January

The beginning of the year never seems to fulfill the lofty expectations that accompany it. The days blend together too easily and I get this sense of dread in the winter that’s hard to shake off. This particular January, like many, I struggled with how much to stay informed and how much to focus on my own corner of life. Also like many, I find solace in looking to art. In my daily life I find it in observing acts of kindness, however modest, that remind me of the goodness still within reach.

I recently had the privilege of joining Culturally Enough’s biweekly conversation club, which brought a sense of purpose that I didn’t anticipate. In these meetings I’ve witnessed the power of collective wisdom, and how women from different backgrounds will effortlessly find common ground in shared experiences. Our meet ups have been a reminder of how important these networks are, and how community at its core can provide a sense of belonging that transcends local boundaries.

I’ve started a bit of school, and that keeps my mind busy. There are some long distance reunions planned through the year that I’m so looking forward to. And it’s been decided that the theme of my 2025 will be discomfort, specifically the act of pushing through it, which has proven to be annoyingly effective in every practice run thus far.

Book Recommendation: The Lonely City by Olivia Laing

I first picked this up a little while after reading 2020’s Funny Weather, and became enamoured with Olivia Laing’s ability to write about art while sharing profound observations on our modern culture. The Lonely City had me hooked immediately, as the book opens with her own anecdote of living in NYC after a sudden break up. Laing begins her search for camaraderie with the creatives who she knew made art from their loneliness in the same city. She shares stories of Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, Henry Darger, and David Wojnarowicz, and how feelings of isolation impacted their most iconic works. I bought my copy when I was at a McNally Jackson bookstore, because it felt like I needed to follow the cliché I was walking into until its dying breath. Part memoir and part culture study, The Lonely City is a must-read for anyone interested in a very human experience.

Loneliness is difficult to confess; difficult too to categorise. Like depression, a state with which it often intersects, it can run deep in the fabric of a person, as much a part of one's being as laughing easily or having red hair. Then again, it can be transient, lapping in and out in reaction to external circumstance, like the loneliness that follows on the heels of a bereavement, break-up or change in social circles.

Like depression, like melancholy or restlessness, it is subject too to pathologisation, to being considered a disease. It has been said emphatically that loneliness serves no purpose, that it is, as Robert Weiss puts it in his seminal work on the subject, 'a chronic disease without redeeming features'. Statements like this have a more than casual link with the belief that our whole purpose is as coupled creatures, or that happiness can or should be a permanent possession. But not everyone shares that fate. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think any experience so much a part of our common shared lives can be entirely devoid of meaning, without a richness and a value of some kind.

Honourable mentions: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert, Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman

Movie Recommendation: Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund

At its simplest, Triangle of Sadness is the story of an influencer and her boyfriend who get an invitation to embark on a luxury cruise, joining a group of wealthy strangers. What starts as a relaxing holiday quickly falls apart after a violent storm forces the passengers to confront the dynamics between them. While its social commentary is not entirely revolutionary, it’s a sharp reflection on the fragility of identities built on money. Ruben Östlund’s work tends to be funny, thought provoking, and a little absurd; I’m also a big fan of his 2014 movie Force Majeure, where a similar dissection of human behaviour unfolds unexpectedly.

Honourable mentions: The Lunchbox by Ritesh Batra, Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa, Sing Sing by Greg Kwedar, The Holiday Club by Alexandra Swarens

Music Recommendation: Silent Alarm by Bloc Party

The 2000s were a golden era for indie rock: The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and TV on the Radio were only a few of the bands that were shaping my growing identity. I now consider myself lucky for the insufferable teenage angst, because as a 30-something I’ve been able to look back and appreciate that the music I loved really stood the test of time. Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm was one of these albums — with its gritty guitar riffs, infectious rhythm, and charged lyrics, the record captured what felt like an intensity of that era. It still hangs onto its spot as a cornerstone of the decade’s sound, as Bloc Party sets out for Silent Alarm’s 20th anniversary tour this year. My go-to tracks are “This Modern Love” and “Plans”.

Honourable mentions: Bunny by Beach Fossils, CINEMA by The Marías, InnerSpeaker by Tame Impala

Other Favourites:

• Letterboxd Wrapped, which I had been looking forward to since I first pretentiously logged Apocalypse Now on January 1, 2024

  • My most watched actor was Hugh Grant (which feels right because I definitely had a late ‘90s / early ‘00s British romance phase)

  • My most watched director was Quentin Tarantino (which sort of makes me cringe, but I did love the Kill Bills)

  • And my most watched theme was “moving relationship stories”

• Gabby Whiten on YouTube and Substack, a PhD student / fashion blogger, and the coolest girl ever — I’m obsessed with her newsletter on here, which she self-described as “an homage to print media of the late aughts and inspired by the nostalgic aesthetic of the glossies”

• A Cineclub membership, which was my holiday gift to self with one movie ticket a month included — I used my first on Nosferatu, and have been mapping out my next picks ever since!

• The Ordinary’s glycolic acid, a game changer for exfoliation — I use it on my scalp before a wash

• Kanopy, a free streaming subscription through your library card that houses tons of movies, including so many from The Criterion Collection

• The Gurdeep Magazine, a newsletter from Gurdeep Pandher who is a Bhangra dancer and educator living in the Yukon — it is impossible to read one of his posts without leaving a little lighter

• Severance, obviously!!! It’s been a LONG three years, and the first few episodes are already setting a new bar for cinematography, story writing, and acting

Have a great month,

Sab