Reading List #31 (Patreon)

Ive got a few things for you to read, and the general mood of all of these (except for one) is positive, as I needed to read some things that weren't emotionally heavy. My favorites were #5 and #6. 

1. How Hot Chicken Really Happened (Rachel L. Martin)

Nashville hot chicken has a fascinating history that highlights race and class in the Tennessee city. 

Read Length: Long 

2. How “Young Adult” Fiction Blossomed With Teenage Culture in America (Michael Cart) 

As I work on fiction concepts, I've been trying to determine if my first book will be for young adults or actual adults, and this article was just a quick breakdown of the existence of YA fiction.

Read Length: Short

3.  When The World Came to My South L.A. Door (Manuel H. Rodriguez) 

Though ethically compromised, Amazon is pretty damned convenient. It's hard for me to imagine my own life without quick online deliveries, let alone the lives of people before there were even an abundance of brick and mortar stores. This essay gives a snapshot of delivery services in Los Angeles in the 30s and 40s.

Read Length: Short

4. A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy  (Matt Richtel and Andrew Jacobs)

Drug. Resistant. Germs. If you want a terrifying read about real life,this is the article for you. 

Read Length: Long

5. The Artificial Intelligence of the Public Intellectual (Soraya Roberts)

Wow. A Read. More than anything, this essay was a reminder that nobody knows everything, and that nobody should pretend to, because having a reputation as a public intellectual comes with the privilege and responsibility of influence.

Media output hasn’t contracted along with the industry, so it’s easier to follow an individual than a sprawling media site, just like it’s easier to consult a YouTube beauty influencer than it is to browse an entire Sephora. With public intellectuals concealing the amount of work required of them, the pressure to live up to the myth we are all helping to maintain only increases, since the rest of us have given up on trying to keep pace with these superstars. They think better than we ever could, so why should we bother? Except that, like the human beings they are, they’re cutting corners and making errors and no longer have room to think the way they did when they first got noticed.

Read Length: Medium

6. And What of My Wrath? (Sara Fredman)

Ok, this is for my Game of Thrones lovers. In this compelling essay, the author makes a convincing argument that Cersei Lannister is an anti-hero. This article came at a perfect time because I recently was arguing with my lover about why people actually *liked* Cersei, despite her being an evil cunt. 

In most of the ways that matter, Cersei’s relationship with Sansa Stark, betrothed to marry Cersei’s abusive son Joffrey, is evidence of her villainy but it is also a frank education in what becoming a wife and mother means under patriarchy. Looking back on some of their scenes together, one gets the sense that Cersei feels compelled to explain to Sansa what she’s in for, to disabuse her of any notions of happily ever after and replace them with the reality of life as a political pawn, a prisoner in expensive dresses. We see this as coldhearted and evil because we hold out hope that Sansa will be able to remain an innocent princess looking for true love, but that’s not an option for girls like her, and Cersei knows it.

Read Length: Medium

7. The Messy Politics of Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It  (Hannah Giorgis)

I suffered through the first season of She's Gotta Have It specifically so I could admire the cinematography and the lovely DeWanda Wise. It really seemed like it was written by a group of old men and a few white people. I hoped after the criticism they would go away and regroup, but I don't think I'll be watching the second season especially after reading this. 

Read Length: Short

8. How Many Bones Would You Break to Get Laid?: “Incels” are going under the knife to reshape their faces, and their dating prospects (Alice Hines)

While it's lowkey funny that there are men who hate women so much that they claim to be 'involuntarily celibate' I like to keep in mind that incels have a propensity towards violence and upholding rape culture. This article delves into their delusions, along with a privileged class of incels who are getting plastic surgery. 

“How is it living as a hot/normal woman knowing you can order a hot fuckboi from Tinder whenever you want? Do you see it like that?” Mike asked me. His obsession over sleeping with ever-hotter women reminded me of pickup artistry: This was sex as a game to win, in which the other person was the chump. Incels weren’t always seeking love or acceptance as much as conquest.

Read Length: Medium