Jamie & Sparrow

Apologies for being so late! We had company over this week, so I could barely find time to type this up. And then I had it typed up in my drafts, but apparently never posted it. Anyway. Here goes!

Book - The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

This book is a fascinating read. I mentioned by love of witty occult thrillers last week, and this checks the boxes perfectly. Intriguing characters, a plot that skitters the line between the waking world and the subconscious, all that fun stuff that makes one think “what the fuck did I just read”? But in the best way. I live this book. This whole series, really.

TV/Movie - Supernatural

Yes, I know, every fan worth their salt on that tumblr loves Supernatural. But I recently binged five seasons in a month, so it gets a mention. I just live this show very much. Its use of color palettes makes me really happy, but I won’t gt into the technical aspect right now. It’s just really good.

Podcast - The Angel of Vine

Okay. Okay. THIS SHOW. OH MY GOD. Okay. Basic premise is it’s a murder mystery. There was a murder in Hollywood in the 50s and no one solved it. Except now, the descendants of a private eye who worked the case find his tapes. And he DID solve it. Without telling anyone. Truly superb story and sound editing, and an all-star cast. I mean, Joe Manganiello, Constance Zimmer, Oliver Vaquer, and Misha Collins. This show is incredible. Go listen. Or don’t. I don’t control you.

Song - “Sweet Tooth” by Scott Helman

Honestly, this one doesn’t have a lot of deep meaning behind it. It’s just a fucking bop. Plus, it’s on my Sabriel playlist, so I kind of have to love it.

Beverage - Hot cocoa with marshmallows

Hi! Well I was going to do this last night, but of course, in a classic Jamie move, I fell asleep and forgot all about it.

Book: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth. Wow this book made me feel so many things. The writing was rich, the story was emotional and personal, and it struck a chord with me in so many ways. The way that it speaks of humanity is powerful: of hypocrisy, of our relationships with God and faith, of family, of friendship, of romance, of secrets. I spent the whole weekend turning these things around in my brain. I haven’t seen the movie but I guarantee the book is better.

TV/Movie: Supernatural. I know I’m way behind the times on this, leave me be.

Podcast: Lore with Aaron Mahnke. This is a podcast that takes you to a lot of different places through all kinds of folklore, legends, and myths, and it’s simple but enrapturing — not much music or sound effects, mostly just his voice, which is impressive. His storytelling is spot-on.

Song: “Somebody to Anybody” by Margaret Glaspy. It’s just her lovely vocals and electric guitar, and it’s gorgeous and I love it. Yes, she is on Spotify and yes, you should listen to all her music. Her sound is really unique.

Here it is! The extended review of this week’s highlights!

Book - Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman (@neil-gaiman) and Terry Pratchett

Possibly my new favorite book ever, and that’s not an understatement. I’ve long had a love of surrealist occult thrillers (I guess that’s what I’m calling this weirdly niche genre I like?) like The Rook by Daniel O’Malley or the entirety of the Raven Cycle books by @maggie-stiefvater, and Good Omens ticked all of my favorite literary boxes. Excellent prose, clever analogies, a fucking brilliant story, blatant homoeroticism (loved and cried over it), and snappy dialogue. Honestly, I can’t really put my finger on why I loved it so much, but I’ve read it several times now and I never want to put it down, ever. Definitely gonna go buy the alternate cover version. I probably need to stop gushing for now and move on, huh? The condensed version: this book is fucking fantastic and I want to read it forever. (Spoiler alert, I think every review’s gonna be like this.)

TV/Movie - Good Omens

As soon as I finished reading the book, I binge watched the series and I do not regret it. It’s such a wonderfully faithful adaptation, and the addition of Crowley and Aziraphale’s history was incredible. I literally haven’t shut up about the design elements (my theatre tech nerd self is screaming) and the music and the acting and the everything and I’m gonna go on shrieking in my head while my conscious brain continues trying to form coherent sentences. Anyway, incredible show, and someday I’ll do a proper analysis of all the design elements I love, but for right now, my inane jabbering will have to do.

Podcast - EOS 10 (@eos10podcast)

I haven’t actually listened in awhile, but I just downloaded Stitcher to my phone, so I’m gearing up for a season 4 binge. Brilliant writing, brilliant acting, lovable characters, wonderful soundscape, beautiful editing, canonically queer characters, canonical quuer relationship, corrupt space government, medical drama, mysteries, it’s basically everything you could ever want in a creative medium. Written by @justinmclachlan, it’s one of my favorite sci-fi podcasts to date, and I look forward to laughing, screaming, and, most importantly, sobbing during season 4.

Song - “Blue Eyed Angel” by Beth Jo (@justdesti-el)

Yes, it’s a Destiel song. But is it also a song with a gorgeous message, heavenly vocals, and a lovely chord progression? Yes. This song literally makes me feel all warm ‘n fuzzy. I listen to it as a comfort song. It feels like a hug. And it usually makes me cry, but in a good way. I’m a sucker for simple, clean melodies sung with crisp voices over a basic acoustic guitar background. Fuckin’ love this song, yo.

Beverage - White grape juice

This might seem a bit odd, but I just went to my grandparents’ house for a week, and they always have white grape juice in the fridge. To me, this drink represents growing up and nostalgia all in one (I used to drink in in a sippy cup, now my cousin and I slam it from short, stout glasses, joking that it’s scotch, despite the fact that neither of us have so much touched alcohol outside of communion wine). It’s the perfect refreshment for a hot summer’s day. To me, it’s the better parts of my childhood, and that’s why I love it.