Open Tabs [Weekly] #17

01.05.25

Jan 05, 2025

Welcome to this week’s edition of Open Tabs, where I share my current reads, recent obsessions, and media consumptions every Sunday!

*The Procession of the Months* (ca. 1889)

Happy New Year! I have definitely been feeling the new year energy and I’m soaking up as much of it as I can. January is cold, and we have our first snowstorm of the year on the way…but that’s okay, because all I want to do is cozy up inside and do the little things I love to do. I’m very much in a ~gratitude~ mindset right now, and I want to lean into that as much as possible. Anyways!

I finally sent out a new Thursday letter this week. I gathered some journal entries to document moving apartments, settling in, and dealing with the mental/emotional stuff that came along with that. Definitely a very personal post. Read it if you’d like, and enjoy this week’s Open Tabs below!

Un-settling

Courtney Minor

Jan 2

Read full story

Reading [Books]

Death Valley by Melissa Broder
Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Ozlu

Reading…we are so back! January is always my “best” reading month. Some combo of new year motivation and hibernating for winter tends to give me lots of energy/excitement for reading. And I especially appreciate that boost after months of feeling lethargic about it.

Both of the novels I read this week were phenomenal. I’ve also been listening to some audiobooks, but I’ll talk about those another time.

“There is no place, no life more beautiful than this one. Life’s beauties are not somewhere else. They are here, all around us.”

Reading [Online]

“Joan Didion, Eve Babitz, and the Biographer Who Missed the Point” by Laura Kipnis (The New Republic)

I like a lot of Anolik’s work (her subjects and storytelling more so than her writing style tbh), but I was skeptical when Didion and Babitz was announced. I won’t get into my reasons for skepticism, but the murmurings from many who have read the book seem to confirm my suspicions—as does this article. I haven’t read the book, and maybe I will someday. I’m more keen to pick up Anolik’s Babitz biography, which has been sitting on my shelves for years now.

Watching [Movie]

Juror #2 (2024)

I’m not usually one for court room dramas, but this one kept my attention. A great “legal thriller” premise with good pacing. The dialogue was a little too on the nose, but I suppose this gets a recommendation from me anways.

Watching [YouTube]

This channel has some short docs that I like to peruse from time to time. This week I watched this one.

Listening [Podcast]

I liked this Unburied Books episode talking with Renata Adler about her career as a critic, and her books Speedboat and Pitch Dark.

Googling

artists way
sister corita
2025 year of the
auditory dyslexia?
Abecedarian

Library Holds

Health and Safety by Emily Witt
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

Last Week…

Open Tabs [Weekly] #16