lists (#1)
january–march, 2022
Hello!
Welcome to the first issue of the Jo Quarterly, that is to say a kind of 2022 Q1 wrap-up. This is very exciting to me as I love lists and ordering things and having thoughts and opinions. I have made this a separate type of newsletter thing(?) in case you’re like pleasee stop talking. Let’s go.
music <3
Statistics from last.fm for the past ninety days!
Top played artists, mostly artists that put out new releases I have been listening to:
Wolf Alice
Charli XCX
Mitski
Big Thief
Linying
Stayc
FKA twigs
Gang of Youths
Red Velvet
Carly Rae Jepsen
Top played songs, mostly songs that have been mainstays on my listening playlist and/or songs I became momentarily obsessed with.
Young Luv, Stayc
Blush, Wolf Alice
Good Behaviour, Linying
Boyfriend, Cignature
Boys (triple j Like A Version), Wolf Alice
Self Control, Linying
DM, fromis_9
February 2017, Charli XCX ft. Clairo and Yaeji
Darjeeling, FKA twigs ft. Jorja Smith & Unknown T
No Reason, Big Thief
currently listening to: Wolf Alice and Charli XCX mostly, and ‘Feel My Rhythm’ by Red Velvet and the rest of that album, and the new Florence singles
books <3
Please note that I do not know how to read! I have read a handful of books that were quite good, and She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, which has catapulted up the list of books I have read to become The Best Book I Have Ever Read.
Books read, in order, favourites bolded:
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Otessa Moshfegh. #girl #nonbinary #fyp #whenthepawn #ibropufen #newmillennium #latestagecapitalism
Bluets, Maggie Nelson. Loved.
Plain Bad Heroines, emily m. danforth. It was nice! I like gay people. They did all kinda annoyed me and there was some suspension of disbelief required and the narration also annoyed me. “books should be shorter” - me on this book. However! I enjoyed myself and I do respect the vibes.
The Women of Troy, Pat Barker. I am a noted woman supporter.
The Trojan Women and Other Plays, Euripides trans. James Morwood. Ibid.
Jade War, Fonda Lee. Anden Emery makes me want to bite someone. Absolutely top tier fantasy though.
Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas. Probably my least favourite of her books so far but still a fun time, I do like a coming-of-age narrative.
She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan. Books of All Time (real).
A Room Called Earth, Madeleine Ryan. Nice enough, had moments where I was like ‘oh that’s lovely’.
Vintage Sadness, Hanif Abdurraqib. <3
Protector of the Small quartet, Tamora Pierce (reread). I meant to skim and ended up reading about 80% of the series so I will add it. Place in my heart 4eva.
C+nto and Othered Poems, Joelle Taylor. This was fun! Very spoken-word-poetry-core but I like butches so.
Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. Sophie and Howl and Michael and Calcifer are my friends <3
In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Macahado. Stunning!!!!!! Could also have been shorter but there is so much to love here though.
Plains of Promise, Alexis Wright. Assigned reading at the end of 2020 which did take me a while to actually get to, and when I did I found it was a genuinely captivating novel redefining ‘Australian’ literature and particularly depictions of the landscape and outback.
currently reading: The Winter Book, Tove Jansson / Cemetary Boys, Aiden Thomas
audiovisual <3
I’m a known not-watcher of things, as in, I do not tend to watch things, and I watched most of these with my bestie Jordan. Here is the entire list:
West Side Story (2021). Okay I completely forgot that I watched this but it was fun at the time, I don’t think I like the ending which is a thing that happens. Enjoyed the Glee references (especially when they did ‘I Feel Pretty’) (this is a joke.)
Pride (2014), rewatch. I support the Welsh! I feel less enthusiastic about English people and I think London has horrible energies but this is truly one of the movies of all time and has honestly informed a lot of my thinking. It’s about hope and solidarity!!! I love gay people.
Derry Girls (2018-2022), rewatch. I support the Irish. Another piece of media about humanity and friendship in times of crisis… I adore this show with all my heart and Season 3 will be my Avengers: Endgame.
Succession (2018-?), now at the end of Season 2. Every time I watch this show it’s like I hate it here and I want to go home. I would like Logan Roy to drop dead. I appreciate that the show is unafraid to let utterly horrific things unfold, most recently the cruises scandal and fallout. It truly is trainwreck media, especially as you watch the Roy children continually manipulated by Logan and then inflicting their own maladjusted behaviours on people around them. Evil is a relay sport! Kind of obsessed with Kendall being in his hashtag You Used To Know Me Now You Don’t era. He should have taken the money and gotten out!!! I am done.
Please Like Me (2013-16), rewatch. All the best things about media, again. Friendship and gay people and in this case a very wry sense of humour which is somehow exactly how I think and talk. Truly recommend this show I think that it is fantastic it’s all so very real. And Hannah Gadsby is there <3 (Warnings for suicide and a fairly unrealistic depiction of psychiatric hospitals)
The Crossing (2018). Okay please watch this movie. It’s a coming-of-age movie directed by Bai Xue set in Hong Kong and Shenzhen and it has so many layers. LIKE THE LAYERS ARE REAL it’s about class and being sixteen and I think it is also about lesbianism (I am right). One of the movies ever. I watched on the plane after Jordan mentioned it to me and we have since rewatched multiple times. It is very good. <3
The problem here is that a list in three months time is likely to contain all of the exact same media. We will cross that hypothetical bridge when we come to it, etc.
currently watching: well. Succession.
This newsletter could have been a tweet. I don’t really care though. See you soon. xoxo
— Joanne
