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Everything that happened on the blog last week with a couple extras.Too much? Not enough? Let me know what you think.

You should pick up Consent, by Jill Ciment. I’ve been thinking about it nonstop after reading it, and then when I picked up another book by her, the whole thing blew my mind.

One of the themes in Consent is that we’re each the unreliable narrator of our own story. The more that idea sits with me, the more it has me looking back at conflicts in my own life and trying to see them from a different perspective

It’s an uncomfortable thing to do. Several times in the last while, mostly in the insomnia hours, I’ve been overcome by feelings of regret or shame for things from years ago. Once I even reached out to the other party involved to gauge the impact of my actions, and of course the other person had no idea what I was talking about.

Years ago someone told me about radical acceptance, and it’s something I’m still working on, I guess.

Thanks for being here.

Here’s what I got up to this week:

Last week I teased that this would be a big week for this little project, so maybe I was being a bit prescient: the band leaked their own record on Bandcamp. Go check it out. When you’re done there, check out my dive into the audio version of Kicking at Tombstones, with Kate Arnold as the tour guide. Also,

Jill Ciment, man. Her book The Body in Question is a great courtroom thriller, but  read Consent first. Her books are now on the instant purchase list when I see them.

Soldiers and Kings: in the runup to the US election, border security talk is everywhere. This book brings a lot of context, nuance and heart to the migrant crisis. Highly recommended.

Boyhood is the Coetzee book I have enjoyed least so far. Read Coetzee, but start with Waiting for the Barbarians or Disgrace.

Some former Pitchfork writers launched a new thing, called Hearing Things. It’s a nice design and a few of the launch pieces are great, including this profile of a Spotify scammer.

I collected six pieces of creative nonfiction that I’ve loved recently. If you only read one, make it Elegy of an Eating Disorder, then decompress with My Enemies, A-Z

I’m always looking for good writing and good music. If you have something to recommend (your own stuff or something you’ve found), lay it on me.

The playlist this week is shorter than usual, because of the short week. This week’s music features:

Also on the playlist:

Singles from previous faves Sunken, Velvetine and Heartworms, and new discoveries from Ruby Waters, Sorry, Tiya X An, SOFY, The War Toys, Skirts, Hardnight, Punk Mafia and Kylie V.

And, of course, Dead Anyway.

16 tracks, 53 mintues. Hear it all on Apple Music or Spotify

Bonus content: the DJ mixes from niina are perfect for work. I’ve been playing them all week. My entry point was this one, but her soundcloud has a bunch too.

Get the playlists

NEXT WEEK: The latest crime fiction from Tana French and Liz Moore, plus that Ta-Nahisi Coates book. Music from Shower Curtain.

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