summer of consumption in seven recs.
While I'm ducking the heat, I will be reading and listening to these things and you should too.
I cannot believe we are just days away from summer, and truthfully, I can wait.
I am not a hot-weather gal at all, so while everyone is making plans to be outside roaming around, my plans consist of early morning farmers market runs, long days reading on my couch under the air conditioner, and dancing around my living room, again in an air-conditioned space.
A few weeks ago, during one of my recurring organizational spirals, I went through my bookshelves and discovered I own 114 books that I either purchased or were gifted and have yet to read. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m still a little flabbergasted by the number.
The discovery reminded me of how I used to convince my mom to take me to Sam Goody or Target every week so I could buy a new CD. It’s probably the same reason I still make playlists today: part of it is supporting artists I love, and part of it is leaving breadcrumbs for a future version of myself. And technically, poetically, the version of me who bought all those books isn’t exactly the version of me who will read them.
As I started putting together a list of the books and albums I’m most excited to spend time with this summer, I noticed a pattern. Nearly everything that I’m truly excited about right now is centered around people taking inventory of their lives in some capacity. Some are trying to find their way back to themselves. Others are trying to figure out what comes after the thing they thought they wanted. Most are looking at the complexities of relationships with others, and a few are standing in the middle of their lives, looking around, and asking a question I’ve been thinking about myself lately: Where do I go from here?
Summer has never felt like a season of reinvention to me (as mentioned your girl is toooooo hot in the summer). It feels more like a season of reflection. The days are longer, the pace slows down just enough, and there is more room to notice what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what still needs attention.
With that in mind, here are the books and albums I’m most excited to spend time with this summer.
Four books I can’t wait to read
Queenie Is Working on It by Candice Carty-Williams (Out September 8)
I’ll admit it: Queenie worked my nerves the first time around.
It took watching the Hulu adaptation and talking with Alexis Reliford about the character for me to approach her with a little more empathy. Now Queenie is back, ten years older and theoretically wiser. The fact that she’s still figuring things out is exactly what interests me. So much of adulthood is realizing growth isn’t linear. We don’t become finished versions of ourselves at thirty. We just get different questions to answer.
The Revelation of Dionne Daphne by Mara Brock Akil (Out June 30)
Mara Brock Akil is responsible for some of my favorite television shows. Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane alone are enough reason for me to show up for anything she creates.
What interests me most about this novel, aside from it being her debut, is the premise. It’s described as a deeply moving story that shows when you dig deep enough into the shadows of your life, light can be revealed. It’s a novel of broken lovers, a fractured family, and distant friendships all finding their way back to one another. And one thing about Mara: she knows how to write relationships. Romantic, platonic, familial. I expect this one to be very good.
Skin Contact by Elisa Faison (Out June 23)
After reading They All Fall in Love in the End by Haili Blassingame, I’ve found myself wanting stories that are a little messier and a little more willing to sit in uncertainty.
Skin Contact follows a married couple navigating an open relationship over several years. What draws me to it isn’t necessarily the relationship structure itself, but the larger question underneath it: What happens when the life you’ve built no longer fits the version of yourself you’ve become? That’s a question far bigger than romance.
Take What You Can by Naima Coster (Out July 7)
Friendship. Motherhood. Class. Independence. Family.
Every description I’ve read suggests this novel is interested in the complicated relationships that shape a life. Lately, I’ve found myself gravitating toward stories that ask what happens after the milestones. After adulthood arrives. After you’ve built a life. After you’ve become the person you thought you were supposed to be.
I’m currently reading this book, and I can say so far that it feels like a book that will leave readers with many thoughts about their lives and relationships with others. It’s described as a novel exploring what it means to be a mother when you have none, a sister without blood ties, and a woman in pursuit of the life she wants.
Three Albums I’m excited to work through
Therapy at the Club by FLO (July 24)
As a gal raised with Destiny’s Child (not literally), I love a girl group, and FLO just does it for me. With their debut album, Access All Areas, they showed that they could harmonize while balancing love songs with songs that have a little attitude, which is the exact combination I tend to love.
Even the title, Therapy at the Club, feels like a perfect encapsulation of where many of us are these days: processing, healing, reflecting, but still wanting to enjoy ourselves in the process. That’s a balance I’m always trying to strike, which probably explains why I’m looking forward to this album so much.
I will admit that I’m a little indifferent to the lead single, but my hopes for the album itself remain very high.
God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops by Rapsody (August 21)
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, seeing this on my list should not be a surprise. Rapsody is my girl and one of my favorite artists. I’ve already played “God Gotta Afro” more times than I’d like to admit. And as a longtime fan, even from her Kooley High days, what I appreciate most about her work is that she never sounds interested in chasing trends. Every project feels like a continuation of a conversation she’s been having with herself for years.
There’s something reassuring about artists who trust their own voice enough to keep evolving it.
Sunshine by Jungle (August 14)
I have been so excited for Jungle’s new album.
Jungle makes the kind of music that makes me want to clean my apartment, open every window in the house, and pretend I’m in a much cooler city than the one I’m currently in. I’ve loved both singles they’ve released so far, “Carry On” and “The Wave,” and if the rest of the album sounds anything like those songs, it’s going to dominate my August. Also, I always LOVE the dancing in the Jungle videos.
Also consuming these things:
I’m also hoping to spend time with Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead, Soft Spots by Leila Renee, and Desperate Bodies by Lydia Mathis. On the music side, I’m looking forward to Oh Yeah? by Steve Lacy, Beard by Syd, and Yearnalism by Baby Rose, and seeing what surprises me between now and September.
One thing I’ve noticed about the books and albums I’m choosing these days is that I’m less interested in stories about becoming and more interested in stories about what happens after. After the dream job. After the relationship. After the move. After the version of yourself you spent years trying to become.
Maybe that’s what this summer is about for me: not reinvention, but reflection.
I’d love to know what’s on your reading and listening list this summer. Hit reply or leave a comment and tell me what you’re most excited to spend time reading/listening to over the next few months.
A little bit more for this week:
🎧 The New York Times Book Review podcast released its annual summer reading episode, and there were so many recommendations.
🎧 I loved last week’s episode of Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast with Coleman Domingo. Truthfully, I would love to be Coleman’s niece or something.
🎧 Blxst’s new album Labor of Love came out on Friday, and I love it. As a California woman, whenever I listen to Blxst’s music, I immediately picture people dancing outside at a barbecue somewhere.
📺 Eve’s Tiny Desk came out this morning for Black Music Month and she was jamming + looked SOOO good.
📸 I was happy for the Knicks and their fans after they won their first NBA championship in 53 years. I’m especially excited to see the parade because I know New York is going to show out. ESPN’s social team also did a great job covering the win, so that’s what I’m ending with today.
That’s it for this week. I’ll catch you next week!