121: syllabus

A report from friends of the letter on what they'll be consuming this season

COMMUNITY BOARD

Goodreads / Letterboxd / Instagram / Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG)

This Eric Rohmer inspired playlist that Emily Sundberg recently shared in

Feed Me

is basically the only thing I’ve been listening to.

Shoutout to the people who answered my poll about the Substack app in the last letter—it seems like when it comes to the app, most readers probably aren’t using it except for active chat threads. (The actual poll results were 50-50 so this is just my conclusion based on activity on the poll and my own experiences using the app.)

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This is a special edition of Consumption Report featuring several of my dear friends. It’s a long one and will probably cut off in your inboxes (no better time to get the Substack app lol), and should be savored and saved so you can reference throughout the fall and winter!

La collectionneuse (1967)

Happy September! I’ve always been a back-to-school enthusiast so September has always felt like the moment to reset. I feel more hopeful and ambitious in September than I do in January (even though it’s my birthday month) and eager to dive into whatever is on the docket. This September I’m coming off completing my qualifying exams for my doctorate degree and I’m excited to dive into my woefully neglected to-be-read list (my room is starting to feel unhealthily crowded by books I haven’t read). As I began to plan out what I would read and watch once my exams were over, I thought that it would be fun to find out what my friends were excited about consuming in the upcoming season. I was less interested in upcoming releases—you can read New York mag’s Fall Preview for that—and instead was curious about things that people often returned to this time of year or things that they’ve been wanting to visit for a while. It all came together in this gorgeous syllabus, a collection of everyone’s intentioned consumption for the fall/winter season. If you feel like sharing, *Youtuber voice* comment below or reply to this email! Without further ado:

Akosua T. Adasi (ME!)

After three years of it hanging out on the periphery of my TBR list, I’m finally diving into Mark Harris’ Mike Nichols: A Life, a biography that by all accounts is phenomenal. I originally planned to watch Nichols’ entire filmography after completing the book, but after reading about the impact A Place in the Sun (1951) had on Nichols—he claims to have seen it 150 times and encouraged aspiring filmmakers to watch it at least 25 times—I decided that I want to try and watch all the films mentioned in the book. (I’m keeping track of all them with this list on Letterboxd.) I’m also planning on reading Young Kim’s A Year On Earth With Mr Hell with RAFTM Terry Nguyen¹, listening to Short n’ Sweet on repeat, and catching up to all the TV I ignored this summer (Interview with the Vampire; Presumed Innocent, AppleTV’s version of The Undoing; and Queenie—I loved the novel a lot so I have high expectations).

Ruth Minah Buchwald, writer & host of lactose intolerant (Instagram, Twitter)

I'm looking forward to finishing the films Nine and 9, both of which came out in the year 2009. I'm obsessed with the fact that these are two completely different movies that were released within months of each other in the US. Nine is a live action musical starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, AND FERGIE(?!?!!). 9 is an animated film about rag dolls (that look like off putting adult minions) fighting AI.²

Rachel Davies, writer and crossword maker extraordinaire (

i think you would like it

)

For me, this summer was all about freeing myself from consumption commitments. I’m typically tied down to a 100+ episode series, but without one, I managed to watch a lot more movies these past few months. As much as I’d like to say TV time doesn’t steal my appetite for reading, I managed to work through my TBR pile that would have still been mostly collecting dust otherwise, too. That being said, this fall, I’m looking forward to digging into LOST for the first time in adulthood, with the new critical companion by Emily St. James and Noel Murray at my side.

Kyle Curry, musician & one half of Pansy Boys

Unreleased Lady Gaga Ballads

Before you call me an f slur, give me a moment to speak. There is no artist in 2024 who makes you want to smash a bottle of Jameson on the side of a piano while you call your father wasted and tell him all the ways he fell short. Gaga isn’t even that artist anymore. But if you dig deep with that monster paw, you will find a vault of unreleased gaga tracks from 2008-2013 that can cut like a razor. I want Stefani with a dream and a bump or nothing at all. Press play on “Brooklyn Nights,” “Fooled Me Again Honest Eyes,” or “Let Love Down” and you will slip into a couture coma you will pray you never wake from.

“Its not that I don't want to love you
Cause I really tried, and I
Just wanna hang with the old you
For just one Brooklyn Night adieu.”

Chimp Crazy

For some reason I am proud that I never watched the infamous “Tiger King” during Covid. It never called to me and I felt so above the noise but suddenly a chimp comes crashing in off the vine and I’m hooked. “Chimp Crazy” is the latest HBO animal docuseries that puts an unnerving spotlight on Americans who…had a troubled upbringing and now want to become “exotic animal breeders”. What’s compelling about this story for me is not the chimps (I see monkey videos 1000 times a day on my explore page), but Miss Tonia Haddix. Not only does she have a porn star name and face, but her heart and soul are full of monkey business! She says she loves her chimps more than her kids on live television! I neeeeed to have a bottle of wine with a morally bankrupt Floridian who thinks she is making a difference for the culture!

Tiana Reid, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at York University, writer (Twitter)

Everything about August returns me to my adolescent self. I slept in till 11 for the first time in years (decades???). I took the bus past my old high school (OAKWOOOOOOD). That’s a roundabout way of saying I'm listening to Vybz Kartel's oeuvre. And plus, he’s free. (I should probably unfollow him on TikTok because his swirl mania is obnoxious and nostalgia is too sweet.) People laugh when I tell them the Gaza-Gully wars introduced me to the Palestinian liberation movement but it’s lowkey true. Annie Paul has written about the connection. Kartel himself has said, of Palestinians struggling against Israel’s occupation, that “dem people deh serious and dem nah back down.”

So this is actually not a weird segue to my second syllabus item. (Everything is connected.) I am looking forward to reading more of Fayez A. Sayegh’s work. Prompted by some comrades, I started with excerpts published in settler colonial studies and will move on, soon, to the monograph, Zionist Colonialism in Palestine (1965).

Jessica Kasiama, writer and DJ

Migrating Heritage by Sofie Verclyte (Art Paper Editions, 2023) and Writer Conversations (1000 Words, 2023)

Looking forward to reading the books I bought on a recent trip to London: Migrating Heritage explores the narrative potential of embroidery through the stories of Syrian women living in Shatila, a refugee camp in the South of Beirut. The other highlight from my haul—both titles [are] from Artwords Bookshop–is a slim, royal blue collection called Writer Conversations. It features a wide range of interviews about photography and writing but I am especially excited about the contributions from Zoé Samudzi and Tina Campt. I am curious about what practices like embroidery or image-making can offer us as modes of expression.

Casey MQ, musician, lover of Spikeball (Instagram)

I've owned my copy of Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Samuel R. Delany for a few months but after visiting my friends in NYC, I am inspired to read it next! I also want to see The Shining in October at a movie theatre. I have never seen the movie before.

Tony Zelenka, academic press editor, writer (sort of), dropout

You ever take a class with one of those profs that assign a reading so obscure, the only copies you can find are either marked “LOST” at the library, only available as a 3-page preview on the Internet Archive, or $200 used with a 2-month shipping window? [Sex as a Sublimation for Tennis: From the Secret Writings of Sigmund Freud] is that. To cap off a summer whose proverbial opening ceremony was marked by the release of Challengers—and to celebrate the ~0.33 point growth of my NTRP rating—I am requesting both your shared insights on AND help locating a digital copy of this remarkably titled tome. You can send the PDF to antonyzelenka@gmail.com.

Hannah Ziegler, writer and fact-checker

The Witch (dir. Robert Eggers)

I have a vivid memory of sauntering into a crowded cinema in 2015 to see folk horror sensation, The Witch. I sat in the front row (not by choice), and spent the entirety of the film in a state of tension, waiting for a jumpscare. Spoiler alert, reader: it never happened. I would love to revisit this atmospheric and chilling film this season from the comfort of my own home, knowing exactly where the haunts are planted — deep in the grounds of a Puritan family farm.

Michelle Santiago Cortés, writer (Instagram, Twitter)

Bollywood movies

I'm ashamed to say it took me this long to dive into Bollywood cinema. I have no excuse, I make a habit of watching 2-3 movies in one sitting so I can't even say I didn't have four hours to spare. I started getting into it this summer with whatever I could find on Netflix and Amazon Prime—which is plenty. But I was saving the Dhoom series for hurricane season (which lasts through September here in PR). I'm waiting for the perfect balmy night to watch Dil Se and Devdas, after which I'm abandoning the Shah Rukh Khan cinematic universe in search of the Bollywood films whose soundtracks inspired everything from Britney Spears' "Toxic" to Grimes' "4AEM."

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I think I'm finally getting over my allergy to novels and traditional fiction. Or at least I'm willing to make an exception if it means I can cuddle up with a sexy edition of the canonical Dracula story. I'm still in the market for that lucky edition. I'll re-read Frankenstein and dig through shops for sexy editions of Gothic novels and go from there. Only reading novels if they're hot and scary.

Victoria (Tia) Glista, PhD Student & Writer (No Outlet / Instagram)

I have two orange books that I am eager to read this fall: Joshua Rivkin’s Chalk: The Art and Erasure of Cy Twombly, and a volume of Sontag’s diaries, As Consciousness is Tied to Flesh. Rivkin’s biography is supposed to be unconventional, scenic, obsessive, and poetic; I like biographies that are not rote but do something exciting with form or self-reflexivity, sort of like Janet Malcolm’s Sylvia Plath book. I am always game to read Sontag, whose incandescent mind and career I envy. I look forward to the intimate, observational mode of the diary, which covers 1964-1980, and to reading more writers’ diaries in the future. I’ll also be anticipating the new Outer Banks, lol.³

Allison Picurro, writer and CEO of the Boy Movies newsletter

Green Day’s discography

I saw Green Day in concert this summer, where they celebrated the anniversaries of their albums Dookie and American Idiot by performing them in full, and the euphoric experience of watching those three middle aged dudes go crazy for two and a half hours fully reignited my latent fandom like some sort of pop punk sleeper agent. I’ll be spending the fall deep diving into their discography, revisiting the records I know but didn’t love at the time of release (21st Century Breakdown) and exploring the ones I missed (their ill-fated Uno, Dos, Tré project). Green Day gets a lot of backlash for being “sellouts,” but they’re still making the kind of music that feels true to what they’ve always made music about: loneliness, nihilism, political apathy in an increasingly infuriating world. To me, the band that begged someone to wake them up when September ends will always be staples of the autumn season.

Lost

As a generally sci-fi averse person (I do not like stories about extraterrestrials or technology or tomfoolery across time and space — please get real) I avoided Lost for most of my life, until a friend pitched it to me the correct way: by informing me that it’s filled to the brim with pathetic men. And it is! I’m in season 3 right now and am excited to get cozy as the weather changes and see what this Smoke Monster thing is all about. Lost is the ultimate fall show because it harkens back to an era when television was gutsy and strange, when creators trusted audiences to be patient as they unfolded a narrative across 20+ episodes, when the words “fall TV season” meant something.

Joel Curry, musician and one half of Pansy Boys (Instagram)

Gilmore Girls

On September 1st, I am roasting a chicken, pouring a glass of mid-tier sauvignon blanc, and commencing my Gilmore Girls journey. This is not entirely my own decision—Kyle (my twin) and Blake (my pal) have been begging me to watch for what feels like a lifetime. Legend has it that autumn is the perfect time to experience the coziness that is Gilmore Girls. So, I’ve purchased a one way ticket to Stars Hollow and intend on enjoying my stay.

Embracing the Women of Orange County

Watching the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County whilst taking a walk down memory lane with clips from older seasons has been such a gorgeous experience. The main thing is that this time I am not taking sides. I am embracing the dynamic realities of all of these women. I am rooting for the bruised yet beautiful Shannon Storms Beador, while affirming Tamra Judge’s I’ve-had-enoughs. I am holding the hands of bad-decision-maker Jen Pedrantri, while applauding Gina Kirschenheiter for chasing that bag. Above all, I am leading with grace, just like Vicki Gunvalson—and if you’re a Christian, you would do the same!

Adwoa Adasi, Manager @ the Government of Canada, Gemini babe (and my older sister)

As we transition to autumn, I look forward to drinking Côtes du Rhône wine (Cháteauneuf du Pape 2020 is a favorite) and re-watching Eric Rohmer's Conte d'automne. The fits and vibes are simply divine! Although I am no longer in school, the advent of fall always makes me want to listen to Vampire Weekend (2008), Contra (2010) and Modern Vampires of the City (2013): “A-Punk” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” “I Think UR a Contra” and “Finger Back” are favorites that will be on repeat.

Eric Rohmer, Conte d’automne

Akosua Dufié, PhD student and joyless scribbler at

BLK LOOKS

(my other older sister)

For the past few months, I’ve been pondering the treacherous reality of illness, namely its steely maelstrom of helplessness that accompanies the possibility of death by disease. “On Being Ill” (1926) by OG sad gal Virginia Woolf has proven to be a powerful ointment, though stinging, that provides a soothing respite from worry. It’ll be a text that I revisit this fall/winter along with Gloria Anzaldúa’s “Speaking in Tongues” (1981) as I plan to return to my Substack. Anzaldúas clarion call for BIPOC women to write passionately even when faced with a scarcity of courage or technicality is a source of eternal fuel for me.

Nick Armstrong, Writer/Enemy/Filmmaker (

Writing with the Enemy

, Letterboxd)

Robert Zemeckis’ Here (2024) & LVL UP’s Hoodwink’d (2014)

Late-period Robert Zemeckis, for me, scratches that particular itch of unabashedly garish and brazenly earnest. When I heard the concept of his upcoming film, Here, I was thrilled: a film that spans centuries, told through a single location, a static frame, and a dream! I recently read the source material and was quickly moved to tears by the depth of its formal contrivance. When the trailer dropped, the film was promptly deemed “Zemeckis’ Wavelength” by a few, and judged as hokey Oscar bait by the rest, but my intuition tells me that this will be right up my alley.

It’s never the fall until I’ve broken out LVL Up’s endlessly quotable, now 10 years old, Hoodwink’d, and I’d be remiss to exclude that. This year, I’ll be mourning the opportunity to have caught their anniversary shows in NYC, but nothing embodies crisp weather and cozy crewnecks to me more than this album! And, 10 years out, nothing resonates more than the line: “Third eye opens wide and now it’s crying”.

1. RAFTM = Reader and Friend to Me; respectfully stolen from RAFTM Rachel Seville Tashjian Wise

2. Note from Ruth: I have started and not yet finished these movies because they're both as insane as they sound.

3. At this newsletter, we’re an Outer Banks family