FFJ Recommends
Essential reading, listening, and cooking for the new year
Happy New Year from FFJ!
Is anyone else in shock that it’s 2024? It feels like 2023 flew by — although it was an exhilarating year for us. We grew our subscription base by quite a bit, published three issues (EARTH, CITY, and SEA), launched our merch store and print magazine, and finally did a real founder’s photoshoot where we managed to look normal in some shots but downright absurd in others. (YouTube told us that the key to taking flattering photos is to keep your limbs off your body and create interesting angles. Perhaps we took that advice a bit too far.)
As we reflect on another year gone by, we’re feeling grateful for the rich stew of other resources that FFJ invites us to marinate in. Our writing and editing are truly nothing without our reading and listening. And so, as we start a new year together, we want to share this abundance with those whose financial support keeps us going. Premium subscribers will find below our recommended books, magazines, podcasts, and recipes for 2024. (If you want access to the full content of this newsletter and all our other premium content, please consider becoming a premium subscriber. This support support allows us to pay our authors and cover the technical costs of running FFJ.) Some recommendations even come from premium subscribers in our Whatsapp group!
First of all: we recommend catching up on our SEA issue!
If you’re reflecting on, or recovering from, some intensive family time over the holidays, two of our latest SEA pieces explored the nuanced, at times heart-wrenching relationships that we can have with the people who are often the closest to us of all: our parents.
The first is Vera Town — an exploration by editor Isabela Vera of her at-times strained relationship with her father and her family’s cultural identity, as defined by movement, rupture, and re-connection. Premium subscribers also have access to an audio version.
The second is As Vast and Hungry As The Ocean by Branca Lessa de Sá, a graceful dive into her relationship with her mother and her own desires through poetry and the symbolism of the sea.
