Our guide on what to read, watch and listen to now
Read: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy was the recipient of the Good Reads Choice Award for Best Memoir, sold out within 24 hours of going on sale at major retailers, and has spent 17 consecutive weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. It sold 200,000 copies during its first week of release, received a multitude of reviews, and may even be the topic of discussion in your book club, but its worth reading again and again.
If you grew up in the mid to late 2000s, you’re no stranger to the blonde hair and bright smile of Jennette McCurdy. Starring as the rough around the edges tomboy on Nickelodeon’s iCarly (and later Sam & Cat), many of us came to love her spunky attitude and comedic antics week after week. Yet as a child actress she was hurting –subjected to her mother’s dreams of stardom in addition to her abusive tendencies. Behind the red carpets were the mother and daughter’s painful relationship, eventually leading to McCurdy’s struggles with anxiety, addiction, and eating disorders that would plague her life. The memoir, serving as a point of recovery, explores the dark side of child stardom, complicated relationships, and the importance of self discovery.
Get it on bookshop.org
Watch: We Are Lady Parts
On the outside looking in Amina Hussein is the perfect daughter. Residing in the UK she works diligently to obtain her PhD in microbiology, mentoring children, and doing anything and everything to please her Muslim parents. But behind closed doors she’s a music aficionado and the new lead guitarist of Lady Parts, an unapologetic, fierce Muslim all-female punk band.
Created, written, and directed by Nida Manzoor’s We Are Lady Parts is a comical, heartfelt, and feminist coming of age sitcom unlike any other. There’s Sairi, singer and guitar player who works at a butcher for her day job. Ayesha, the fierce drummer who likes to “display her displeasure with humanity on her drum kit”. Bisma, the bass player, feminist cartoonist, and mother. And Momtaz, the band’s manager, who retains an air of mystery to those who encounter her. Exploring the diverse and rich cultural backgrounds of each band member, viewers also learn what unites them all: the desire to be represented and heard. Whether Sairi is singing about her sister stealing her eyeliner or Amina singing in her closet with imaginary sock puppets, its evident the ways in which music is an act of catharsis, a way to ease and navigate through life, girlhood, and societal expectations. Despite it all the camaraderie is palpable and the girls are on their way to punk rock success. As long as they can get through band practice.
Listen: Honey | Samia
What is it like to read someone’s diary? To uncover their most inner thoughts and emotions, traumas and heartbreak? Samia’s sophomore album Honey is exactly that. The New York native singer songwriter has grown into her craft, weaving overarching themes of being a 20 something and personal anecdotes that result in a raw honesty that can’t be forged. The first track radiating vulnerability with, “I’ve never felt so unworthy of loving”. To achieve praise she confesses, “I’m tryna make you laugh, sweating like an acrobat.” There are memories of concerts, fire pits, and the warmth of Summer. We meet her friends and are invited in on the inside jokes. Between the confessional lyrics, indie-pop beats, and tear jerking ballads Samia invites us all to dance, laugh, cry and revel in our emotions.
Listen on Spotify
-Kennedy Smith
- Culture Dose | Activism for All Ages
- Culture Dose | She-Punks | Come Hell or High Water | Pretty Sick
- Culture Dose | Water, Wood & Wild Things | Future Library: A Century Unfolds | All of This Will End by Indigo De Souza
- Culture Dose | Bad Gays | Velvet Goldmine | Sofi Tukker
- Culture Dose | Queer Pride? We’re here for it!
- Culture Dose | Rosewater | Tina Turner | Wardrobe Crisis
