Jude reads Jack Black

Name: JudeReading: You Can't Win, Jack BlackWhy did you want to read this? Jack Black's book, which chronicles his life as an outlaw, captivated me when I was young and doing my best to walk the path I was “supposed” to. It was sexy and a little terrifying to think that this kind of transgression was a possibility - one that might lead to a more interesting life. I didn’t know until contemplating this podcast that “You Can’t Win” was also a favorite of my wife’s and inspired some of the interesting choices she made in her youth: jumping trains, performing in circuses, and squatting. As governments around the world push trans people into the fringes, the outlaw perspective feels more relevant to me than ever.How did you record yourself? I recorded this on my third-to-last day in Mexico City on a Saturday night in the quietest corner of an almost empty apartment on a Rode USB mic, reading a public domain edition of the book on my Kindle.

Name: MeenakshiReading: Fear and Lovely, Anjana AppachanaWhy did you want to read this? I don't often seek relatability when I read. But with this I felt that delicious feeling of being entirely seen and understood. I encountered this novel when I, like Mallika, had left New Delhi to embark on a PhD in America. In Mallika I found an articulation of shyness that feels complex and sharp and an affection for the messy entanglements and nosiness that comes with life in a residential colony in Delhi. I enjoy how F&L has an ear for English as it's spoken in Delhi and how I've had wonderful conversations about it with many women in my life. How did you record yourself? I had made grand plans to sit in my single, yellow mcm accent chair in my living room (which is where I do all my writing.) But it didn't feel right and so I moved all my paraphernalia to my bed and read aloud to the recording app on my laptop, while tucked into my green sheets on a sunny winter afternoon in Amherst having just returned from a lovely winter break in Delhi. 

Name: SejalReading: The Strangling Fig, Fauzia MusaWhy did you want to read this? I wanted to read this because Fauzia is a close friend, fellow creative + mother and someone who inspires me deeply. We exchange notes in and around our mutual practices (hers in writing, mine in art) and that dialogue always opens things up, helps me to question and reframe. Ngl I felt a sense of relief when I got into it and quickly felt a senseof all-consumingness that I've been missing. Lately I've felt a sense of urgency to feel moved, not see, hear or read the same thing, I wanted to be pulled completely into a world, and this book delivered that. How did you record yourself? I'm currently one of the artists in residence at Expertim Art in Barcelona, so I recorded it in our little soundbooth in the library. I really love that it's next to the kitchen and their archive. 

Name: LuReading: On Not Knowing, Emily OgdenWhy did you want to read this? Emily Ogden’s writing is erudite and poetic. I came to On Not Knowing, a beautifully written suite of personal — but widely relatable — essays, a number of years ago, at a time of change and loss. Informative and honest, Ogden presents accounts of trying to live, and embracing a reinvigorated desire to live, with the uncertainty with which we breathe. I am constantly drawn to her elegant and authoritative approach, offering why we should address our 'blurriest, fleetest experiences’ and move forwards with them. The passage I read deftly turns a recognisable swimming moment into something illuminating in its risks, and intimate; one that connects human realms to those geographically, spiritually and linguistically beyond. How did you record yourself? I was feeling a little restless before reading, perhaps weighted down by winter’s greyness! Finally finding a spot to read — nestling at the foot of my friend’s bed — with coffee to hand and favourite red socks on, the familiarity and warmth of the room soothed me. Looking up out the nearby window, I spotted a plane slowly part clouds, and in matching its gentle pace I settled into reading Emily’s work, pausing at moments to re-read where I had stumbled, absorb words’ meaning and enjoy her meanderings. 

Name: SusanReading: Nightwood, Djuna BarnesWhy did you want to read this? I'm friends with the filmmaker Sophie Lee. She has great taste, meaning that as soon as she told me that she was working on a reimagined version of this book, I ordered a copy. And I wasn't disappointed. The originality—not to mention density—of the description is just wild. However, having now read it out loud I wish I'd chosen something different. Some sentences are a whole paragraph long. Plus, I often struggled to pronounce the foreign words.How did you record yourself? On my laptop, midway through some very boring admin.

Name: LaurenReading: The Serviceberry, Robin Wall KimmererWhy did you want to read this? Sometimes I feel exhausted by systems dictated by ''more'' (do more, have more). Usefully, The Serviceberry asks us to consider "enoughness". The presiding economic system we live in (in the modern Western world anyways) is founded on competition, perpetual growth and the hoarding of wealth and resources. This book poses a simple question: what can we learn from alternative economic models as they exist in the natural world and in the cultures of indigenous peoples?Kimmerer returns to this question by offering insight into the cycles of the serviceberry plant which is characterised by reciprocity, gratitude and interconnectedness with other citizens (human and non-human). How did you record yourself? I lit a candle (scent=bay+rosemary), propped my laptop up beside me and tried to ignore the sound of my own voice. At first I felt uncomfortable - it is unusual to read aloud and alone after all I guess? Whilst i was reading it grew dusky outside and the smell from my candle filled the room. After the first few pages, it became kind of meditative and I forgot what I was doing. 

Name: JulideReading: Is Mother Dead, Vigdis HjorthWhy did you want to read this? I believe everything in life begins with and through a mother. I chose to read Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth because this book shows the importance of the mother. In order for patriarchal societies to function, misogyny must be maintained. Understanding ourselves and our mothers requires unlearning many inherited norms. This book gives voice to the raw monologue of a daughter and invites the reader to witness her journey. Through the tension of the narration, it evokes affective responses and highlights the struggle of an adult child being born and the symbolic cutting of the umbilical cord.How did you record yourself? It took a couple of takes because the narrative is so tense. I finished the recording in three days. Every morning, I prepared my coffee, sat at my desk, watched the sky, and hummed to myself for a few minutes. Then I started to read. I tried to keep the process as raw as the narrative itself.

Name: Indira PriscillaReading: Alphabetical Diaries, Sheila HetiWhy did you want to read this? I chose this book because I love how poetic the fragmentation of thoughts can be and love how Heiti did a copy-paste technique using a decade of her own journals. I find it a very brave and vulnerable act that somehow shows the very subtle yet powerful truth that lie in every day life.How did you record yourself? I read this under a red warm light sitting in my friend’s room. It was art week at that time, I was tired after a hectic day of gallery hopping and it was very reliving and relaxing reading something I like a lot for the first time out loud. 

Name: MiaReading: Sodom and Gomorrah, Marcel ProustWhy did you want to read this? In Search of Lost Time is my life manual for its anthropological overindulgence, opulent but precise use of language, and outbursts of clarity concerning the artistic impulse, disappointment, experience, and time. It is so thorough and extensive in its rhythm that I remember certain scenes as if they happened to me. In particular this chapter is dear to me for how botanical lifecycles become a metaphor for sexual attraction and its consummation. The symbolism of pollination is woven throughout and the language is so rich that you can touch it. I mean, the words are like morsels of food, even when they don't quite make sense coming from my mouth.How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on a lazy Saturday afternoon in my studio in Mexico City, which could otherwise be described as a cuarto de servicio on the roof of my apartment building, chosen for the added benefit of the sonic complexities of intermittent sirens and vacuums being used in the apartments below, a place where I can be alone. ​

Name: JessieReading: Pitch Dark, Renata AdlerWhy did you want to read this? It’s one of my favourite books, and I try to re-read it every year or so. I suspected that reading it out loud would reveal some new aspect of it, which it did.How did you record yourself? On my laptop at my desk very early in the morning.