February 2025 - What I'm Reading / Watching / Playing
What I'm Reading
A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
We have a semi-functional book club at Playdead, and most recently we read A Wizard of Earthsea, the first title in Ursula K. Le Guin's "Earthsea Cycle". This wasn't my first time reading Le Guin—I'd previously read some of her short stories, including the oft-referenced The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, as well The Dispossessed, a fascinating examination of two different kinds of utopia—and I am always enchanted by the worlds she creates. The way she weaves personal narratives into the fabric of the setting so that the stakes feel simultaneously epic and immensely personal shows her mastery of the craft, and the depth of her characters carry those stakes so that you're never disinterested in how it will all turn out.
As you might infer, I loved A Wizard of Earthsea. In particular, I loved that it's a story about personal responsibility, about growing stronger through adversity, and about facing your demons. I loved that it's a story about persisting despite failure, and the value of having others around you who can support you when you feel like you can't.
The Message - Ta-Nehisi Coates
I first heard of Ta-Nehisi Coates when The Water Dancer was nominated for some award (I'm not being flippant; the book was nominated—and won—a lot of awards). I remember thinking it sounded interesting, albeit a bit too "American"—I —to pick up. But when I heard that he'd gone to Palestine and written about his experiences there in The Message, I picked it up immediately.
I think everyone—bar Palestinians themselves, perhaps, because they already know these things—should read this book. The fact that it's set before October 7th 2023 makes it an excellent account of the state of the conflict before its escalation. To put it bluntly, it makes it clear that Israel's treatment of Palestinians was indefensible even before they engaged in all-out genocide; that the Israeli treatment of Palestine is that of an apartheid state engaging in systematic oppression, and that this has been true for a long time.
Go read it, and hear for yourself.
What I'm Watching
Bel-Air (Season 3)
My initial response when I heard someone was taking The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and turning it into a prestige drama was "...huh". I didn't think about how the show did in fact have plenty of dramatic elements, and touched on some heavy themes, even as it remained consistently funny.
F.D Signifier's video on Black boyhood—in which he uses Bel-Air as a case study—piqued my interest in the show enough to convince my partner that we should watch it. We ended up binging season 1, and then season 2 as well once it ended.
We're currently watching season 3—and would have finished it by now if we hadn't been in the middle of moving—and it's still a blast to watch. I'm not sure I'm entirely onboard with the whole young entrepreneur thing Will and Carlton have going on (particularly because their entire business model appears to be a mix of identity-based motivational speaking and merch sales, which seems... shallow?) but all the other arcs are still as engaging as always (I'm very happy that Geoffrey gets a lot of screen-time this season)!
What I'm Playing
Sniper Elite: Resistance
Preparing for a move is a lot of work (and preparing for your second move in 8 months is exhausting), so I didn't have a lot of time to play video games in February. I also didn't feel like playing anything too demanding, which is why I was very happy to see Rebellion's latest entry in the Sniper Elite franchise pop up on Game Pass.
The consensus among reviews seemed to be that it's "more of the same", which—as someone who's always found the Sniper Elite games to hit a pretty good level of challenge where they remain entertaining without being "hard"—sounded perfectly good to me. I installed the game, prepared myself to shoot some Nazis from very long distances, and have been having a pretty good time of it so far. Games like this are a reminder that Game Pass can be nice to have for playing what otherwise might not feel "worth it".
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
I was originally planning to post this in February, so I didn't think I'd have started playing the sequel to one of my favorite narrative games of all time. Fortunately, my move consumed more of my time than I expected, so I have been playing Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector for a good few hours at this point.
Honestly, the game is a gem. Ever since I read Doc Burford's excellent article about wholesome games, I've realized that Citizen Sleeper is, in fact, a fundamentally wholesome story. Sure, the themes of the game are dark, and you'll spend a lot of time in stressful situations, but this is nonetheless a story about perseverance through hardship, about supporting others (and having that support returned in kind), and about making the life for yourself that you want for yourself. That's hella wholesome, if you ask me.
The sequel is more of that, but expands on the original in interesting ways; new systems are introduced to keep the mechanics fresh, and the scope of the game is bigger now, with the addition of a crew and the ability to travel between stations in the Belt.
It's a must-play, as was the original.
