Media, Lately (July Edition)
What I've been reading, watching, and listening to since the top of May
This will not be a complete list, nor will it offer reviews; do with that information what you will before proceeding!
BOOKS
Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams
I already wrote about this one! Check it out here!
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
I love a lush, sprawling epic fantasy. I had been hearing about this series for the longest and I had just not prioritized reading it! Boy, do I regret doing that. It delivers everything you could want in a fantastic world inspired by Indigenous cultures, compelling story and characters you have a lot of big feelings about. I’m so excited to get into the rest of the series!
Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Read only if you’re prepared to feel like you’re having your guts ripped from your body. This memoir made me feel like I was bleeding out over the book and also inspired me to pick up a pen.
Torment: A Novella by H. D. Hunter
My friend makes the list again! Hunter is such a talent in his tender portrayals of people’s inner worlds. Torment is a series of vignettes that take place during the weekend of his brother’s funeral. I had the feeling of wanting to tuck the characters he gives me into a pocket in my heart and take care of them, let nothing hurt them.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
…I read a lot of sad/heavy stuff in the last couple months, I’m realizing…
Anyway!
Crying in H Mart was actually not a great idea to read if only because it’s a little too raw and tender for me as I have a chronically ill and disabled parent. It was just too close to home. Beautifully done, impeccably rendered though. And Zauner’s food writing is incredible. I feel like she is making the literary equivalent of Ghibli Studios food art. I want to eat everything she describes.
Love Craves Cardamom by Aashna Avachat
My book, Love Requires Chocolate, is the first in a series of interconnected standalones! The second, Love Craves Cardamom, by Aashna Avachat came out in May. This one follows Whitney’s friend Archi on a study abroad trip to Jaipur where she’s swept up in an art repatriation project and the affections of a local boy who might have something to hide?
COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS
All of these are really beautiful coming-of-age stories that take on so many facets of identity and belonging. The art in all of them are spectacular.
Juliet Takes a Breath, Gabby Rivera & Celia Moscote
Brownstone, Samuel Teer & Mar Julia
Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe
MUSIC
Brandy, Brandy (1994)
All I know is I would have been insufferable if I had been a teenager when this album came out.
My Face Hurts From Smiling, Lizzo (2025)
It is both off brand and very on brand how much I love carefree, baddest behavior, hot girl hip hop. This mixtape is what the inside of my brain feels like.
I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You, Aretha Franklin (1967)
Sometimes you just gotta go for a long walk and cry while listening to Aretha Franklin, am I right?
FILM
Superman (2025)
I know, I know. You all were waiting for this one. I did see Superman—and I want to write an entire post about it, so I won’t do too much here. But this is my personal favorite Superman film, and I still don’t like it better than any of the live action or animated TV shows, or animated movies. The creative team gets a whole lot right about Superman and his world here and so it’s a deeply enjoyable project, even for folks who don’t consume a lot of superhero media.
TV
Ginny & Georgia
I literally cannot explain this one. I had no major interest in this show, even though people kept pulling out the Gilmore Girls parallels. At some point, I saw so much Raymond Ablack on my timelines when the roll out for season 3 was happening, I just gave in. Now I’m almost done with season 2 and I definitely do not hate this show but I also am having a hard time pinpointing why I am continuing to watch it.
Ironheart
I’ve already written two nice and hefty blog posts about Ironheart. Here’s one; here’s the other. Check it out now!
ESSAYS
“How Toni Morrison Changed Publishing,” Clint Smith in The Atlantic
Smith writes about Toni at Random for The Atlantic. I’ve been sticking essays about her editorship in my back pocket, collecting them for no reason other than I will never totally abandon my academic ways.
“Being Black in KPop,” by Tyiana Combs in midnight & indigo, volume 13
I am both incredibly proud of Tyiana for pulling off this essay and excited for myself because it’s the first essay I edited in print for midnight & indigo. I really love editing pop culture pieces and Tyiana’s reflections on antiblackness in KPop is absolutely the kind of stuff I want to push more into the world. Definitely pick up a copy of this issue and read it for yourself.
“Black Tax: The Back-to-Back-to-Back Breaking of Black Hair, Black Bank Accounts, and Black Beauty Salon Culture,” by Exodus Oktavia Brownlow in CRAFT
I always enjoy Exodus’ writing when I encounter it, but this essay was especially delicious!
PODCAST
Paper Trail
I still love The Paper Trail. I wrote about it in the last edition, check them out!
Pink Riot Comic Show
Co-hosts Keisha and Bri have created such a fun, vibrant space for Black nerdy girls (or anyone! they’re very welcoming!) I was recently on their show with Dr. Christian Hines, yapping about all things Ironheart. You should check them out, give them a like, share, or subscribe. Also consider donating to help them fund their trip to San Diego Comic Con later this month! We need more Black women in fan spaces doing the community building they’re committed to; let’s support them!
In the coming months, I’m looking forward to reading some historical fiction. I have Zeal by Morgan Jerkins and Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine on my list and I’m planning to read them back to back. Lakita Wilson’s Pretty Girl County just dropped and I’m so excited to get into that. After reading Toni at Random, I had this urge to run back some Toni Cade Bambara so I got a new copy of Gorilla, My Love and am going to make that my next read.
I’m about to start teaching with PocketMFA next week, so I’m not sure how much reading and watching I’ll get done over the next twelve-ish weeks, but hopefully I’ll still have lots to share in the September edition of “Media, Lately.” 1
All of this, but especially the moment for Brandy!!
Heavy should be required reading. It’s so good