lately with lila october 2023 | schoolwork & scares

Hello again, dear friends, I hope you are well and, if not, I hope brighter days head your way soon. October is typically a fun month, full of spoopy mischief, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that for me, as an Arab American, this past month has been difficult. Us Arabs have always been aware of the genocide in Palestine, but to see people acting like it’s all of a sudden, just now started…it’s infuriating. Even more infuriating and heartbreaking is witnessing so many people say that the genocide is “too complicated to speak on.” It’s not complicated. It’s genocide. Witnessing the West go all out for Ukraine but turn their backs on Palestinians, on Arabs, on people like me and my family…It’s hard to put words to the fury and sorrow I feel, and I know it’s only a fraction of what my Palestinian brothers and sisters must be feeling. I haven’t really prayed in years but I’ve started praying for Palestine at every moment I can. Please, join me in sending your thoughts and prayers to Gaza, and in raising your voice for Palestinian liberation.

Before anything, the most important thing to say: Free Palestine!!! Since the Nakba, The Israeli government has been committing genocide against the Palestinian people. This HAS BEEN a decades long thing, but now in the age of social media, more and more Westerners are being made aware of the truth of this situation. This is genocide. Now is not the time to sit idle and ignorant. The people of Palestine are begging us to educate ourselves, spread information, take to the streets in protest, and call our government representatives, in addition to donating to medical and relief organizations if possible. The following are some resources where you can do just that, and I am begging you to please do so:

• Decolonize Palestine
• Anti-Racism Daily: Stop The Genocide in Gaza
• Save Palestine Carrd
• Arab.org: Click to help Palestine
• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
• @sbeih.jpg (Subhi)
• Refuser Solidarity Network

FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE ✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼

Aside from that note, my October was relatively productive in regards to reading and other entertainment media. I managed to finish not one, but two books, both of which I really enjoyed! In addition, I watched a few episodes of an old favorite TV series, listened to a bit of an interesting podcast, and also listened to some absolutely OUTSTANDING music! All while managing to keep up with blogging and school! So let’s take a more in depth look at how October was for me…

what i posted

what i read

💧 A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid (⭐⭐⭐⭐) I fell absolutely head over heels for this book, which was a totally shocking twist for me, as I wasn’t a fan of Reid’s debut (The Wolf and the Woodsman)! Reid’s writing style is perfectly suited for dark academia fantasy, and she created the perfect dark, dreary, eerie, and atmospheric read. I will give one warning, though: A Study in Drowning is definitely on the upper side of the YA scale, and there are many intense discussions of sexual assault and portrayals of the resultant PTSD, depression, and anxiety, as well as portrayals and discussions of sexual harassment and sexism and misogyny.

🌈 Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman (⭐⭐⭐⭐) Another cute Heartstopper bind-up in the bag! This graphic novel bind-up of Alice Oseman’s webcomic is soooooo adorable! If you have yet to read this series, I encourage you to get on that, ASAP (especially since it’s available for free on Webtoon, Tapas, and Tumblr)!!

what i’m currently reading

🌊 Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle I started listening to the audiobook of Curious Tides in October, since after finishing A Study in Drowning I wanted to read more ocean-themed dark academia fantasy. So far, the book is okay, but nothing brilliant. It’s interesting enough to keep me reading, but I also don’t think it’s anything extraordinary (at least, not yet). Unfortunately, I’ve also recently seen quite middling reviews for this book too. That said, I do want to see where it goes, so I’m gonna keep reading (for now).

what’s in my “possibility pile”

🌀 The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon Okay, can I just take a second to gush about the cover of The Hurricane Wars?! IT’S SO FUCKING GORGEOUS OH MY GOD!!!! Ahem. Okay, now I’ve got that out of my system, I feel the need to say that the synopsis of The Hurricane Wars also sounds so incredibly interesting too! And I’m not gonna spoil what it is, but the book’s dedication is hilarious! Anyhoo, The Hurricane Wars looks so good in every regard, so I’m really, really hoping I can at least start a good portion of it this month!

👑 The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem I’ve heard murmurs of The Jasad Heir being an INCREDIBLE fantasy with an amazing romance subplot, plus it has Arab representation since it’s based on Egyptian culture?! Um, yes please!! I’ve also been wanting to read this one since I first heard about it last year, but I’ve been waiting for the ever illusive “perfect moment.” And we all know about those, amiright?! Suffice to say, I’ve been waiting for too long already, and I’m hoping to get to this book this month!

🪟 One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig I’ve been hearing sooooo much about this book this year! Weirdly enough, I purchased the audiobook of One Dark Window when it was initially released last year, but it wasn’t until this year that I started seeing other readers hyping it up? Of course, my interest has been piqued once again! I hear this is a dark, gothic fantasy retelling of “The Highwayman” with a great romance subplot—so you can definitely count me in for the ride! Honestly, November seems the perfect time of year to pick this book up and give it a try, so hopefully I’ll get to it this month!

what i watched

💥 The 100 Season 3, Episodes 1-4 I decided to catch up on one of my all-time favorite shows (The 100) after YEARS of not watching it. Why was I not watching it? Couldn’t tell ya, but I’m watching it again now (I’m even writing an essay on female representation in the series for my English course)! I loved the first three seasons of this gritty, dark, philosophically challenging teen dystopian and so far the start of the fourth season is just as good! Hopefully I’ll continue to catch up on the series, even if I do so slowly!

what i listened to

🚺 Womanica Many of y’all know that I’m a physics major, but I’m also majoring in anthropology and minoring in folklore studies. So it shouldn’t be too surprising that I’ve been enjoying Womanica‘s series all about goddesses! I love that they’ve focused the series on goddesses from all over the world and not just the typical Western cultures like Greek/Roman, Norse, and Slavic. I also enjoyed the hosts’ short discussions of what each goddess has represented across time. If you, like me, are a folklore and mythology fanatic, definitely check out this podcast series!

🎶 I found out Bea Miller has released new music relatively recently, and (of course) I loved most of it, so I added my favorites to my October 2023 playlist. I also added some Brent Faiyaz, Ethel Crain, and JVKE to the playlist, in addition to some new/old favorites off of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). In addition to the regular monthly playlist, I created a playlist celebrating Palestinian music and resistance, which features DAM, Elyanna, Dana Salah, and Saint Levant, among other Palestinian artists. I also want to give a shoutout to my absolute favorite song of the month which landed on both playlists, “From Gaza, With Love” by Saint Levant! If you’re gonna listen to any single song off of these playlists, definitely choose that one!!

what i bookmarked

Jack discussed the complicated ethics of ghostwriters and celebrity books (Video)

Over on Swim Press, Charlie Fabre published a piece all about why gothic literature is so suited to discussing womanhood

Rachel talked about how not all required reading is bullshit (Video)

Ruby interviewed Alexandra Christo, author of To Kill A Kingdom and the upcoming romantasy, The Night Hunt

Louise highlighted Asian horror on her TBR and watchlist

Alex taught us about pirates and interviewed H.M. Long, author of Dark Water Daughter

Michelle recommended vampire romances and books about shifters

Marie celebrated her 30th birthday

Jan gave us SFF novella recommendations

Anna posted an interesting review of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue

Michelle shined a light on 2024 releases she’s excited for

Asha shared 10 autumnal poems for fall lovers

Nicole tipped us off to her top 8 horror books for 2023

Kristin recommended vampire books, as well as witchy books

Elli gabbed about books for spooky season

Aria spotlighted books by Thai authors or set in Thailand

Veronica noted Asian-inspired fantasies you might enjoy if you liked A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli

Hannah highlighted spooky reads

Michael reflected on Taylor Swift’s song “It’s Time to Go” in a therapeutic light

Sam gave a bookish spin to the “my Roman Empire” meme

Line shed light on books she’s read but never mentioned

Sophie shared her favorite fantasy audiobooks nd where you can get them

Lay shouted out books with unusual formats

EJ recommended enemies-to-lovers books

India shined a light on books that’d make great video games

what i did this october & what i plan to do this november

October was another busy month for me, with a physics exam, lots of English essays due, and a Choir performance wherein I had not one but two solos! That said, it honestly wasn’t too bad, thank God! I passed my physics exam with the help of my friends and I forming a study group, I got As on both of my essays, and I had so much fun performing in the concert! We’ve also had a particularly nice October in my area in regards to the weather and the autumnal tree colors. The weather stayed mostly in the 60s to 70s (Farenheit) range, and the autumn leaves were more colorful and beautiful than we usually get (and have lasted longer too)!

As for what I’m doing this November, I’ve got Big Plans, lol! I’d like to do something to benefit Palestine, but I’ve yet to figure out what aside from calling my representatives… I’m also thinking of wrangling my friends to do something fun together, even if it’s just getting together for dinner. There’s also Thanksgiving and my birthday this month, so I’m really looking forward to the food and maybe getting myself something nice, hahaha! Other than that, it’s all up in the air, especially considering I have two physics exams this month in addition to a ton of essays, so I’ll be swamped.

spill the beans, friends!

• How was your October?
• Did you read anything memorable?
• Is there anything you’re looking forward to this upcoming November?