mind trinkets #1 | recent things that've caught my mind's eye

Hello again, dear friends! Long time no see in these here parts of the internet! How have y'all been? I figured I'd drop back in to share some of my recent favorites from the end of 2024 and the start of 2025.

I read Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang at the end of this past December 2024, and although that was now four whole months ago I am still thinking about how much I love this book!

Blood Over Bright Haven is an Adult dark academia fantasy novel which heavily focuses on themes of sexism and racism and how academia can exacerbate those things. It's about a woman, Sciona Freynan, who's the first female mage to be accepted to research at the most prestigious university in her society. But when she enters the university, she finds herself facing many sexist adversaries, who, as a cruel joke, give her a janitor of a different, oppressed race (named Thomil) as a lab assistant. Sciona isn't willing to let this cruelty stop her, though, and she decides to take whatever assistance she can get from Thomil and use it to her advantage. However, she and Thomil eventually discover that a dark and dangerous secret is holding Sciona's society together and must decide how to confront this evil.

This standalone novel ripped my heart to shreds in the best way possible. It's a rarity for me to enjoy tragic stories, but this one got me hook, line, and sinker and it's a story that I will remember for a looooooong time.

My latest literary obsession has been my current read, the new YA dystopian novel Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid. I read Reid's debut novel The Wolf and the Woodsman and didn't enjoy it much, but absolutely adored her YA dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning, so I was interested in seeing how she'd write YA dystopian. Turns out she writes dystopian astonishingly well and I think she could honestly bring YA dystopian back from the dead. Part of why I think Reid writes dystopian so well is how based in our current reality she has clearly made Fable for the End of the World. The story and world are very much based in capitalistic oppression of the masses and the resultant climate degradation that can occur. And let me just say: as a reader who has lived in poverty at the hands of capitalism for the majority of my life, I have almost never seen poverty in literature illustrated with such clarity, nuance, and accuracy and it made me feel so seen! I honestly can't wait to see how Fable for the End of the World plays out, even though I sense that heartbreak is ahead. Definitely give this thought-provoking book a chance!

Of course, as a big fan of Jenny Han's To All The Boys... universe both on page and on screen, I've been watching XO, Kitty Season 2 on Netflix since it released this past January. I love this series so much, especially as I've always wanted to see more of Kitty since I first read To All The Boys I've Loved Before back in 2015 (I can't believe it was 10 years ago now)! Kitty has always been such a vibrant character, and I love the way that XO, Kitty has fleshed her out and allowed her to grow. Plus, I love all of Kitty's friends at KISS too, all of them are equally as colorful and fun! I love that Season 2 shows Kitty really growing into her bisexuality, it's so lovely to watch. Of course, naturally, she still makes some mistakes, but she is just a teenager after all. I also love the K-Pop storyline, it's so much fun and such a great way to up the drama of the series. All in all, XO, Kitty is a great series full of teeange hilarity and hijinks that'll have you hooked from the go!!

I've also been slowly making my way through Netflix's animated series Blue Eye Samurai and OMG I have been enjoying it so much! The series is about a mixed race (Japanese/White) samurai, Mizu, who is seeking vengeance on the last white men in historic Japan because one of them is Mizu's father and thus made Mizu the "abomination" that society views them as. Blue Eye Samurai is an interesting look at historic Japanese culture and how it viewed being multiracial which is infused with plenty of action and adventure (and even a hint of romance) to keep viewers gripped! Also, the animation is astonishinigly beautiful (and that's coming from Yours Truly, who doesn't typically find many animated series that I enjoy)! I'm still at the beginning of this series, but in all honesty I'm excited to see where it goes! If you've yet to check out Blue Eye Samurai, definitely fix that ASAP!!!

Lately I've been really loving Doechii, but then again who hasn't?! I love her latest album and I'm so proud of her Grammy win and excited to hear what's coming up from her!!! Her jazzy flow mixed with her 90s hiphop throwback kinda vibe of sound is AMAZING and has me GAGGED everytime I listen!! I also adore her NPR Tiny Desk performance, which you should definitely watch if you haven't already!

I discovered Egyptian/Italian singer Lella Fadda through her COLORS performance of her single "Tarat Tarat Tat," which I immediately fell in love with! Naturally, I knew I had to hear more from Lella, so I rushed to listen to her latest album, Magnun, which I also fell in love with. Lella's music is kinda a mix of Arabic hyperpop and Arabic rap, which you'd think would be difficult to mix together, but Lella seems to do so with ease. Whether or not you're a fan of modern Arabic music or not, I'm begging y'all to give Lella Fadda a listen!!!

I discovered Avie Sheck's collabs with his mom via Instagram reels, and I am so glad I did! The reel I saw was a clip of him (a pop musician) and his mom (who trained in classical Indian singing) covering Radiohead's "Creep" and merging it with classical Indian singing, and it was gorgeous! Like, just inject that shit right into my veins levels of beautiful music!!! If you've yet to have heard that cover and his cover of Coldplay's Yellow (which also features his mom), I implore you to listen to them ASAP!

I also found trans musician August Riley Greenwood's song "When I Die (Ol' Carolina)" through Instagram reels (I guess my algorithm isn't as cursed as other people's...yet), and instantly fell in love with it. It's a folk/bluegrass song about the trans experience in the American south, and it's so heartfelt and moving. You can tell August put their heart and soul into writing, singing, and performing the song. I encourage you all to go listen to it.

There's this Substack I follow where the writer puts together a weekly list of articles and essays from around the web that they find interesting. It was through one of these weekly lists that I found Aeon, which is an online magazine that focuses on articles and essays about the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. *cue me discovering a new hyperfixation* There are so many fascinating pieces on Aeon, and I encourage you to just check it out and read through anything and everything that piques your interest!

Lately I've been enjoying the videos from YouTuber and sewist Sydney Graham. Her videos are a mixture of vlogs and sewing tutorials, with a few beginner crochet videos thrown in there too, and they're all always so cozy! Lately I've been wanting to invest more in learning textile arts and crafts such as sewing, knitting, crochet, and hand embroidery, so finding Sydney's channel was a godsend! I love sitting down with my crochet and working on it while listening to and watching her videos. Her pleasant chatter makes me feel like I'm working with a friend. If you're a crafty girly, I highly recommend watching her content!

I've also been really enjoying and finding comfort in Bonnie's channel Bonnie Barton lately. Her vlogs are so cozy and aesthetic and motivate me to make my life a bit more cozy. I also love that she gives great examples of taking part in cozy, non computer-based and non phone-based activities in each of her videos. I've been looking to get less screentime lately, so this is perfect for my needs!