I am in a season of newness.
I was going to attempt to connect this thought somehow to one of my favorite Musiq Soulchild songs, “Newness,” which doesn’t quite fit, but I just wanted you to know.
Anyway, back to this season. In the past month, I turned a new age, I started a new job, and moved to a new space. I am also writing this newsletter on a new commute; I am back riding the Metro after about six years of being either remote or hybrid, and it’s been a nice change of pace. While my reading before work habit has shifted to reading on the train instead of the couch, I am glad that I have been consistent. With that, I wanted to share a few of the things I have reached for and loved in the past few weeks.
I have not been able to stop playing Nao’s new album, Autumn. This album is cozy, soulful, and perfect. I think it definitely speaks to the season, and I can’t stop raving about how much I love it. It’s an album you can let play all the way through and even loop it a few times. My favorite song on the album is “Living Room.” My friend said it sounds like me as a song, which I took as a high compliment. I really loved the way the song was described in the album review on Shatter the Sounds:
In a song about having a party and napping at the same time, it’s appropriate that the song eventually eschews words for a “Da, da” chant, which seems like the musical equivalent of napping with someone.
I also have not stopped talking about the One Song podcast episode on Sade’s “Smooth Operator,” because it was so good and I learned so much. I also never knew that the group Sweetback was made up of Sade’s band. I first discovered them and their self-titled debut because they collaborated with Amel Larrieux on “You Will Rise,” which I love.
Now, to reading, I’m not sure what it is, but the older I get, the more I cry while reading. I’m sure it has something to do with having more life experiences, having a lot of empathy for characters while I read, or being able to connect books back to people in my life, but I’ve been going through it. And just to confirm, when I say crying while reading, I don’t mean a few tears. I mean waterworks. Those cries that you have where you have to catch your breath.
It happened first in Heart the Lover by Lily King, where I cried and got a headache.
It happened again with Kin by Tayari Jones because I could see so much of my family in the book.
It happened in The Revelations of Dionne Daphne by Mara Brock Akil because the protagonist finally had clarity and was able to release some heavy things she carried with her for years.
It also happened while I was reading Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour. The book is set in New Orleans in 1944, where we meet two cousins, Odette and Delphine, and a hidden garden that becomes their meeting place and sanctuary. The pair have to overcome grief, loss, and secrets, and we see some of these things separate them.
Eventually, they both move to Los Angeles, and we see how some of their decisions separate them and bring them back. Without giving too much away, the book tackles different things like what it was like being queer during this time, the loneliness of having to pass, and even mental health. It was such a beautiful book that I believe was also inspired somewhat by LaCour’s family — a beautiful and loving tribute.
I also read Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone by Dana Renee Green, which comes out on November 17th. What initially made me want to read this book were two things: the cover and the comparisons the book has received. The book is said to be The Bucket List meets How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and I could see both things. The book follows Renie, a 39-year-old mother of eight who is given three months to live. She starts a journal for her children, and while doing this, she decides to spend that time living on her own terms. Reading this book, I laughed so hard at parts and wanted to cry at other times; I really enjoyed it. Here’s part of the description of the book, and I couldn’t agree more.
Warm, wise, and full of heart, Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone is a moving celebration of life at its most fragile and most fierce; a reminder that it’s never too late to choose yourself.
Well, friends, that’s it for this week. Just a heads up, I’ll be making some baby changes around here over the next few weeks, which I’m excited about, but in the meantime, if you haven’t watched Jungle’s Tiny Desk, please do.
Exciting times for you!! Yes, crying novels are my absolute favourite! The last one I cried to was The Correspondent.