Authorstrator Listy List
A SUMMER round of recommendations from my TBR, watch list and other stuff
It's time for July’s edition of the Authorstrator Listy!
If you haven’t encountered this type of post before, the Authorstrator Listy is a roundup of what I think are the most interesting bits and bobs I collect for all the lists I keep in my notebooks over the course of the month! I’ve been having a hard time getting book and show recommendations lately, scouring the interwebs and keeping my ear to the ground but the best recs I get come from folks I know, artists and authors I follow, and people who’s tastes I trust. By sharing my recs on the Listy List, I hope you find something you love or at least, something to add to your own many lists. So don't be shy! If you’ve got a great recommendation for a read, a watch, or arty stuff, I invite you to share your latest finds with us in the comments!
Here we go!
The Reading List
Articles
shared a great tutorial about drawing architecture! I do find architecture intimidating so this was great.A little book niche-ish but this was a fascinating read about the pricing of books from
‘s post just get better and better, and this one was great insight into Marco's process as an illustrator and behind the scenes drawing drills. is a staple newsletter for my reading needs, and I keep coming back to this one about Eminem's loose leaf notes. Mostly because it confirms what I’ve been saying - there’s no right or wrong way to keep a notebook!Another of my newsletter diet staples is
and this was an amazing post they did recently with a TREASURE TROVE of great resources for your drawing needs.Reactor - This used to be Tor’s newsletter but they’ve rebranded to be “Reactor.” Very SFF heavy, I often find nerdy articles by some of my fave authors and discover new ones through this awesome newsletter. It also often shares short stories which I love to find.
Books
Taking a break from my usual diet of SFF and leaning into the literary. Why? Not sure! Haven’t found an SFF title I’m super excited about in the last little bit - which I suspect means the really amazing SFF titles are coming in the fall. I’ll be ready! In the mean time, I’m enjoying dipping my toes into other genre waters, as one must be open to from time to time.
The Bear - Julia Phillips Its not just ‘cus I love Bears! Adult sibling stories always draw me in and the voice I read in the free sample was really captivating, so I'm invested in what happens to these two sisters.
The God of the Woods - Liz Moore It’s summer so what reading list is complete without a summer camp mystery, eh?
Liars - Sarah Manguso - The blurb just sounded so JUICY. An artist dealing with a marriage in turmoil. Yes. Let’s do it.
Zombie Shark Highway - Me! It’s shark week on Discovery this week so I couldn’t resist adding my zombie sharks to the list. This is the only time of year that I can! 🦈😱
The Watch List
Leave the World Behind - This one’s on Netflix with a heavy-weight cast: Mahershala Ali, Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon. The reviews I’ve seen haven’t been great so I went in very skeptical and…..I kinda loved it? I enjoyed my time thoroughly. The artistic choices were weird in all the right ways - sort of retro horror stuff happening with uncomfortable close-ups and slightly shakey camera work. There’s also some campy performances along side straight-edge, which can be awkward but in the hands of these star-level pros it really provides the right uncanny-ness to make everything as uncomfortable as it should be. It’s one of the more interesting, original movies I’ve seen in a while, lots of slick style and and a refreshing break from the remakes, sequels and nostalgia-plays that seem to dominate our cinematic offerings of late.
Trap - M Night Shyamalan movies are a real treat for me. They can be universally loved (6th Sense) or reviled (The Happening). But even when people are dunking on M Night, I often think we’ve misunderstood the ambition of the piece (I have my own quiet theory that The Happening is actually genius). So, when I saw this new film is taking place on my turf at the Rogers Centre in Toronto - the Sky Dome! - I couldn’t be more excited to make time at some point this summer to get to the theatre to see it. PLUS its starring Josh Hartnett - 90s kids, lets go!
The Art List
THIS from
and looks like the MOST fun. A sketchbook gallery!? Yes please! I’m very excited for this, and fully intend to submit a fountain pen ink illustration to it. If you’ve got a sketchbook with some pages you want to share, this sketchbook gallery sounds like a great way to connect with other artists in the community!Art for Kids Hub on Youtube - this ones for the kiddos! My 8 year old has been loving watching Hubs. His easy to follow drawing tutorials are great for getting kids drawing and giving them confidence to try new things in their art. My girl will often draw one or two Hubbs drawings and then spend all afternoon drawing her own version, taking what she learned from the videos and adapting them to suit whatever is in her imagination. And I think that’s great. If you’ve got a budding artist, this is a great resource.
And that’s it! What are you excited about this summer?
and thanks a lot for sharing the sketchbook Gallery post!!! 🩷🩷🩷
Thanks for the recommendations. I always like seeing those from creators.
I am a little bit obsessed with Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire series on AMC. It's sooo good!
I just finished Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland (a queer pirate fantasy) and loved the offbeat characters and witty banter dialogue. And I'm currently reading In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf, an Appalachian magical murder mystery, and I'm enjoying it so far. The books are quite different in tone, with RCTW much lighter and ITHOC darker, in case that matters.