“I would like to make a film to tell children ‘it’s good to be alive.’”—Hayao Miyazaki

“Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.”—The Cat Returns

My new Totoro friend in tribute to Miyazaki and his movies, by @millie.ink. 🌸

Staying cozy and watching the magnolia trees!

Bumblebees, according to our standards of aerodynamics, should not be able to fly. Yet they can. These chunky, fuzzy guys who often sleep in flowers are little pieces of proof that no matter how much we figure out of our world, there will always be more magic to discover. Welcome, new tattoo (by @millie.ink).

Happy Earth day, from me and the trees.

Feeling very tortured poets department.

“Sometimes, it returns like rain that you slept through

that washed off the world, the streets looking brand new

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

The feeling came late, I'm still glad I met you”

—Abstract (Psychopomp) by Hozier

No one writes like Hanif Abdurraqib writes. He has 15 different images and themes he's juggling, and you can follow every one as it flows into the next, and then at the end of a 300 page book, it has all come together, and it has moved you (man had me crying over a LeBron James Nike commercial! I don't even watch men's basketball!)

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension is about basketball, about how sports hit us in all the most vital places, in basketball's role in Abdurraqib's childhood growing up in the hood in Columbus, Ohio. It is about LeBron James and his rise (he is about the same age as the author), a rise the author witnessed, and his connection to the city, to the state of Ohio. It is about coming of age Black, in a neighborhood that other people have Opinions about, in a neighborhood policed. It's about growing up, about shame and survival, about longing and loss, and about how it is a privilege simply to age, to see the greys grow. It is about being tethered to a place, part of a place, in love with a city, and it is about leaving, and heartbreak, and returning.

And most of all, it's about all of those things jumbled together into one, poetic flow of a book that will move you (and no, you don't need to know anything about the NBA to appreciate a moment of it, though I'm sure reading a lil Wikipedia about James wouldn't hurt if you're unfamiliar). I wish, often, that I could write like Abdurraqib writes. He has a gift unlike anyone else for putting emotion into words. What it feels like to believe in a sports team. What it means to protest knowing that the end isn't you "winning." The feeling that an infinite looping fadeaway end to a song leaves you with. The multitude of ways that heartbreak and hope can live in a person, so often both at once. This book is evocative, moving, and beautiful—and if you're worried I'm hinting that it's dense, please don't be worried. I don't think you'll be able to put it down.

Content warnings for suicidal ideation, police brutality, violence, death/grief.

The Jinn Daughter by Syrian-American author Rania Hanna is an emotional, lyrical story rooted in Middle Eastern myth. Nadine is a jinn who each day, must gather the pomegranate seeds of those who have died and eat them, telling their stories in the process and letting them proceed into the afterlife. It is a heavy task, and she isn't always honest with her daughter, Layala, about its burdens. But when Kamuna, Death herself, comes to them and tells them that she needs an heir, and that she wants Layala, Nadine will need to draw on all her magic and strength to try and keep her daughter safe.

This book is a rich bold story grounded in the desperation of a mother to keep a young girl sheltered and safe from a world that hates the jinn and all things magic. The plot unspools in a satisfyingly slow weave, betrayals, violence, and disappointments flowing off the page. I enjoyed the micro tales told within the book itself, small folk tales for the characters to share with each other. A sequel is maybe teased, but I wasn't sure—I think the door was left intentionally open without leaving too many loose threads—so it stays a solid standalone. Not perfect, but consistently enjoyable and I highly recommend the read.

Content warnings for death/grief, child death, violence, suicidal ideation/suicide.

Reading and walking in the Daintree rainforest (watch out for spiderwebs!)

Cozy.

wie kannst du so sorglos den blumendüften frönen, während alles beim satan ist- glaubst du nicht, das die masse der armen dir irgendwann den laib zerreist

Google translate says this means "How can you indulge in the scents of flowers so carelessly while everything is with Satan - don't you think that the masses of poor people will tear your loaf at some point"

I have no answer to this except that nothing about appreciating the small beauties of the world is careless, it is a beautiful thing that I do not take lightly.

this is completely out of the blue but your mug in the tale of genji photo. i need it. is it possible to point me towards a store or maker it came from?

Hi! I've gotten this question a couple times - it was made by Callahan Ceramics. They're currently in a much different place than they were, they got caught up and too popular and had to back off to get back to making the true art they loved, but they're still selling many stunning pieces.

Favourite collection of short stories?

Sorry I missed this! I have a couple all-timers:

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez tr. McDowell

Smoke & Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges

The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr

But here are some others that are by slightly lesser known / newer authors to check out! -

Underrated fantasy/magical realism:

The Rock Eaters by Brenda Peynado

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

Jewel Box by E. Lily Yu (recent release)

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

When the Hibiscus Falls by M. Evelina Galang

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

Australia made me fear spiders less. Yes, I saw lots of way-too-big, colorful spiders, but they were all 'over there.' One was in a bathroom corner. But not one came near me, and it was honestly a bit of exposure therapy of sorts. So when I was in Brisbane, I picked up Silk & Venom: The Incredible Lives of Spiders to learn more about how spiders were cool.

This book definitely taught me that spiders are awesome. Diving bell spiders live in underwater nests by using air bubbles. Spiders can use electromagnetic fields to balloon rapidly away from the ground and find new territory. Spiders live at the top of the Himalayas. Spider silk is biocompatible and may be the key to future implants, healing, and even chronic pain treatment. Spiders are a fellow victim of widespread doctor misdiagnosis, because an astounding number of "spider bites" are actually due to something else. Some spiders can change color, others pretend to be ants (very successfully), and spiders make fascinating traps out of their webs. Hanlon's love of spiders comes through wonderfully, and his writing is accessible and fun.

I do think that James O'Hanlon could do some self-examination work on his approach to people's fear of spiders. His dismissive, baffled tone risks alienating the very people that he wants to self-examine. There are a lot of other reasons people might be scared by spiders that he doesn't explore (any Naked & Afraid episode will show you crawly many-legged things are mostly very bad for humans—ants, ticks, cockroaches, millipedes). His mystified lack of empathy will simply turn off many readers. He is 100% right that storytelling is the key to vilifying or saving species (think about how we talk about sharks now vs. after Jaws first came out), and so it's worth pointing out that his storytelling comes off as condescending in many of these passages. Particularly (unfortunately) in two anecdotes that feature women or girls being frightened by spiders, which is a big, big issue (I promise men hate spiders at least as much as girls do).

So ultimately, a good read, but Hanlon could take a lesson from his own book and think about the message sent when stories are told in a certain way.

It’s starting to rain in Chicago and I’m thinking of the sun in Bondi. 😍

I wanted to reread Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy earlier this year, but then I discovered that she was Australian, and so I saved it until my trip, buying a new copy with a gorgeous ocean-rooted paperback cover from Better Read Than Dead, a bookstore in the Sydney suburbs. I didn't get to it while still down under, but I decided to start my reread earlier today, still infected with a drive for conservation that the reefs, rainforest, and zoos instilled in me.

On reread, the book made me cry several times over. When I was first assigned the list "Books that Break Your Heart and Put It Back Together Again" for Book Riot, this novel was the first I thought of. The swings of despair and hope in a world where nearly all animals have gone extinct, in a world where our unreliable anti-heroine is herself swinging between purpose and delusional loss, makes for an unforgettable novel. I am still so, so in love with this book on reread, enough so that I couldn't help but stay up well into the night to finish it, and loving it the 2nd time around means it officially passes into my favorites list.

Content warnings for suicidal ideation/suicide, violence, mental illness, sexual assault attempt, violence.

I loved visiting Avid Reader and its partner shop in Brisbane! Since it was near the end of my trip, I was finally able to commit to the chunker of Carpentaria by Alexis Wright, and l also got a crocodile pin and a book about spiders!