March '26 Entertainment
oh woww
BOOKS
THE AUTOBiOGRAPHY OF ALiCE B. TOLKAS
by Gertrude Stein
SYNPOSiS
Paris in the early 20th century was the center of the art world. Gertrude and Alice recounts their time as the eminent salon of the moment—where Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway and many others came to reinvent and gossip. It is vivid portraiture of the fathers and mothers of modernism.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
Someone recommended this to me as they knew I have my own aspirations to build and nurture artistic movements. It is awe inspiring to see the genesis of so many greats and how much their temperament decides their craft and their fate. It made me long for a salon of my own.
FOR FANS OF
A Moveable Feast, Just Kids, Picasso
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHiNG
by William Shakespeare
SYNPOSiS
A group of soldiers spends the month in Messina, as guests of the governor Leonato. Claudio falls for his innocent daughter Hero, and their naive romance has a devastating reversal. Meanwhile the cynical Benedick meets his match with the sharp tongued niece Beatrice and the two do all they can to hide their emotions. It takes some scheming from their friends to give them their happy endings.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I’ve been toying with my novel in the dramatic form. So of course, I had to study the GOAT. This play is the genesis of the modern romantic comedy. It is the most accessible Shakespeare since most of it is in prose. It’s simple, it’s fun…it’s deceptively well executed.
FOR FANS OF
Anyone But You, Clueless, Pride & Prejudice
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
THE GREAT GATSBY
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
SYNPOSiS
In glittering 1920s Long Island, enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby throws lavish parties in the hopes of rekindling a romance with Daisy Buchanan (now married). Daisy’s cousin Nick moves next door to Gatsby for the summer, and through the course of their friendship—sees Gatsby’s life unravel in the pursuit of this fantasy.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I actually “read” this in senior year of high school, as in I skimmed through and made use of Sparknotes to do the homework (sorry for the finesse Mrs. Pierce). My recent obsession with Fitzgerald meant I had to circle back around to this masterpiece. Funny how Fitzgerald just tells the same story over and over and over again huh? I suppose that’s what all the masters do—spend their entire lives creating art to answer a singular haunting question.
FOR FANS OF
The House of Mirth, Garden of the Sea, Babylon
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
HOMELAND
by R.A. Salvatore
SYNPOSiS
The brutal dark elf society of Menzoberranzan is a matriarchal one—where the high priestesses worship a spider queen that only values carnage and cunning. Drizzt is born a noble and expected to be one of the fiercest warriors for his family. In his training, he begins to doubt the violent principles of his world—and must decide whether to risk it all to break free.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I am not a fan of fantasy—but this is my older brother’s favorite trilogy of all time. After a decade of trying to persuade me, I decided to give it a go. I am glad I did. Once I immersed myself into the world, I connected so deeply with Drizzt’s alienation—feeling a sense of integrity that contrasts sharply with those around him.
FOR FANS OF
Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
AS YOU LiKE iT
by William Shakespeare
SYNPOSiS
Rosalind and her cousin Celia are banished to the Forest of Arden. While in the forest they disguise themselves—and while Rosalind is posing as a man named Ganymede, she runs into her crush, Orlando. She playfully teases and coaches him on how to love her. Around them, exiled nobles, fools, lovers and melancholy thinkers shed their old identities and experiment with who they may become and who they may love.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I decided to make March a Shakespeare month, reading the three plays I have in my library. It is centered around a core idea from my novel: that identity is fluid— it depends on where you are, who you are allowed to be, and most importantly…who you will yourself to be. Above all, I love Shakespeare’s commitment to maximalism. We know he is capable of expressing in the simplest, straightest line, but he chooses to capture human consciousness in all its grandeur and contradiction.
FOR FANS OF
The Arcadia, Don Quixote, Orlando
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
ROMEO AND JULiET
by William Shakespeare
SYNPOSiS
Two young lovers from rival families in Verona fall into an intense love. The secretly get married and this sparks a series of impulsive decisions—duels, murders, exile, and suicide. Their pure, idealistic union collapses into an irreversible loss that devastates both their families.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I mean…it’s Romeo and Juliet. This is another one that I “read” in high school. We actually had to perform a scene—I played Mercutio when he is killed by Tybalt. Coming back around to it almost 15 years later, I can see why the names of these two lovers is shorthand for naive love. It’s a reminder that all you need to experience the transcendence of love is one other person who believes in it as much as you do. I’m also surprised at how I forgot that Romeo actually begins the play infatuated with another woman.
FOR FANS OF
West Side Story, La Duchesse de Langeais, Camille
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
MOViES
WUTHERiNG HEiGHTS
I finished the book the day before watching the film. I was the only man in a movie theater of 20+, and I could feel the collective longing every second Jacob was on screen. It was enjoyable—but Elordi is a victim of his good looks and presence, and Heathcliff is rewritten to be likable. This goes against the whole premise of the book, in that we find ourselves sometimes attracted to that which is dark and irredeemable. As soon as I understood that the director was trying to capture the feeling she had when she read this as a teenage girl—it all clicked.
PiLLiON
My cousin came to visit me and started talking about Pillion as soon he got in the car. We watched it that very night and it left me speechless. At no point did I know where it was going. The ending was especially tragic. It really hits a nerve for anyone who’s been in a relationship they know isn’t good for them—but stays anyway because it feels like what they deserve.
ANORA
My cousin then found out I had never seen Anora, and the marathon continued. It was undoubtedly my favorite of everything I watched this month. The best movies feel like documentaries—everything aligns, and a superstar actor inhabits the character so completely you feel as if you’re witnessing a real life unfold…not a performance. About midway through, you know exactly where this movie is headed and you can’t tear yourself away. I can see why this killed it at the Oscars.
CRUEL iNTENTiONS
While explaining the premise of my novel to someone, they told me it reminded them of Cruel Intentions. So I corralled a big group of people to watch it with me…and ironically, they all loved it more than I did. I did enjoy it, but the campiness wore on me at times. Ryan Phillippe in particular was just not locked in. He came across a little too self aware, and contrasted with Reese Witherspoon’s earnestness and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s unapolagetic cruelty…his irony dulled his performance. The stakes of the movie make it work though.
THE BAD GUARDiAN
Lmao.
ALBUMS
CA$iNO
by Baby Keem
Mannnn. I loved The Melodic Blue. I associate that album with such a vivid, triumphant point of my life. This album wasn’t bad, but for a five year wait…I expected Baby Keem to reach higher heights.
JEREMiAS
by Jere Klein
Oh oh oh okay. Fuck I’m addicted to this album. My library of vocal stims is entirely based on his adlibs. Jere Klein is such a shallow demonic jester, I can’t get enough.
MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS
I was asking people around me what sort of music they listen to when they’re doing creative work. The unlikeliest of sources gave me this recommendation. It blew my mind. You just have to listen to it. I first heard it late at night, candles on, at my typewriter and the flow state it helped me enter was a drug in and of itself.
