#2 weekly media consumption

gothic literature + lactonic notes on teas and scents

hello.

it has been a gloomy week of grey skies and thunderstorms (a sound I love), which means I read more, drank twice as many cups of tea a day as usual, and lit more candles. Gothic season is in full bloom and that affects the type of media I’ve been consuming as well, so allow me to share more:

what I listened to: Rosalía’s new album LUX. Rosalía is not on my top artists’ list, I never really resonated with her work, and there has always been some controversy around culture appropriation in her music, specially when transitioning from flamenco in her first albums to full on latina in her latest (she’s spanish, not latina), and now Rosalía reinvents herself once more to embrace the european catholicism in which she was raised (a culture I myself am very familiar with, being from portugal), which is yet another aspect I can’t resonate with, and it may even bring up trauma I do not need resurfaced! however, setting aside all controversies, the million interpretations of this album spread over the internet and many essays written that explore the topic of culture appropriation better than I ever could… it was a very good album, the first of hers I truly enjoyed. the album’s production is fantastic and probably the main reason I stayed for its entirety. some of the collaborations felt really close to my heart, having Carminho featured and her second collaboration with Björk (forever a muse to me) being the ones I cared about the most. I also appreciate the emphasis on how no AI was used, while collaborating with the London Symphony Orchestra. being honest, I do not care why or how, I am just happy whenever influential people state their concerns with AI and how detrimental it can be to humanity. human made things cannot become a luxury or rarity, I refuse to live in that type of reality. overall, a good listening experience.

what I read: the book our hideous progeny by C. E. McGill had been on my list for the longest time... and fresh out of gdt’s Frankestein, it was the perfect opportunity to pick it up. I believe reading the original Mary Shelley’s Frankestein (I’m an 1818 girl, but either version will do) before picking this book up makes the whole experience with the story feel more complete but you don’t necessarily need to read it to fully enjoy what it has to offer.

What does feminism and queerness look like in the Frankestein universe while being a woman scientist in the 1800s? Our protagonist is called Mary and she herself has been through her fair share of losses (a tribute, if I’ve ever seen one), she is the great-niece of Victor Frankestein, and after stumbling upon the letters narrating his experiments, she gets inspired to try it herself… but her field of interest is paleontology. I’ll stop here. I utterly enjoyed this book, specially during this time, when Frankestein is having its cultural moment thanks to Guillermo del Toro. It is also beautifully written, and taking into account it is a debut novel, I will definitely keep an eye on McGill’s work moving forward.

this is the song that played in my head after reading this passage.

teas and scents: milk and roses is how I summarize my week. it started with a new tea and scented candle I bought last sunday. the tea is milky oolong, an oolong from Taiwan that has its leaves only semi-oxidized, which adds a delicious lactonic scent and buttery texture with scent notes of milk, almonds and roasted nuts. it is very unique and hard to find, there are a lot of artificially scented “milky oolongs” on the market, but I waited until I found something authentic and, heavens, was it worth the wait! I kept the bag it came in close to me all sunday afternoon so I could occasionally smell the buttery, roasted scent coming from the dry leaves until eventually I had to move it to a tea container that will preserve its aroma for longer. It is rapidly becoming one of my favorite teas.

the candle was a heavenly smell of rose and sandalwood, a rose I was very familiar with… yes, I knew it as soon as I got home, it was right there in my perfume altar: velvet rose & oud from jo malone. it reminded me that it’s the season indeed. I don’t go near this lactonic, clove filled rose bomb during the heat, but come winter and it’s time to indulge. as I mentioned last week, I take all my warm spices out, and it was the perfect bridge between my lactonic tea and my woody rose candle. after wearing this perfume, lighting this candle and drinking this tea all week long, my house and clothes still smell like I just came out of a milk bath filled with rose petals, if my tub was right next to a fireplace! I am loving every second.

cinema/games: nothing. I limited my media consumption to books and essays this week. Speaking of essays, I’d recommend “Nobody wants a monster girl”, while the monster conversation is still relevant.

social media creators: I didn’t spend much time on social media either, just enough to catch up with friends, keep up with my favorite creators and respond to work inquiries. My social media time ended up being around 30min a day this week. (something I am very proud of)

that will be all for now! thank you for reading, have a kind weekend.