june digest
books, films, music and collected media
This month I decided to have fun and create a small personal curriculum for myself. However, I did this without putting pressure on myself and planning to watch lectures while I was studying for my university exams.
I took inspiration from things I’ve already been doing this year to follow my curiosity and learn new things, like reading books and watching films. In particular, since January I’ve been watching a film every week and now I decided to also listen to a new album every week, because I tend to listen to the same few artists and genres if I don’t intentionally get out of my comfort zone, plus I was heavily inspired by this amazing Substack post I read a while ago.
So I gave myself a reading list, a watch list and I selected four albums to listen to. I organised my lists into two courses, one for books and films, named “dreams and the subconscious”, and the other for music, called “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love”. I’ll explain my process for selecting the materials and give the full lists in this post.
My tbr and watch list were full of books and films about dreams, so I selected one for each week of the month, collecting a mix of surrealist and weird novels and films, on which I took notes with my commonplace book. I also ended up listening to a few podcasts on the topic: I’ll list these as additional resources.
books
The invisible cities, Italo Calvino (1972): a collection of dreamt cityscapes, which questions what are cities and how we live them. This inspired my mini essay architectures of the mind.
Kafka on the shore, Haruki Murakami (2002): a story that constantly enters and escapes reality, the mind and the world around it.
The hearing trumpet, Lenora Carrington (1974): the surreal adventures of a lady in a nursing home.
films
Dreams, Akira Kurosawa (1990): a series of imaginary scenarios that blend memories and hidden thought processes.
The Saragossa Manuscript, Wojciech Has (1965): events and tales intertwined within a mysterious manuscript.
Solaris, Andrei Tarkovsky (1972): a philosophical reflection on human psychology through a science fiction story. This inspired my mini essay the only way out is in.
Destino, Dominique Monfery (2003): a short resulted from the collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dalì.
podcasts
Oneirology Part 1 (DREAMS) with G. William Domhoff, Ologies with Alie Ward, ep. 299
Oneirology Part 2 (DREAMS) with G. William Domhoff, Ologies with Alie Ward, ep. 300
Selecting the albums to listen to was a bit harder, just because I didn’t know where to start. I knew that I wanted to listen to Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, which came out earlier this month, so I decided to use that as a starting point. I browsed some playlists people had made before the release, based on the vibe of the first few singles and found three songs I liked, which belonged to three albums I had never before listened back to back. I also decided to select one album that was recently released and two that came out before I was born. Ironically, some of them also ended up fitting the theme of the book and film based course “dreams and the subconscious”.
albums
So Tonight That I Might See, Mazzy Star (1993): dark, dreamy and psychedelic album, which explores a variety of themes, from love and loneliness, to decay and connection.
you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, Olivia Rodrigo (2026): the artist paints the timeline of an ended love story, as if it’s a dream she suddenly woke up from. I wrote the mini essay you seem pretty self-aware for a girl so lost in delusion about it.
Older (and Wiser), Lizzy McAlpine (2025): a deluxe album exploring the artist’s relationship with love and the past experiences that contributed to shaping it, through an honest reflection of her weaknesses and mistakes.
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac (1977): a response to the rumours spread by the news after a series of scandals concerning the members of the group. Powerful and deeply impacting.
Thanks for reading,
𝒢. 𝒢.
Hello! I’m 𝒢. 𝒢., an archival science student from Italy. Here I share my passion for writing, learning and media collecting, through mini essays about books, films, music and more.
I really loved reading this. 🤍
One thing I especially like about your monthly digests is that they never feel like lists of things you’ve simply completed. They feel like maps of curiosity. The books, films, podcasts, and albums all seem to quietly speak to one another, and by the end it feels less like you’ve finished a checklist… and more like you’ve explored an idea.
Your “personal curriculum” was also a lovely reminder that learning doesn’t always have to happen inside a formal course.
Sometimes simply following a question with genuine curiosity creates the most memorable kind of education.
Thank you for sharing another thoughtful month. 🫶🏻
(I’ll definitely be checking out Invisible Cities. ✨)
Love your exploration into movies and music
Your even going for movie not global hits but are filled with so much life there just amazing.