April
Some months are for thriving, some are for surviving, and some are for getting deeply obsessed with fictional television characters. April managed to be a little bit of all three. The evenings are longer, trees have started to wake up, and the air finally feels a little soft again. A few people have told me that I’ve seemed more “myself” in the past days, and after reflecting on my headspace I think it’s true. There have been a few small but meaningful realizations about how I want to be. Summer’s around the corner, and at the risk of sounding like I’m constantly on the cusp of something, I can really sense a peacefulness ahead.
Book Recommendation: Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Our lives are often shaped by the tension between old expectations and new desires. Evil Eye explores this delicate balance through its main character, Yara, who is torn between the weight of her family’s traditions and the pull of her own ambitions. As her carefully constructed world begins to unravel, Yara is forced to confront an uncomfortable truth that the scars of her childhood run deeper than she realized. Thought-provoking, emotionally rich, and painfully relatable, Evil Eye reminds us that growth is rarely straightforward, and how the journey to understanding ourselves is often messier than we might hope. I read this one for Sahaj Kaur Kohli’s book club, and our discussion was one of my favourite meetings yet.
Perhaps she had never confronted the voice in her head because it had been easier to listen to it. It had been safer to sustain the belief that she was a bad person. At least then she was in control. At least then she could arrange her life so carefully that her badness didn’t spill out and leak everywhere. But she would no longer be able to live her life with this regret, paralyzed by all the words she hadn’t said.
Honourable mentions: no others this month - an admission of my slight reading slump!
Movie Recommendation: Desert Hearts by Donna Deitch
Desert Hearts is a quiet, beautiful love story, and one of my all-time favourite movies. We follow Vivian, a reserved professor who travels to Nevada during her divorce. She meets and quickly falls for a free-spirited artist named Cay. Set against a stunning desert backdrop, the film is a tender exploration of self discovery. The romance is pure, vulnerable, and so deeply human. As IndieWire put it, Desert Hearts was “the first lesbian film to defy the typical love triangle with a man or tragic ending, offering instead complex female characters and sweeping desert visuals that have made it a timeless classic”. Now part of the Criterion Collection, the film is rightfully preserved as a landmark in queer cinema.
Honourable mentions: Watermelon Woman by Cheryl Dunye, Chungking Express by Wong Kar-wai, Taking of Pelham One Two Three by Joseph Sargent
Music Recommendation: At the Beach, in Every Life by Gigi Perez
Gigi Perez’s rise to indie stardom is the kind of story that dreams are made of. She caught my attention with a gritty cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”, and I became absolutely hooked. I started counting down the days between each new teaser of her original music.
With the release of her debut At the Beach, In Every Life, Gigi’s sound has become something beautifully expansive. Variety noted that “intentionally or no, the album often recalls Bon Iver’s galvanizing 2007 debut, ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, which has similar themes of loss, loneliness and isolation." As a long time Bon Iver fan (who also had a great album release this month!), that comparison captures exactly why her music hits so hard for me — it’s the kind of record that invites introspection. Popular single “Sailor Song” still packs an emotional punch, and tracks like “Normalcy” reveal the same vulnerability that made her so magnetic in the first place. Soon she’ll be joining Hozier on tour, and it’s clear Gigi Perez isn’t just a viral sensation but a full-fledged artist with staying power.
Honourable mentions: SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver, how i’m feeling now by Charli XCX, The Sun’s Tirade by Isaiah Rashad
Other Favourites:
The Sienna Simple Tote from Street Level, my latest obsession — the perfect slouchy bag of my dreams, found at one of my favourite local boutiques
Nathan Fielder’s return with The Rehearsal has me once again marvelling at his very specific brand of brilliance, and how he takes something absurd and shapes it into something strangely profound
The above then sent me into a rewatch of How To with John Wilson, which Fielder produced; it shares that same magic in documenting the weird little corners of life and turning them into stories that feel deeply human
Coachella’s YouTube live-streaming weekends reminding me that, as always, I am so grateful for the option of watching huge performances from the comfort of my couch (like Missy Elliot’s set — absolutely legendary)
A few pals and I got together to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, and I finally picked up Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!; I am also always excited to shout out my favourite haunt, Shelf Life Books, who put on a wonderful event with a boat load of free stuff
The Pitt!!! Just as good if not better than everyone promised, and now I have a very unexpected crush on Noah Wyle — is it time to finally watch ER?
See you later,
Sab