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Or, In The Trenches
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Reader,
Last week was a tough one for me for a host of reasons (one of them? Kenya Power decided we didn’t need electricity for over 24 hours. It got so bad that, on my nth call to 97771, I was assigned the person who’d given me my reference number haha) and one of the ways I dealt with things was by reading. I finished 10 books (full list below) and if I never finish that many in a week it will be a blessing. Anyway, end monopolies, please and thank you.
Part of the reason things felt so tough is that I was having some Big Feelings about job-hunting (as always, please send me links to jobs in communications, research, or the arts) and I had to face myself. I got hilarious company from this new Substack written by another job-seeker. It’s always a joy to see oneself in writing (#RepresentationMatters), even if what one sees is the possibility of another month without a full-time job. Anyway, we move (toward job boards).
One of the (few) good things to come out of being unemployed is how good one has become at low-cost fun. That, coupled with this being a no-buy or low-buy year, means there are a lot of things one is doing more of to stay - for instance - entertained. The library is top, as always — see: the way I now listen to music on Hoopla because I don’t have Spotify, my excitement when I found out Soundtrack to a Coup d'État (2024, directed by Johan Grimonprez) is available on Kanopy — as well as the free experiences the city offers up for those willing to look (art exhibitions, green spaces that don’t charge entry fees, film screenings at cultural centres).
My hope, when I secure a job, is to continue to go to those spaces, and to contribute in whichever way possible (memberships in organisations that maintain those spaces, donations etc) because these are the things keeping my head above water.
Today’s entry is brief (there’s a bit of discourse about Alt Lit I want to get into; hopefully before next week) and I’m holding off on talking about last week’s books because I’m planning a return to my channel (remember that?!) where I’ll discuss texts. Before then, please send me any and all book recommendations, writing about books and the literary world, gossip, and Severance theories (the person I’m watching Season 2 with and I agree we’re Severance-pilled lol); these will all spark joy 🙂
Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
Subscribe to my WhatsApp channel for texts I find while I spend time online
Add me to your New York Times Crossword leaderboard!
If you’re in the Global North and would be open to engaging in the North-South solidarity that is sharing a library card, please email or message me so we can figure things out. Thank you!
A few free tickets are left for this month’s Silent Book Club Nairobi meeting. Get yours here
The Queer Liberation Library 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️, which is free to join here
Digital Library of Korean Literature, which is free to join here
How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the visually impaired
My French Film Festival, online till 17/2, for the lovers of moving pictures among us
Links to Reading Lists, Free Books, Book Recs, Book-related Items in this document (most recent links at the top)
Since Elon seems to want (some of) us gone, I’m trying to post more often on Bluesky. Follow me there if you’re on it!
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya
I have finished ten books since I last wrote to you (reviews up on Fable, still on Goodreads and Storygraph): a hybrid read of The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim Wu (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Marc Cashman), a hybrid read of Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Stephen R. Thorne), a hybrid read of There Is No Blue by Martha Baillie (e-book & audiobook; narrated by the author), a hybrid read of Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Grover Gardner), the e-book edition of Paying for It: a comic-strip memoir about being a john by Chester Brown, the e-book edition of Mothballs by Sole Otero (translated by Andrea Rosenberg), a hybrid read of Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Nadia Albina), a hybrid read of Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time by Sheila Liming (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Moniqua Plante), the e-book edition of An Unusual Grief by Yewande Omotoso and a hybrid read of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday (e-book & paperback).
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Thank you for reading 🙂
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Enjoy the week ahead and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!