Further procurements / when Carol recommends, you listen

Having finished my month with Victor Hugo's LES MISERABLES (after it being in my to-read stack for 25 years) – so very worth the month – and sung the praises of isolarii yesterday, thought I'd log a few more of my recent procurements in this space:

  • Godard, BREATHLESS, on Blu: more of an addition to the library than a first-view as I hated it when I watched it 20 years ago and loved it when I watched it 20 days ago which meant I needed to own it. Random (when pigs fly / hell freezes) aside: Criterion should offer discounts on the the Criterion Channel based on how many of their films you purchase on disc after watching them on the Channel. In a perfect world...

  • Fernando Pessoa, THE BOOK OF DISQUIET: read about Pessoa and his stories written as alternate selves in a recent NYRB article on Richard Zenith's (the translator of THE BOOK OF DISQUIET) biography of Pessoa and couldn't resist experiencing Pessoa for myself. Near the top of the to-read stack.

  • N.K. Jemisin & Jamal Campbell, FAR SECTOR; Joe Ollmann, FICTIONAL FATHER: two recs from Carol Tilley when I posted to Twitter about wanting to expand my comics horizons; when Carol recommends, you listen. (I've got Carol's other rec, Ram V and Filipe Andrade's THE MANY DEATHS OF LAILA STARR, on preorder). Started FAR SECTOR last night – best Green Lantern in ages? I think so. Also, picking up some serious Michael Burnham vibes from Sojourner Mullein; in the event that this ever becomes a series / film, DISCOVERY’s Sonequa Martin-Green would be the perfect Jo.

  • Roz Chast, CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT?: been a fan of Chast's NEW YORKER cartoon work for years and, embarassingly, only learned about her book-length comics memoirs via her recent PARIS REVIEW interview. Given the current (and seemingly interminable) familial situation, felt like the right time to read it.

  • Lynda Barry, SYLLABUS: to pair with her MAKING COMICS as I start adding (horrifically drawn) comics – the rechristened/rebooted INFORMALITIES – to the newsletter, a series of comics created primarily to work my way through Barry's books and satisfy a lifelong creative dream, no matter how horrid the outcome.

Speaking of NL: move to a paid, $4.99/yr subscription is complete; paywalled story/essay access now a “pay-what-you-want” tip-model on Ko-Fi. Still working out details and finding a more effortless method but, for now, this will do.

More recommendations always welcome; the day awaits.