For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to write. I spent much of my childhood reading and escaping to faraway worlds in books and I know how much a book can mean. And seeing yourself as your experiences in the stories you read is vitally important! Every young person should have the opportunity to see themselves in a story.
I was elated when I saw ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse included on ALA’s 2022 Rainbow Booklist. For those of you who haven’t read it yet, I don’t want to give anything away but telling stories where LGBQT2A+ are allowed to exist and just be, is something very important to me. There are wonderful stories revolving around a character’s sexuality too but we need more normalization within stories where they just exist…because that’s a reflection of our world.
My heart is filled with pride at this honour and I’d like to thank the American Library Association. You can see the full list of books by visiting here.
Dave Grohl has been in my feed a lot lately. He has a new movie called Studio 666 which looks like a lot of fun. And the Foo Fighters released a new album last year, Medicine at Midnight. Dave Grohl has understandably doing some publicity to get the word out, especially about the film which was released on Feb. 25.
So I thought I’d take a moment to share a personal story of mine from many moons ago. The world is a little bit of a doom fest right now so hopefully this can make your day a little bright. It’s one of my favourite stories and definitely my most special celeb interaction.
Years ago, I won tickets to see Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins do an interview at a radio station (shout out to 102.1 The Edge). I was SO excited. It was small but I was in the front for this event. We were told that they wouldn’t have time for photos or autographs and not to ask since again…there would be no time for it. At one of the commercial breaks, Dave gets up and heads over to us and begins signing autographs (!!) but I didn’t bring anything to sign (I found out pretty last minute about the interview).
What I did have was my camera so as he approached, I said “I know we aren’t supposed to ask for photos but if there’s time, can I get a pic?” and he politely said, “Let me sign more autographs and if there’s time, for sure!” I thought he was politely blowing me off since they’d wrap up the interview soon and have to leave. I wasn’t mad at all, I took my shot, I talked to Dave Grohl (!!), it was perfectly fine. I was kicking myself for not bringing something for him to sign, but it was still very cool to just speak to him.
I enjoyed the rest of the interview and then it was over (you can watch a short bit of the interview that I filmed here). Dave and Taylor said their goodbyes and headed out of the studio to set up for their concert later that evening. A couple of minutes went by, people were starting to leave when all of a sudden…
Dave Grohl bursts back into the studio and shouts “I FORGOT TO TAKE THE PHOTO!” and he runs over to me and apologizes profusely. He says that I must’ve thought he was a jerk and that it’s been a busy day, etc. (none of which I thought). He sweetly tells me my dress is really nice and he asks me to get on the stage with him, so I do. We get ready to take the photo when he tells me, “I’m tired of taking boring pictures, so let’s dance! EMBRACE ME LIKE IT’S PROM NIGHT!”
And Dave starts dancing with me. I am basically DEAD from excitement and happiness at this point and we do a few little back and forths before he smiles and says “Okay now I REALLY have to get out of here!” and heads out to his show. I was stunned and I couldn’t stop smiling!
Anyways, I look like a maniac in the picture…and let’s not even talk about what I’m wearing (it was 2008, leave me alone) but this is the end result and one of my fave celeb memories ever:
This story was originally posted over on my Twitter account here.
Another month, another batch of books read. I read a lot of graphic novels, using my hoopla account to the max (if you don’t have hoopla, I highly recommend it—it’s connected to the library so everything is free and legal!) But also one of my most anticipated books came out and I fully hyperfocused on that for a good chunk of the month. Plus it was massive so it took some time to get through (yes, I am a Sarah J. Maas stan).
So let’s take a look at the list. Click on any of the titles to be taken to Bookshop where you can find a copy of your own.
- The Avant-Guards Vol. 3: Down to the Wire by Carly Usdin and Noah Hayes – For the same reasons that I love the comic Fence, I love The Avant-Guards. I absolutely adore this genre of beautifully gay sports comics that are out in the world! Fence, this, Cheer Up, and Check Please have all become insta-classics for a reason…and that reason is that they’re all a delight. They combine heart and humour with relatability and the queerness that has long been missing from more mainstream comics. While I didn’t love this volume as much as I loved the first, this series as a whole is outstanding and fun. Totally worth a read.
- Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas – What a beautiful book! Everything from the story, characters, culture, and more just captivated me from the start. It’s such a heartfelt story and you can’t help but be right there with Yadriel as he experiences all of his ups and downs on his journey. Sure, this book is a beautiful urban fantasy but it’s so much more as it explores themes of family, acceptance, and growth, all through the lens of a protagonist that you’re rooting for from start to finish.
- Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin by Emilie Plateau – An insightful and educational graphic novel shedding light on a figure from history that has mostly been brushed aside. Claudette Colvin had an almost identical experience to the one Rosa Parks had…and before Rosa too. But due to finding herself pregnant as a young teen, the desegregation movement chose Rosa to be the face of what they were doing. Rosa Parks remains brave and iconic and helped to change the world for the better. But this sheds the light on the other women who stood alongside her and whose part was deeply understated, including Claudette. Absolutely worth reading and learning more about.
- The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs by Celine Loup – I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one! I was thinking it would be like one of Emily Carroll’s Through the Woods short horror stories and while it definitely evokes some of those vibes, this is a lot darker in a lot of ways as it dabbles in fiction, horror, and mental illness. I LOVED the art and the concept was really interesting but I don’t know if it came together for me. Still ultimately really amazing for the art, at the very least!
- Daredevil Vol. 1: Know Fear by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto – I haven’t read Daredevil in a while and wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy it but this really surprised me! A layered and interesting look at the character with excellent writing and incredible art.
- Hex Vet: Witches in Training by Sam Davies – A quick and cute day in the life of the employees of a magical animal hospital! Fun and fantastical!
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – Absolutely adored this book. As I read, I found myself groaning as we approached tropes of enemies to lovers, one person being angry and punishing the other in some childish way, and not embracing shared feelings, etc. But this story surprised me as it told a beautiful love story (still enemies to lovers) while subverting all of those character decisions that sometimes have you screaming at the book. The characters were rich and wonderful and I flew through this.
- Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo – Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo have done such a great job of establishing these characters in their individual books and bringing them together here. It’s a sweet, fun story that you don’t need any knowledge of the Teen Titans for. But for fans of TT, there are lots of Easter eggs sprinkled throughout as well as the groundwork to continue on the series, eventually culminating in the Teen Titans. Thoroughly enjoyable and delightful!
- El Deafo by Cece Bell and David Lasky – El Deafo is a really special story that does such a fantastic job tackling big topics and themes and weaving them into a narrative that’s captivating to all audiences, especially kids. While not all young people can understand what having a hearing impairment is like, there are so many other relatable moments surrounding friendship, school, and the general kid experience that shine through. It brought me back to trying to make friends and how daunting that can be! As we get older, we sometimes forget how hard it can be to be a young person. We get caught up in seeing their lives as easy and carefree and stories like this capture not only happy times, but some of the struggles that young people go through and the anxiety that it can cause them. Cece Bell perfectly taps into her youth to deliver a deeply personal story but one that many people can still see themselves in in many ways. It’s absolutely wonderful.
- March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell – What can it say about this graphic novel that hasn’t already been said? It’s vital and important and should be mandatory reading for everyone.
- House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas – All I have to say about this one (since it’s so new) is this: AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhHhhhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! That ENDING…how am I supposed to wait for the next book?! I am of the SJM cult and I can’t wait for more.
And I read three additional things that I was waiting to form thoughts on and just didn’t manage to think up anything to say. They’re all very good but I didn’t know how to really summarize. They’re all very different though, so feel free to check these out too:
What did you read in February? Are there any books from my list that you’ve been meaning to check out?
It’s time for another edition of Oh God, Do I Really Watch This Much TV? February Edition! As usual, here’s a roundup of TV I checked out, along with a few thoughts and comments. If you’re curious about the films I watched (sans comments/reviews), visit my Letterboxd page here. Let’s dive right in!
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Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness S1 – This was okay. I don’t think that I loved it but it was a nice little escape where I got to learn some fun new things. My fave episode was definitely all about the figure skating and I enjoyed learning more about the scoring system, the politics, and the nitty-gritty not-so-nice side of the sport.
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Schitts Creek S2 – I’ve been rewatching this show because it’s comforting and funny. It brings me a lot of joy to sit through again and seeing where the Rose family starts off in the series vs. the end? LOVE.
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Pose S1 – This is a show I’d been meaning to check out for a long time. I’m not a big fan of Ryan Murphy’s shows since they seem to go absolutely bananas early on and it’s not really my idea of a good time? However, Pose was fantastic and should be essential viewing for anyone obsessed with RuPaul’s Drag Race as obviously the ball culture is where the runway concepts for the series came from.
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Book of Boba Fett S1 – This show was…boring for most of the season. I found myself feeling pretty meh episode-to-episode until they decided to make it The Mandalorian S2.5. As much as I enjoyed those final episodes, I almost skipped the rest of this series and the fact that it’s integral to what comes next for Mando kind of drives me nuts.
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Murderville S1 – I don’t know what to say about this show. It’s such a fun concept! Some of the bits really landed…while others didn’t. It’s sort of the downfall of improv-style comedy. But that being said, I think it was a solid, silly concept that is much needed during when everything in the world is a lot.
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Peacemaker S1 – Like many people, I was not expecting to enjoy this show. I thought it was really odd to focus on Peacemaker of all characters from Suicide Squad as someone to get a spinoff series. But I guess we just have to trust in James Gunn because it was a blast! For a show that’s scored by one of the best (Clint Mansell), it’s a damn shame that what you remember is all the hair metal music. Not a complaint, but poor Clint.
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Inventing Anna – This one got recommended to me a few times. I know it just recently came out and I wound up bingeing the entire thing in a few days. It’s a pretty fascinating story, even if the focal character of Anna is largely unlikeable (which is how she’s meant to be written since she’s based on a real person). Anyways, I enjoyed it and wound up looking up the real story a bit to see how the show compares.
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Euphoria S2 – We all know this but Skins walked so that Euphoria could run. I adore this show so much. As depressing as it can be, it’s so incredibly well done and I am obsessed. And you can’t convince me otherwise that Kylie Minogue playing in the season finale wasn’t a subtle nod to Skins.
I actually didn’t watch that much TV this month. Was it because it was a shorter month? Or because I started obsessing over video games again? Or maybe because I watched a bunch of movies? WHO KNOWS! What have you been watching and enjoying?
