Hello friends, welcome to my first entry- so exciting! I used to do a monthly newsletter years ago through Notion, but that fell off, so I'm keen to revive it and keep my people, both near and far, in the loop! I'll use this space to share life updates and what's happening, but no promises it will be updated every month (I'll try to be consistent).
I've gotten really back into reading this month, absolutely flying through Octavia Butler's Kindred and eating up every chapter. I loved Parable of The Sower and The Talents last year, and I wanted to read more of Butler's work, so I settled on Kindred. She has really gotten me into the genre of speculative fiction and especially Afrofuturism. If you have read these, pleaaaase tell me about it because I have so many thoughts I want to word vomit about. I also finished Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings, which I would highly recommend if you want a fascinating analysis of the anti-Blackness rooted in fatphobia, and how basically the bane of all our existence is Protestantism.
I was in Berlin for a public health conference put on by the Robert Koch Institute to get some ideas for my PhD projects. It was actually pretty nice, and I learned a few things and connected with other researchers whose work was very useful for my projects. I'm still early career, so making connections at events like these remains daunting but is getting easier, and even enjoyable! Also, unlimited coffee and baked goods for 2 days help make the trip worth it :P