What’s On My Shelf?

It’s been almost four years since I last posted an article about What’s In My Bag? but since I’m mostly talking about books, movies, and records, I’ve decided to start calling this What’s On My Shelf?, and this is going to be a pretty good one considering the number of things I’ve neglected in writing for the last couple of years. So here’s what’s currently on my shelf and what’s happening with me:

Sam Fender’s “People Watching”: Sam Fender’s third record isn’t only his best album to date but it’s also his most beautiful and my favorite album of 2025 so far. Impressively well-produced, his touching lyrics and heartland rock melodies along with Tish Murtha’s photography for the cover make People Watching a melancholic statement about growing up in working-class North Shields.

“Dear God, the Parthenon is Still Broken” by Yorgos Lanthimos: The photography book I was dying to get my hands on, this is Lanthimos’ personal photo archive from the shooting of his latest film Poor Things. Even though isn’t a very large book, it’s definitely a collector’s must by featuring incredible pictures taken of the sets and casting.

The Black Keys’ “Ohio Players”: My favorite Black Keys album since their incredible El Camino, this is actually a record that I bought at a store in Mexico City while recently spending 10 days there. Probably my favorite album of 2024 along with Fontaines D.C’s Romance.

A History of Italian Cinema by Peter Bondanella and Federico Pacchioni: For those who don’t know, I’m currently doing a Masters in Communications focusing on male bodies in Italian cinema during the years of the lead. I had to do some research for obvious reasons and this is an incredible book about the history of Italian cinema written in a non-academic way which makes it easy for everyone to read. Happy to say I’m pretty pleased with the number of films I’ve seen that are mentioned here!

“La Lunga Strada di Sabbia” by Paolo di Paolo and Pier Paolo Pasolini: This photography book has recently come out and it’s about the photographies taken by Paolo di Paolo during a trip in Italy with Pier Paolo Pasolini. Featuring incredible photos from Italy that could have come out of a neo-realistic film, this is one of my newest favorite discoveries that I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in Pasolini and Italy during the 60s and 70s.

The Bikiders by Danny Leon: I had to grab my hands on this biographic/photography book on which Jeff Nichols’movie was based, and thankfully I found it at Foyles in London when I went shopping there back in November. I’m still waiting for the perfect moment to sit down and go through with it.

Sofia Coppola Archive: Probably the most popular item of the article, Sofia Coppola Archive’s photography book is indeed a must-have item for people who like photography, cinema, and of course, Sofia Coppola’s movies. Even though the material for her latest works somewhat disappoints, the amount of photos from The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and Marie Antoinette makes the book worth it.

Babygirl Blu-Ray: There is no hiding that I absolutely loved Babygirl and to my surprise, I discovered A24 is actually releasing their own Blu-rays now, so this was my first A24 Blu-ray purchase. The same goes for Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, and Guadagnino’s Queer.

Criterion’s Pasolini 101: Featuring 9 feature films from Pier Paolo Pasolini, this was a very desired item for my collection that I was able to have thanks to my friend from the U.S. who came to visit. And now that my master’s research is about Italian bodies on screen, this Criterion box couldn’t have come at the most appropriate moment, making me take my time to rediscover these masterpieces.

La Terra Trema by Luchino Visconti: Speaking of Blu-Rays, Criterion, and A24, Radiance has easily become my new favorite film distributor. Ironically enough, they also started to release extremely important Italian classics on Blu-Ray, such as Il Posto and I fidanzati by Ermanno Olmi, A Man on His Knees and Goodbye & Amen by Damiano Damiani – all movies I’ve recently bought. Not to mention The Railroad Man by Pietro Germi.