidden Figures I don’t see movies in theaters often. Hidden Figures is worth it.
We finished 2016! Who wants to bet that next month I’ll make a list of the best best-of-2016 lists?
Books
Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, and Takeshi Miyazawa
I would absolutely call myself Princess Powerful if I were a mutant. Actually, I would be everyone in this book.
The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson
The entire world is so lucky that I’m out of my goth phase. I’d be insufferable if these characters were around then.
The covers make me want to cry. They’re so pretty.
Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
Parts two and three to Ancillary Justice from last month. All the zombies and neat AIs of the first installment, but with more feels and smashing oppressive status quos.
Podcasts
Finals killed my podcast time.
On Average (Episode 226) by 99% Invisible
Averaging was once a radical concept. It makes sense because averages can be totally useless lies.
Skyrim If you need me, I’ll be sneaking around and filling my houses with cheese wheels. I guess there’s a plot where you kill dragons or whatever. I play on a Xbox 360 because I am actually that far behind in the world.
Splendor Splendor is my favorite tabletop game. I get to collect resources AND I win all of the time.
Morels A two-player card game where you get to competitively pick mushrooms. I don’t win this one all of the time, but I still like it. That means a lot.
My aesthetic goal was “evil faerie princess in human form”. We nailed it.
Books
Squirrel Girl by Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Rico Renzi
Kicking butts and eating nuts is always the answer.
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matt Wilson
Of course astronauts greet you in heaven, why else would you want to go? Come to Paper Girls for the cute idea of an all-girl paper delivery team. Stay for the surreal feelings and oh god what’s going on this is not a cute paper route story, they have guns.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
A book without pictures! The author does some neat stuff with gender here. If that’s not a draw for you, the main character is an AI housed in a reanimated corpse. We probably can’t be friends if you need a third selling point.
Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
Uh, crimes as in they rob banks. Not like..sex crimes. Hands down the most clever comic I’ve ever read, and the best example of how to show nudity and not be objectifying. Even the letters pages are gold, so pick up single issues if you can.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
This interspecies couple just wants to raise their improbable baby in space-peace. The royalty with televisions for heads aren’t a subtle metaphor, but I’m still trying to work out what the talking baby seal stands for.
Podcasts
My excuse for how many episodes of 99% Invisible I have listed is that they are the best podcast in the world. Obviously.
Millennial
I’ve had a few people ask me, a millennial, to describe what a millennial is. This podcast is my new answer. The first season is sequential and so, so real.
Awareness (Episode 173) by 99% Invisible
I assumed that breast cancer ribbons were the first because of how popular they are. I was wrong.
Hard to Love a Brute (Episode 176) by 99% Invisible
Fine. I’ll try to find space in my heart to love the architecture of Boston City Hall.
Lawn Order (Episode 177) by 99% Invisible
I don’t know what it says about my personality that I really love plant crimes, but I really love plant crimes.
Reefer Madness (Episode 180) by 99% Invisible
This episode sounds like it should be about plant crimes. It’s not.
Miss Manhattan (Episode 200) by 99% Invisible
My new favorite episode. I have so many feelings about sculptures now.
Unpleasant Design (Episode 219) by 99% Invisible
You know how some benches are so uncomfortable you can’t imagine how someone designed and thought it would make a good seat? It was probably on purpose.
Video
The One Moment – OK Go
I yelled at my computer when I realized how they were going to lip sync this one.
I don’t blame you if you download all of the podcasts and borrow all of these books instead of following election coverage.
You have to leave your cocoon for a few minutes to vote, though.
Books
Some months I read books without pictures. This was not one of those months.
Comics in general tend to have a high barrier to entry for fans, but I got all of these from the library. I had the library buy Pretty Deadly so I could read it. Library cards are magic!
Nod Away by Joshua Cotter
The main character of this graphic novel is a female scientist. It takes place in space. There are other weird and cool things going on, but he had me at lady space scientists.
Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue Deconnick, Emma Rios, and Jordie Bellaire
Volume 2 made me cry. A comic book. I cried over a comic book. Pretty Deadly is the most beautiful comic I’ve ever read. Start with Volume 1 (obviously), and don’t worry if you have to read it twice to understand it. Once you get introduced to everyone it gets easier.
Giant Days by John Allison, Whitney Cogar, and Lissa Treiman
I want to be Esther so badly. I just read Volume 1 and I am so excited for the rest.
Podcasts
There is a lot of 99% Invisible on here. I could pretend it’s because I met Roman Mars this month and was cramming to seem cool, but it’s not. That’s just what I do when I like things. I recommend every single episode. Here’s a few to get you started:
Cow Tunnels (Episode 115) by 99% Invisible
I’ve never been so delighted by an episode of a podcast in my life. Put on your headphones and listen to this before you read the text or look at the pictures.
Good Bread (Episode 137) by 99% Invisible
The history, racism, and religion of bread. Sliced bread was a big deal.
Coin Check (Episode 156) by 99% Invisible
An update to this story is that he now has a presidential challenge coin. I’ve held it.
This is supposed to be the most rare, but I know in my heart that I would burn a pile of them for one NASA coin. (I realize that I can Ebay it. That’s cheating.)
Mystery House (Episode 162) by 99% Invisible
When I have time I’m going on a scavenger hunt for other historically crazy women who maybe just wanted careers. I would have been a witch for sure, because toads.
Wolf 359
I can’t recommend specific episodes because Wolf 359 is a serialized sci-fi podcast. If you think J.A.R.V.I.S. is sassy, you’ll love my girl Hera. I named my ukulele after her.
Melinda and Judy (Episode 53) by Criminal This is the only type of true crime media I can deal with. Criminal isn’t gratuitous, exploitative, or gross. Check with me if you have content you’d like to avoid. This episode isn’t graphic, but it’s effed up.
