Story Tags

Spike Mike Slackers and Dykes book cover image

Dancing About Architecture

The famous, but unattributable maxim, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” is something I’ve heard for years and have considering lately. Because… why wouldn’t someone dance about architecture? Taking someone’s craft and engaging with it through another creative practice that fits better with an individual’s skillset seems like it could only add the self-expression that lives in the world and can then go on to be inspiration for someone else.    

The Dispossessed book cover image

Political Science Fiction

It’s overwhelming sometimes to be in Washington, DC; everyone’s political voices can start to ring in the ears like a cacophony. But, even with the inundation, it's often still rewarding to seek out books that portray political ideals and ideas in a subtler, even obfuscated way. If you're interested in engaging with political thought, but not necessarily the feedback loops that come with it, the below titles are well considered and may be enjoyable!

Both Flesh and Not book cover image

The New Sincerity & David Foster Wallace

The idea of “New Sincerity,” which was especially noted in popular culture of the 1990s, drew a large amount of its nominal popularity from the essay work of David Foster Wallace.

My Year of Meats book cover

Books to Measure Time By

With the imminent arrival of spring, it feels like maybe a bit of lightness has been entering folks’ collective consciousness.

Cult Artists Book Cover Image

Finding a Flow State

Books to Absorb You

We've likely all looked for it: a way to simultaneously escape ourselves while being as close to our bones as we can be. The whole idea of a "flow state" is predicated on this idea - losing ourselves in a purposeful way. Thoughtful or creative work is the cleanest path to this state, but exposing ourselves to someone else's art also prompts the reader's imagination and cues readers to find what it says about who they are. 

bird box book cover image

What Happens After the End of the World?

With everything going on lately, I’ve been swallowed by a thousand emotions and thoughts per hour and my mind’s been haphazardly ping-ponging between the doors holding each one in place. To be fair, in order to comply with D.C.’s Stay At Home Orders, my body only ping-pongs around my apartment so at least one part of me stays steady.

Black History of the White House Book Cover

DC Emancipation Day, Census 2020, and Voting

Read and participate

With DC Emancipation Day on April 16, it seems prudent to be thinking about D.C.’s place in this country and the history it has seen, as well as all the people who have shaped it into the city it is today -- and what steps can be taken even now from home to contribute to its future.

One day book cover

Second Chance Romances

Another chance to consider love comes at almost the beginning of every year, after New Year's resolutions are set and as the days are stretching into something brighter as they pass. Valentine's Day is as good a reason as any to watch something romantic and full of possibility and questions. Some romances feel like an answer but some embrace uncertainty and give us the secondhand experience of happenstance and second chances.

Gingerbread Cover Art

Fairy Tale Winter

Each season of the year has its own unique qualities. But, it's winter, more than any other season, that feels filled with magic. Maybe it's the quietude, the way an uncommon hush from a snowfall can feel like awe; or maybe just the way we still when  spending more time indoors, more time at home. Magic creeps into my reading taste this time of year, but I like to read things that feel fresh, too, in a way. Below are some books that aren't fully fantasy, but that have it creeping at the edges, like ivy on a wintry house.

bluets book

Autumn Books and Songs

While summer is a time that feels actionable and light, winter feels like a time for hunkering down. The opposite sensibilities of summer and winter leave autumn, which officially started Sept. 23 this year, to be the in-between time.  As summer's curtain lifts for fall, it sets the scene for settling. And, in correlation, the romanticism of summer tapering to a slower pulse feels like longing.

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