January 20, 2024
Summer Reading List for Bassike Spring/Summer 2023
A Summer Reading List
Here I have gathered some of the books I’ve grown to love. These are texts I’ve re-visited, gifted to others and read aloud to company when I’ve drunk an exorbitant amount of wine.
- My People Shall Live, Leila Khaled
Words are always weaponised in times of conflict - we know this. The integrity of information and journalism is always one of the first things to go when a state is trying to control a narrative. It goes without saying that we have a common duty to educate ourselves about the genocide in Gaza. I recommend Khaled’s autobiography (published in 1973) because it is robust and insightful. This book is banned in many places around the world, and a physical copy can sell on ebay for upwards of $600. I’ll do you one better than just recommend this book, I’ll attach a link to a pdf of it below. No excuses not to read it now! - Essays and Fictions, Brad Phillips
This is one book that I can count on never finding in an airport. I secretly owe a lot of my own writing style to Brad, and not really because of him, but rather in spite of him because his writingincites such a feeling of envy inside of me that it galvanises me to write better, do better, live better etc. In many ways, I actually can’t truly envy how good he is at writing because I know it comes at a price, and I’m not really willing to do that amount of drugs and reveal how perverted I am to all my loved ones just yet. One day perhaps. Anyway, this book is disgusting and exactly what I needed to hear. Not for the faint of heart, but an enormously rewarding read. I’ve givenaway two copies of this book. - Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado
Short story collation is the perfect summer reading format. You can complete a whole story on the beach, in between meals, before bed. When I first read this book, I couldn’t put my finger on why the stories were so disarming, and then I realised! All the female characters are insatiable! Carmen writes psychological sci-fi narratives that are heavy on the feminist discipline and are always about women and their appetites—sexual, social, and spiritual. - Wild Cat Falling, Mudrooroo (Colin Johnson)
A rare and early glimpse into the male Blak experience throughout the carceral system. Beautifully infected by the clipped pace of the Beats and the French intellectuals who were cooking at the time the book was written, 1965. A compulsory read. It burns a hole in your bag when you are out and about because you want to keep running with it. - In the Land of Good Living, Kent Russell
Anyone who knows me knows my obsession with Florida as a concept is real. The audacity, the lack of political hygiene, the distortion of truth and common sense, the humidity. All of these things are witnessed by Kent Russell and his two friends, who decide to embark on a pilgrimage through Florida in its entirety. Their trip coincides with the lead-up to the Trump election of 2016 and henceforth results in a scathing but hilarious comment on human fallibility and American impotence. This book is strangely hard to find in Australia, but there are some copies floating around in second-hand bookstores and on eBay.
- Eve’s Hollywood, Eve Babitz
I went down a Babitz rabbit hole after my last breakup and read seven of her books. You don’t have to do all that, I’m telling you this one is the best. For all my heartbroken summer hotties or just those who just want to be reminded of what true emotional and creative autonomy looks like, dive into Eve’s writing and enjoy imagining the primitive and glamorous wonderland that was Hollywood in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. - Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
This is one plucked from the canon. On the surface, this is a castaway tale of defeat and misfortune, but once you really get into it, it is a story about how humans automatically make preventable and stupid mistakes. Curiosity is always stronger than fear, even when it sometimes shouldn’t be. This is the prevailing lesson that Robinson Crusoe taught me. Accompanied by strong visualisations of lush, empty islands and coastlines that you can tap into while reading on the beach this summer.