Things in Nature Merely Grow – Yiyun Li

This is an impossible book to discuss. It is a memoir of a parent who goes through the unimaginable loss of her child, twice. I am in no place to critique her expression of grief, which naturally manifests differently in any person. If she got one minute of relief by writing this book, then it was worth it. That said, I had a difficult time reading this, and not solely because of the subject matter. It did get me pondering on personal relevant situations, which was useful. The presentation of her children, what should have been most important, however, was too cold, analytical, and detached for me to connect to the writer. The focus on rationalism and intellectualism felt at odds with the tragedy. This dichotomy between thinking and feeling was a theme in the book, as it was stated many times, so this is probably the point of the book. Also, the point obviously isn’t for me to connect to the subject matter, as it’s not my life to experience. Again, grief is one of the most personal emotions, so however someone chooses to process it is up to them. I only wish it was easier to sympathize, even if the writer didn't ask for it outright.

Obsession (2026)

This was a difficult film to watch, for a number of reasons. First and most obvious, it was genuinely scary. The way the possessed main character speaks and behaves and moves around is truly cursed. This leads to the second troubling reason for watching: the character is doomed to live a shell of a life through absolutely no fault of her own. In so many horror movies, we can criticize one or all of the main characters for making bad decisions. The girl did nothing wrong, while the guy, on the other hand, got exactly what he deserved, if not a little easier than he should have. I was not aware of the discourse around the characters, but I was perplexed—as someone who struggles picking up the most basic subtext—to learn there was even another way to interpret its message. And, again, it was terrifying. I paused the movie midway through to get a snack and found myself delaying restarting it, because of how unnerving it was. I’m very glad I watched it, but I don’t need to see it again for some time. I don’t care how much money it made versus how much it cost. I don’t care that it was apparently made by a YouTuber. It is an excellent horror film.

Deliverance – Opeth

I knew Opeth had a deep catalog, but despite the fact that I think Blackwater Park is an unassailable metal record, I was not too familiar with their other albums. It wasn’t until Pitchfork issued a classic review of Damnation that I learned they had two albums, essentially written in tandem but performed in different styles. I decided to listen to them both, as they are obviously paired. This first one, Deliverance, emphasizes the heavier side of metal. I am woefully ill-equipped to categorize the many subgenres of metal, but I heard some of the speed-, the doom-, and the death- varieties. I’m sure those are either totally obvious or completely wrong; regardless, it’s an excellent follow-up to Blackwater. I’m so eager to hear where the acoustic sequel goes from here.

Clickolding (PC)

Everything one needs to know about this experience can be learned by watching a YouTube playthrough with a runtime less than that of a single episode of television. That said, watching a video rather than engaging misses the point (or, rather, maybe is the point?) and the game is still worth playing through once and watching reactions later. Even knowing the story beats, the lack of jump-scares, the ending, I was totally unsettled the entire forty minutes. Yes, you literally click a button 10,000 times (or let the space bar handle some of the workload), but there are enough other things around the room with which to interact at scripted intervals that the game doesn’t feel tedious or annoying. I can understanding someone getting tired of the gag, and it probably could not have lasted much longer than it did, but this was the right length for what it was trying to accomplish. There is also a bit of an epilogue which, while optional, I found integral to the storytelling as a whole.

Despelote (PC)

Even being ambivalent to soccer, the inescapable passion for the World Cup caught up to me as well, though not to the actual field of play. A short experience—I played through in two sittings—this was story-based game from last year about the daily life of a young person in Ecuador following their national team in its quest for World Cup qualification. Of course, the story did not hit as hard for me, nor should it have, but I appreciated the personal nature all the same. The art style was fantastic, almost as if there was a sepia newsprint filter over realistic environments, while people, the soccer ball, and other important interactive objects were stark black-and-white. (Although quite a different tone, it was vaguely reminiscent of Tom Goes to the Mayor.) Near the end of the game, there was a moment when the scene suddenly shifted to walking around in color. At first, I thought my textures were not loading properly, but the narrator soon explained I was walking around a 3D rendered Google Maps equivalent of the area. As someone who frequently pulls up Street View of favorite places when I need a pick-me-up, this was stunningly poignant.