At the Moment: March

Stranger Things, TomorrowX3 and other current favorites

Hello, friends! In case you missed it, I've revived an old monthly practice of mine in which I'll compile a list of some of my favorite books, albums, films, etc. from the month. Check out February's edition here:

---

Reading

Fiction

To get through the end of the dark winter, I found myself gravitating towards cozy, light-hearted stories. Now that the seasons are changing, I'm wanting books that'll nourish my soul in different ways.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a novel chronicling a twenty-five-year-long friendship formed over the love of video games—playing them, then creating them. Still some chapters away from the end, I’m having some issues with the way certain topics are being tackled, but I like its starkness and honesty (which also means it’s not a book for everyone). It’s been a beautiful and heart-wrenching story, either way!

I also just started Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which is an especially weird one, but I like it. Having a pretty decent idea of how this philosophical/spiritual sci-fi story ends has me wondering what I'll think once I actually arrive.

Poetry/Nonfiction

Confessions by Augustine of Hippo has been on my list for a long time, and it’s always daunted me. I started and don’t know when I’ll finish (even the more accessible translation I have may still prove to be a hard read for me!), but I’m grateful to have it during the Lenten season.

I talk about my favorite poet, Mary Oliver, a lot here at Stellify. And this month, reading and re-reading much of her work has been so good for me. I'm currently loving Upstream, her collection of prose.

Watching

Last month, I didn't mention that I was in the middle of Stranger Things for the first time, because let's be honest—the hype around this show is insane. It's been out for years (Stranger Things 4 released in 2022…5 is coming soon!), so I'm a little late.

I had no idea what I was in for! The show is quite the blend of genres (sci-fi, horror/suspense, drama, and it’s set in the ‘80s…all of which bring its enormously broad appeal), but at its core, it’s an incredibly crafted story about friendship. There’s so much to love about it, but the characters stand out to me—I’ve never watched a show with such masterfully done development for so many different, diverse characters. As a writer, I learned a lot just from watching these first seasons.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to track down any of the artists for these fantastic artworks I found on Pinterest!

Listening To

Music

I may or may not share a playlist in this format every time, but here's a little eclectic collection of tracks I listened to a lot and found fitting for this month of the year.

Oh, I went to an awesome concert in March, too! Jon Foreman is the lead singer and songwriter for Switchfoot, but I've always enjoyed his solo stuff even more. Me and my dad went to see his show at a pretty theater near Philly a few weeks ago. Jordy Searcy was a great opener, and I loved hearing Jon sing some of my favorites, live: “Antidote,” “Your Love Is Strong,” and “Dare You To Move” (a classic you might recognize).

(I didn’t get a great photo of the moment, but Jon joined us up in the balcony with his ukulele for a few minutes, which was so much fun. He’s an artist who has such a genuine love for his listeners—he talked to several concert-goers during the show, had a young fan hold his microphone for him for a bit, and most of the songs he played were requests taken!)

Podcasts

I seem to go back and forth between listening to audiobooks and podcasts, and I've been on a podcast kick lately. I'd been meaning to listen to this rare recorded interview with Mary Oliver from 2015. I finally listened to the unedited version, and it makes my list of favorite podcast episodes. If you're fond of Mary's poetry, “I got saved by the beauty of the world.” by On Being is a must-listen.

---

What’ve you been reading, watching, listening to, and loving?

peace,
Ryan

---