Hey friends!
It’s the bookmark you thought you lost until you reread the book you left it in, Sam Cote, here with Weekly Favorites for the 14th week in a row!
What I’m Reading: I’m continuing The Two Towers by Tolkien– something about the edition of the book I was reading was inhibiting me from picking it up, so I switched to an edition I’m not as worried about damaging. That has helped! Continuing the tandem method for it as well. Also working on A Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin, which is a collection of some of her short stories (a few of which are canon in The Hainish Cycle). I’m enjoying the rapidity with which I can read the short stories in comparison with the much slower Lord of the Rings books.
What I’m Listening To: I’ve had Songs from the Sunroom by Field Medic on repeat all week. When I’m in the mood for it, there are no skips on the whole album– Field Medic manages to make each song unique while maintaining a consistently folky, nostalgic, melancholic vibe throughout all of them. It’s been getting me much more in the fall mood, as the air is getting colder. I particularly enjoy “uuu” and “like a feather or pawprint,” but the tracks all quite exceptional in their lyrics, arrangements and production.
What I’m Watching: District 9. As is becoming a consistent feature of the “What I’m Watching” section, I watched this for my Sci-Fi Anthropology class. Since this is my first time watching it, I found the messaging/thematics to be a bit on-the-nose, but I’ve heard that the complexity is more apparent on the second watch (something I’m definitely willing to do). It explores themes of otherness, the naturalization/essentialization of race, and processes of enculturation (among other things), and is generally very entertaining. It certainly has its problems, notably its representations of Nigerians within South African society. If you check out the film, keep that in mind.
What I’m Making: I was interviewed for a podcast! Kyle Johnson (@panic_kyle on TikTok) invited me onto his podcast, What’re You Reading, to talk about Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World Is Forest. Our conversation will likely release net week– I’ll post about it on Instagram when it does, so stay tuned!
How I Slow Down & Unplug: I’ve been getting my sleep schedule reined in and have started waking up early to go on runs. The morning is my favorite time of day by far, and I’ve missed it a lot. I’m already feeling happier and more fulfilled after a few days of this routine.
samdcote.com 