Books that should still be on your TBR if you didn’t get to them last year:
- Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
- Sussman found her groove with this book. It’s a romance that branches out from its tropes and predestined formulations using a comedic voice and an unusual situation. And, not to weigh this recommendation down with a deadline, but one might want to read this before May of 2023, when Once More With Feeling is published.
- Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman
- This noir mystery takes place in an underground bar during prohibition. With a variety of characters, a diverse cast, and people with bated interests all moving their own plans across the dance floor, you won’t see this ending coming. But you might want to close the pages of this book before July of 2023, similarly to Sussman, a follow-up is eminent. However, this one is a direct sequel, making that deadline a lot sterner than the aforementioned one.
- The Woman at the Front by Lecia Cornwall
- It’s rare these days to find a story that will fill you up so completely as this one does. There’s ambition, challenges, war and violence, misogyny, strength, romance, and history. It’s not just a story of a time and place, it is the story of a life. While it may be fictional, characters as strong as this one do and did exist. These pages are a reminder of how progress is made, how survival is done, and the power of a life. Set to the backdrop of World War I, Cornwall is an expert at bending a timeline to her pages.
- Finding Me by Viola Davis
- Brutally honest and vulnerable, Davis laid her pain out to bare for fans, admirers, and family in this beautifully written book. One can follow her artistic path, her romantic one, her familial one, even her work ethic. It’s a brilliant work within the conversation of race in the arts, previously, currently, from theater to print, Davis has reshaped the narrative by sheer existence and perseverance.
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy
- Written in the present tense, McCurdy maintains a vulnerable and comedic voice throughout the traumas shared in this work. It is clear to any reader, that McCurdy not only did a lot of personal work to be able to view her past, but a lot of literary work to craft it. Every question, confusion, and curiosity is answered before it even needs to be asked based on the tactful skill of McCurdy on the page. I can only say that I doubt this is McCurdy’s first or last foray into memoir writing. One may want to read this book before the next.
Artists that should still be on your playlist from last year:
- Griff
- In 2021, we received the debut album from Griff and in 2022, it came with an incredible tour. Now we can only hope that more singles and maybe album arises in 2023. Either way, Griff will still be all over my playlists this coming year.
- Valley
- This Canadian indie band fits the vibes for days that are in between the good and bad, too much and too little, too bright and too dark, so basically everyday is a Valley day.
- Tate McRae
- We’ve already started getting some new singles from McRae at the end of 2022, perhaps that means a new album is right around the corner. A new album or an old album, McRae is staying in my day-to-day.
- Mimi Webb
- While I only discovered Webb this past year, I will not be forgetting her in the new year. Still climbing down from their recent tour, new works or projects from Webb won’t likely be out until later in the year.
- MILCK
- MILCK is an artist that can always make one feel powerful, purely unstoppable. She creates true main character energy with one of her songs as your theme song.
- Catie Turner
- Turner spent most of 2022 touring and releasing new music, so it may be some time before we see more from her. But I don’t need more to sustain myself through 2023 with Turner energy.
- Lime Cordiale
- I may not have been the biggest fan of the Cordi Elba era, but I will always be a massive supporter of the Lime Cordiale style. Similarly to Turner, Lime Cordiale has toured throughout 2022. But they have already started releasing new singles, so maybe there’s an album in the second half of this year. I’ll be waiting with their last album on repeat until then.
- Faouzia
- A tour, a project, we’ve gotten so much in the last year. So instead of being greedy, I’m going to take last years brilliance into the playlists of this year.
Art in Your World Skills from Last Year:
- OverDrive
- Borrow books from your local library, college, community center, for free on your Kindle. Amazon gets enough of your money, support local businesses and save some money by using our OverDrive trick. Head over to our TikTok page for a more in-depth, step-by-step guide on how to use OverDrive.
- Libby
- Download books from your public library or college on Libby to your iPad or computer. As stated previously, Amazon gets enough of your money, save it for another dream in 2023.
- Bandsintown
- This is a great app to keep track of the artists you want to see in concert. Know the first show in your neighborhood as soon as possible by syncing your spotify with the app, you’ll never miss another concert again.
Favorite Items from Last Year:
- High Fidelity Concert Earplugs
- These reusable earplugs come in a nifty keychain case I can secure within my bag. Never lost, always covered and protected, I’ll never be stuck in a pit again with a bass pounding into my eardrums. This became a concert necessity for me in the last year and will remain that way in the current year.
- Battery Packs
- One never realizes how much one’s phone goes through until it’s horribly dying in the middle of a performance. Get any pack, honestly, it was a necessity for the last year and will most likely be one in the next year.
- Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700
- I put my headphones through a lot, and this is just an old-faithful set. The battery never burns itself out, charges routinely hold out, no matter how old it is, and the technology is a seamless adaption to whatever device you choose to connect it to. It was my favorite set last year and it’ll be my favorite set this year.
- Spotify
- Spotify is literally like my yearbooks of music, well-stacked on the shelves in the garage because I never want to leave it and need it close at hand. It’s basically all I listened to last year and it will most likely be all I listen to this year.
Tours Announced Last Year for This Year:
- Half•Alive’s Conditions of a Punk tour will begin in the United Kingdom on February 16 and land in North America on April 15. They’ll be performing throughout the country until summer, will you be at one of the shows?
- Dermot Kennedy’s Sonder tour will begin on March 2 in Germany and will comb through Europe until April 14. In May, Dermot will be popping throughout the country through the summer. I know I’ll be at one of the shows, will you?
Art in Your World 