Our newsletter is taking a break. We’ll be back in September, but in the meantime, here’s a long list of reading & listening tips that will hopefully inspire and delight your free time. It’s curated by me, Caterina Capelli, Laguna~B’s head of editorial (and bookworm.)
BOOKS:
What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
The latest novel of one of my favorite writers, What We Can Know is set in a future distant enough for the environment to have drastically changed: waters have risen and swallowed entire countries, geography has rearranged, and political powers have shifted. Yet humanity has remained quite the same, except perhaps from the conscience that comes from trauma.
The protagonist, a scholar living in 2119, looks for a lost, mysterious poem dating back to our own era, the 2010s. Writing from his perspective, McEwan brings us into the thoughts of future generations looking back on us while reflecting on the role of memory in history and what technology would allow our descendants to know about us. It’s powerful, captivating, and not as dramatic as it sounds. On the contrary, I actually found it quite optimistic.
Paradise, by Toni Morrison
In my opinion Morrison’s best novel: I consumed it in less than a week. I always think of this book as a story about witches, though it is immensely more than that. Dark and intense, it follows the lives of a group of Black women living in a convent in rural Oklahoma in the mid-1970s, safely isolated from their misogynistic and prejudiced community. Their communal life unfolds in the form of a ritual, at least until their heaven is dramatically invaded.
Misteri d’Italia, by Dino Buzzati
In this collection of non-fiction short stories, Buzzati visits Italy’s countryside and villages, collecting ghost stories, vernacular mysteries, and alleged miracles that are all uniquely Italian. An easy, captivating read containing, among others, many unconventional accounts from the heart of our beloved Veneto region. The Italian first edition also has an iconic cover.
La vie de Simone Weil, by Simone Pétrement
I consider Simone Weil one of the most inspiring (and overlooked) philosophers of the 20th century. Her thinking advocates for exercising attention in every aspect of life—even the smallest or most unpleasant ones—as a way to overcome prejudice and, eventually, as the purest form of love. Written like a novel, this book retraces her life, from the origins of her quirky personality and interests to her many adventures from which her philosophy emerged. I must say, it’s refreshing to read about someone whose life, as unconventional as it was, was so committed to what our society now lacks (yet needs) the most: moral values and attention. Originally in French but translated in English and Italian.
If you’re not familiar with her thinking, I suggest you listen to the episodes that the podcast Philosophize This! has dedicated to her work.
Nostalgia–A history of a dangerous emotion, by Agnes Arnold-Forster
If you know Laguna~B and our approach to Murano glass, you’ll know how allergic we feel towards nostalgic attitudes in general. This essay looks at the history of an emotion that seems to permeate every aspect of our culture, politics, and relationships. Did you know that, in the 17th century, nostalgia was considered a fatal disease?
Orientalism, by Edward W. Said
It’s always the right time to read (or re-read) this essay, which I dare call one of the most consequential of our era. From the exoticism of 19th-century romantic paintings to Agatha Christie, from the traditional “moretti” carved in the columns of our own Venetian palazzo as part of a tradition turning the image of the slave into decorative objects—orientalism has permeated Western cultures for centuries, enabling and beautifying the colonization of exotic places generically (and degradingly) identified as “the Orient.” If you’re a first-world-born, you’ll be surprised to discover how many of those biases lie within yourself, too. Still an urgent—and wonderfully written—piece of critical thinking. An exhibition titled Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy has just opened at The Met, in case you want to dig further.
And finally…a bit old but always a worthy summer read: How to Do Nothing, by Jenny Odell. I had written about it a couple of years ago, here.
RANDOM FAVORITES FROM THE PRESS:
The Art of the Impersonal Essay, by Zadie Smith in The New Yorker
The island Without Time, by Shayla Love in The Atlantic
The art of Fiction with Truman Capote, interview by Pati Hill in The Paris Review
There’s no Beginning and There is no End–Mariah Carey and the refusal of time, by Amelia Groom, in e-flux
Going further with pieces about musicians and time: Drake, In search of Lost Time, by Benjamin Krusling in The Paris Review
The Sphinx, A Living Image, by Billie Muraben in Source Type
Mommy Issues, by Liara Roux in Spike Art magazine
Francesca Faccani’s interview with Mindy Seu in Vogue Italia (Italian)
A Laugh in the Dark, my interview with Rick Owens, in Laguna~B 2025 digital magazine.
IN PRINT:
VICE UK is coming up soon with a feature by photographer and researcher Federico Vespignani exploring the role of graphic design in defining the war aesthetics in Ukraine.
Thea Hawlin has a feature about glass icon Bruno Amadi in The Plant magazine.
In the new issue of Elisa Carassai and Leonardo Pellegrino’s Sali e Tabacchi Journal, there’s a good piece I wrote about a mysterious collector near Rome who might be out of a Roald Dahl story.
The new issue of TON magazine is out with Billie Muraben’s feature about her visit to Alberto Alessi’s home and factory, photographed by Oskar Proctor. Unmissable for any interiors and design nerd.
LISTEN:
Shostakovich
My obsession, always glorious and suitable for every season. Personally, I love this selection by Francesco Fusaro and Richard Greenan on NTS.
Cécile McLorin Salvant
I recently went to her concert in Rome, and fell in love. Go listen to all her albums. Here she performs live in The New Yorker’s radio studio.
Pum Pum Power Hour
The most sophisticated dancehall, afrobeat, and reggaeton selected by queen Lil C: the soundtrack of my recent 30th birthday party.
Laguna BLAZE
Alba’s Faggionato summer playlist, a (psychological) survival tool against canicula, curated for Laguna~B. If you’ve been reading these newsletters for a while, you’ll know she always delivers.
Happy summer and…subscribe! Also, send over your suggestions: we’re always on the hunt for something new and inspiring.