On The Shelf
#1. Recommendations for Palestinian authors, eerie short story, and kitchen aesthetics.
Welcome to On The Shelf my weekly recommendation list of things I am reading, watching, listening to, and saving for later.
I’m writing this on Black Friday, a day that feeds unconscious and unintentional consumption. I often feel the pull to buy on days like this, but I practise restraint and take a walk to check myself and ask, ‘Do I really need this?’. Instead, I have been consuming literature online in order to satisfy this niggling feeling.
In the future, I will be posting On The Shelf every Friday, however, the contents of this recommendations list felt necessary and urgent to share in light of the genocide happening in Palestine.
READ
I deeply appreciated Anne Boyer's resignation letter as poetry editor of The New York Times, which she posted on her Substack. In times like this, it is required of the artist that we refuse rather than be complicit, and Boyer is doing just that.
“The world, the future, our hearts—everything grows smaller and harder from this war. It is not only a war of missiles and land invasions. It is an ongoing war against the people of Palestine, people who have resisted through decades of occupation, forced dislocation, deprivation, surveillance, siege, imprisonment, and torture.”
The Place by the Sea by Masatsugu Ono, translated by Sam Malissa
This short story, featured in Emergence Magazine, is by far the best short fiction I’ve read this year. Following a mother and her son moving to a deserted seaside village in Japan, we are pulled into a winding tale featuring the sea, memory, and illusion. With the impending rise of a typhoon, we are pulled into this uneasy narrative, the only comfort being a smart and well-meaning dog to soften this story’s twists and turns. A MUST READ.
40 Books To Understand Palestine
LitHub has put together a fantastic list of books written by either Palestinian authors or books reflecting on the history of Palestine and its occupation.
“We wanted to create a list of books that would serve as a reminder of the precious individual stories and humanities of the Palestinian people, as well as an evergreen resource for all readers interested in engaging with the rich, vibrant tradition of Palestinian literature—both in this horrific moment and, hopefully, long after the current assault on Gaza has ended.
To do so, we reached out to several dozen Palestinian and Palestinian-American authors, as well as a number of other writers whose work and advocacy has focused on Palestine, to ask them to recommend their favorite works of Palestinian literature. We hope that the below list of titles serves as an illuminating introduction to that canon.”
WATCH
Ms America on BBC Iplayer - I’ve recently finished Gloria Steinem’s biography, A Life on the Road, which recounts her life on the road as an activist, organiser and writer. Well wort the read. After reading her book I was craving more, so I found this TV show, which I also really enjoyed which follows the ratification of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment).
I love Lauren Louise’s weekly vlog - this one especially
MAKE
I will be making lots of onion marmalade for presents this year. Here is a good recipe I found.
SAVING
‘Watching Women and Girls’ by Danielle Pender is on my list of must-reads. It explores the complexities of the female experience, as told through 12 short stories.
This outfit, and Damson Madder gilet
These kitchens…
That’s all for this week! The next On the Shelf will be out on Friday 8th.