july! a bit of a weird month vibes-wise, with doing the final cleaning and emptying of the house we were renting, a couple of dangerously hot and humid heat waves, a quick weekend trip to utah for the Wayfare Festival and staff retreat, the official launch of Waypoints (where (pop) culture conversations and questions of the soul meet for Wayfare, ie a culture/arts section of the magazine that I’m the editor for), some books, movie watching that largely fell off from its usual status, BUT includes The Odyssey, THE movie event of the year, for my money. not really any coherent themes/groupings here, though perhaps you can find one!
anyway, on to the main event:
BOOKS
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (2025), V. E. Schwab
The ending of the book is thrilling and cool and does some great stuff with everything that came before, but I wish it had started closer to where it ended and maybe teased out what happens there a bit longer, instead of all the setup? which is maybe me just being interested in and wanting different things than the book was interested in. writing is atmospheric and moody, which is fun—would be a great drizzly rainy day read—but i think i wanted more narrative excitement, given the premise
The Tapestry of Fate (2026), Shannon Chakraborty
I really enjoyed this one! An exciting, thrilling continuation of the journey of Amina al-Sirafi. I think I prefer the first, because this one is a tad more weighted towards fantastical hijinks, but the way everything plays out and the character dynamics and the thematic weight of it (particularly in relationship to the ideas of motherhood and female friendship that the book is dramatizing) is very very satisfying and rich.
lots to love here. a fantastic companion to the first book
How to Read a Book (2024), Monica Wood
Really moved by this book and its quiet sense of goodness and life and humanity—really loved the quotidian, gentle portrayal of forgiveness and transformation and healing and the religiosity/spirituality woven throughout. AND, of course, the way that it’s all mediated through (and made possible by) books and talking about books. really a lovely time
The Three Lives of Cate Kay (2025), Kate Fagan
honestly, not quite sure what to make of this. it’s a page-turner, but i think i wanted it to be more thriller-y than it was? the stakes were ultimately just not that engaging (and maybe it’s really that cate/cass/annie didn’t seem to undergo the sort of transformation that should accompany the reversal of fortunes that happens by the end? idk)
Richard Lyman Bushman: A Mormon Ambassador (2026), J.B. Haws
glad to live in a world with richard bushman and those that have come in his wake. full review with AML up soon
Feet of Clay (1996), Terry Pratchett
really really dug this one. delightful and engaging, a funny, moving, sharp page-turner. pratchett doing what pratchett does best!
After Happiness: Living with Faith in a Time of Crisis (2026), Natalie Brown
a nice, refreshing, clear-eyed little book that is rooted in natalie’s lived experience and scholarship, demonstrating that the life of the mind and the body are often most powerful when united. full review coming to AML
Charity and Sylvia (2026), Tillie Walden
incredible. a beautiful work of art to look at, with the depiction of different scenes and moments being thoughtful, surprising, moving, and sometimes just absolutely jaw-dropping, gut-wrenching, remarkable. a powerful example of the way that our seemingly small and simple lives can be rendered compelling to others, when treated with care, generosity, and intention.
i was particularly moved by the way that these early 19th century queer women were represented as at once committed to and in love with each other (queerly, to be clear) AND sincerely religious and how those two facets of their lives interacted, with the book not shying away from some of the tension that they experienced nor the comfort and hope and beauty that they found in and drew from their religious beliefs and community.
a new top tier favorite for sure
FILMS and TV
Call the Midwife, Season 8 (2019)
perhaps the show’s greatest season-long arc is here, with Val and Gran and the “abortionist” and everything that happens along the way. Val is so great in episode 7, like just acting her face off. incredible. love love love the way the show tells this story with some clear-eyed morality but also without disregarding the humanity of those involved at every different stage. incredible. Val supremacy!
Mulan (1998)
fantastic score work here
happy belated pride to mulan and shang and all the cross dressers 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜
movie night with the fam
Java Jive (2025)
A comedy short by Barrett Burgin that is masterful. Takes a fairly straightforward, even silly premise, and runs with it to extraordinary heights, escalating over and over, filmed with a delightful sense of tension and surrealist touches that enhance the feeling of our protagonist being not quite at home “in the world” and double-down on the thematic questions and interests of the film.
also, it’s hilarious. unsure if a mormon comedy has ever made me laugh so hard.
watched this a little over a week ago and i can’t stop thinking about it.
Encanto (2021)
watched at the library, which turned out better than i feared! a good movie that just doesn’t quite reach the heights of greatness for me
movie night with the fam
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
lots of delightful moments here—kids had a great time.
movie night with the fam
A Grand Day Out (1989)
relatable lengths to go to get some cheese for your crackers tbh
(introducing these to the kids in preparation for our local theater screening Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl in a couple of weeks and so far they’re big hits!)
Chicken Run (2000)
love these chickens. just delightful from start to finish
movie night with the fam
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
this was cute and fun even with its messy, overstuffed third act that throws in a few too many complications and can’t quite figure out how to resolve them all sensibly, but it’s all in service of a nice, lovely little idea, so doesn’t detract from things too much
lots of great shots of food being prepped and cooked, etc, which is exactly what i want from something like this
The Odyssey (2026)
*******************SPOILERS AHEAD (and nothing else so you can stop here if you haven’t yet enjoyed THE movie of the year!!!!)*************************
now THAT’S a movie
like many people are saying, a pretty neat thematic parallel to OPPENHEIMER, though the Nolan-verse scene that I kept thinking about was from INCEPTION, with the “So, do you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?” line. this is a fascinating blend of those themes, imo
i’ve been a matt damon-odysseus skeptic since the casting was first announced, but man, he is used to great effect here! his like ‘everyman’ vibes and general, you-wanna-root-for-him energy really helps bring the audience along emotionally with his whole grief/mourning/regret/i’m lost arc (read the always insightful anne helen for more on this). also thought his “in disguise” convo with penelope was very moving and the zendaya as priestess of athena at troy reveal was *very* effective for me (tho i do think odysseus’ characterization here does largely lack the “cunning/crafty” energy that is arguably central to the character in most readings but what nolan does with the character is engaging enough for me that i wasn’t too bothered by that)
dug the score and excited to listen to it outside the movie and see how it works there
some of the audio was a bit weird--always unsure if that’s the theater, not being in IMAX, or just Nolan up to his usual shenanigans
a stacked, rich, fantastic supporting cast--RPatz, Himesh Patel is a standout--want more from him in the future, Anne Hathaway is great, Lupita certainly could have been given more to do, Jon Bernthal is used to great effect here, etc.
the circe-pig scene is SO unsettling! nolan dabbling in body horror!
the structure largely worked for me and loved the creatures
but really, i think what elevates this above standard blockbuster fare is the thematic richness on display--lots to dig into--generosity/hospitality; grief and loss; how do we return home or to our past selves or repent or find who we really are after doing great evil; the personal and social cost of war/violence and breaking social norms (esp of hospitality); what do we owe the dead and so much more!
really fascinating that the two big blockbuster-auteur-led takes on THE ODYSSEY in my lifetime are this and the Coens’ O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, which lean into different tones and elements of the homeric text--i wonder if we’ll ever get something that hybridizes the epicness and the humor...
a packed, sold-out theater was a great way to experience this! long live the movies!