inner world maintenance

books, movies, and music that fed my soul this summer

Whenever I’m feeling particularly numb to beauty and wonder I check in with my inner world. Have I been tending to it? Am I stoking the flames to keep it chugging along, or am I neglecting it entirely? I’ve always been proud of my interiors, but the older I get (and the more distressing the news is), the harder it is to maintain the space. We’re constantly consuming, and oftentimes the algorithm feeds us junk food. The higher my screen time gets the more panicked I feel about the world around me.

It’s made me think a lot about my media diet— what kind of fuel do I need right now? How can I access the art and the artists that challenge me? Increasing your input with the good stuff increases your output. Consider this your syllabus for a richer inner world.

Books

I have found a kindred spirit in Lorrie Moore. I first read Self-Help by the pool at my parent’s house and devoured it in a single afternoon. It’s a great short story collection, and a quick read at 163 pages. If you’re a fan of lyrical prose and portraits of relationships you’re going to love it. I followed it with Birds of America: Stories, a longer short story collection by Moore, and it has enriched so much of my thinking and writing.

If you’re in the mood for some nonfiction I recommend The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green. I was there when the ancient texts were written, Looking for Alaska was a critical part of my High School experience, but I’ve been a fan of John’s longer than I’ve read any of his books. He and Hank Green were a fixture of early YouTube with Vlogbrothers, and they still create informative and entertaining content there that makes my brain feel bigger. “The Anthropocene” is part memoir and part world history lesson, and 100% a reminder of how beautifully John Green observes humanity.

Other good reads of the season include The New Life by Tom Crewe (yes of that article about Ocean Vuong fame), The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, Just Kids by Patti Smith, Early Work by Andrew Martin, The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila, It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin by Marisa Meltzer, Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (more on this later).

Looking for a reading buddy? I’m starting keepsake’s first book club on October 1st and you can join it by voting on what book we’ll read in the chat. You can also send an email with your mailing address to keepsakesubstack@gmail.com with the subject line ‘book club’ to receive a welcome letter + complementary bookmark <3

Movies

Soft launching it here, but I’ve decided that it’s going to be a movie fall. I’m banning myself from binge watching the same 20 episodes of Sex in the City while I rot on the couch. In an era when short form video is king, watching a movie is essentially reading a book. Narrative rich, visually stunning, classic cinema is on my list for October. Here are a few categorized watches of my summer if you’re looking to add to your watchlist too.

Thrilling and political

I think my favorite movie watch of the year has been All the President’s Men (1976), directed by Alan J. Paluka. The film stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as the green reporters who uncovered the Watergate scandal, something I vaguely understood but had not ever looked into the details of until watching. It’s a gorgeously shot depiction of an insane time in U.S. politics, which is very helpful now in another insane time! Paluka is an expert at capturing anxiety on screen, truly one of the most thrilling thrillers I’ve seen and also a little history lesson.

He’s so good in fact his three standout films from this time period have been dubbed the ‘Paranoia Trilogy’, starting with Klute (1971) and The Parallax View (1974). I’ve yet to see Klute (Jane Fonda stars as a call girl who’s stalked by a psychopath), but I just watched The Parallax View and the imagery has been stuck in my mind. Warren Beatty plays a political reporter attempting to uncover the assassination of a presidential candidate as the people around him keep winding up dead. My new love of Paluka has inspired me to really dig into the 1970s thriller as a genre, and fall feels like the perfect time to sink my teeth into more.

French and moody

Ever since seeing Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) directed by Agnes Varda I’ve been obsessed with French cinema. The technicolor dream The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) made a lasting impression on me, so when the opportunity came up to view Jean-Luc Godard’s A Woman is a Woman (1961) in theaters I jumped at it. This was such a fun almost fleabag-esque story where the audience was as central a character as the cast.

One of the best bits involves the main couple waking each other up in the middle of the night to antagonize each other silently, simply holding up book titles that double as rude things to say to each other. Imagine if your boyfriend fought with you by just holding up the book Nightbitch. Now that’s cinema!

Reading Bonjour Tristesse inspired me to watch Bonjour Tristesse (2024), the remake of the 1958 classic directed by Otto Perminger. The 2024 version is slinkier and silkier, with director Durga Chew-Bose masterfully capturing the moods and emotions that wreck havoc in the plot of the film. Bonjour Tristesse, all versions, is a coming of age story written by a French teenager that perfectly encapsulates all the ennui of adolescence, love, and loss.

In the same fashion, reading It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin by Marisa Meltzer put me on a Jane Birkin kick. I finally watched The Swimming Pool (1969) directed by Jacques Deray, an iconic role for Birkin, and another sexy and sad story that takes place in the South of France. It has been referenced countless times, and remade as A Bigger Splash (2015) by director Luca Guadagnino where a blonde Dakota Johnson takes on the Birkin role. I’m a huge Luca fan, and I have yet to finish his entire catalogue, but if you’re looking for something beyond Challengers (2024) and Call me by Your Name (2017) this is a good pick.

New releases and classics

I finally saw Dead Poets Society (1989) directed by Peter Weir, which I knew I would love and did, and if it’s also been on your list it is officially time to watch. I cried and smiled and felt hope and doubt combining into one beautiful ball of emotion.

Rear Window (1954) by the incomparable Alfred Hitchcock is another great classic for your repertoire. Shot from almost entirely in one room, a man stares out his apartment window and spies on his neighbors for witnessing what he assumes to be a murder. Grace Kelly is in this and it’s literally stupid to even point this out, but she’s so incredibly beautiful my jaw actually dropped. This film is considered by the experts to be one of his best and I’d have to agree. I’ll be watching more Hitchcock including Vertigo (1958) this fall.

2025 has been the year that Dakota Johnson is in love triangles, but between modern dating commentary Materialists (2025) by director Celine Song and oddball bromedy (bro comedy) Splitsville (2025) by Michael Angelo Covino, I have to side with the latter. If Madame Web (2024) has taught me anything it is that Dakota does not carefully choose her projects, but when you put her in the right one she sings. Her acting can be stilted to some, but I find her incredibly compelling when paired with the correct character. In Splitsville she plays a ceramicist and wife of a rich guy and has her classic loose denim and clogs and wispy bang styling and you’re like ‘yeah this all makes sense’. Also it’s funny.

I also enjoyed seeing The Phoenician Scheme (2025) directed by Wes Anderson, Materialists (2025) Sorry Baby (2025) directed by Eva Victor, Oh, Hi! (2025) directed by Sophie Brooks, and Weapons (2025) directed by Zach Cregger.

Podcasts

When it comes to podcasts, I almost exclusively listen to comedy. More specifically alt-comedians in the Brooklyn scene that I can see perform at the Bell House over and over. Everyone on this list though is someone who is not only entertaining, but intellectually sharp. The conversations they have will linger in my brain for days after listening, and inspire me to dig into my own cultural analysis.

My favorite podcast of all time, “StraightioLab”, is hosted by Sam Taggart and George Civeris and details the ins and outs of what is straight and what is gay. Are ‘tote bags’ actually straight? How about ‘rushing to get somewhere’? They debate it all and I agree with them 99% of the time.

Another one on rotation is “Ride” with Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone. You may know them from the (recently renewed!) television show Overcompensating, or Benito better as bennydrama7 on Instagram. Each episode they bring something that they ride for, but the true heart of the podcast is their intense friendship with one another. There are too many inside jokes and niche phrases to count, but listening to “Ride” will absolutely expand your vocabulary and your heart’s capacity for silliness.

I’m also a longtime listener of “Las Culturistas” with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, “So True” with Caleb Hearon, “Good Children” with Joe Hegyes and Andrew Muscarella, “Exploration: LIVE!” with Charlie Bardey and Natalie Rotter-Laitman, and “Lemme Say This” with Peyton Dix and Hunter Harris.

Music

Although a bunch of new music has released, I’ve been hard pressed to find my song of the summer. If I’m being honest it’s probably an instrumental off Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, an album I’ve been putting on every Monday to start my week slowly. I highly recommend going into the archives of some of these jazz giants. Another favorite of mine is Chet Baker Sings by Chet Baker.

It’s wild to me that “Andrew in Drag” by The Magnetic Fields has been trending on TikTok lately. I’ve been obsessed with Stephin Merritt’s lyricism for a decade and can always pull kernels of wisdom from his storytelling on 69 Love Songs.

New releases I’ve loved have been weird girl supremacist Audrey Hobert’s Who’s the Clown?, as well as Virgin by Lorde. I Quit by Haim is another great one by an artist who, like Lorde, I have been following since the 2010s. I recently saw Haim at Madison Square Garden and the album was even better live.

I liked Essex Honey by Blood Orange, and have been twinkling around in some alternative music like the single “300 Dreams” by After, or anything but especially “Bon Bon” by Fcukers.

For a slice of my general music taste I’m linking the Show & Tell playlist for my event last month by myself and friend Paige.

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That’s my summer media wrap but stay tuned for my fall movie syllabus in a few days. I’m really looking to scroll less and think more this season and I’m sure you could use that too!

xo,

Julianna