Happy Tuesday All,
And welcome to the Cultural Reads Newsletter, with a bi-weekly book, music, and movie recommendations from all around the world.
In this week’s newsletter: Ethiopian Music, Modern Korean Books, Indian Street Art, Colombian Classic, Moroccan Music & Sleep Science.
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Some of you might know the famous Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke.
But have you also heard of Ethiopian reggae artist Teddy Afro and the Ethiopian Queen of Soul, Aster Aweke?
Find the 10 artists who created the best new and old Ethiopian music.
Are you looking for your next read?
Check out these modern 10 Korean books.
Here’s a teaser of my six favorites:
1. Pachinko – Three generations of prejudice against “second-class Korean citizens” in Japan.
2. Kim Jiyoung – A young woman’s struggles with gender inequality and societal pressure in a male-dominated society.
3. Human Acts: The story of a young student who gets killed in the Gwangju Uprising against a brutal government.
4. The Tears of my Soul: The memoir of a North-Korean spy who helped bomb a Korean flight that killed 115 people.
5. The Plotters – The story of a professional assassin who works for an underground organization known as the Library.
6. Tower -The tower is a metaphor for life. How do the inhabitants interact with each other and why are some floors rich and others poor and overcrowded?
Check out the full list and description in this article with the top 10 best modern Korean books.
I recently bought the painting above, made by Nishant Jain – also known as the Sneaky Artist.
You can find more drawings on his Instagram, but he also writes a fantastic newsletter with illustrated stories.
Experience an Indian wedding through his writing, or check out his CBC News item on drawing people on trains.
This is one of the best books in the world.
Why had I not read it yet?
Because 400+ pages of generations covering five generations of men called Arcadio or Aureliano seemed like a difficult read.
Last week I decided to give it a try anyway.
And I’m so happy I did.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is a magical book, absurdly funny, and challenging to put down.
There’s a reason Gabriel Garcia Marquez won the Nobel Prize.
Are you also willing to take the leap?
You’re one click away.
My Masterpiece is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen and recommended to me during my interview with Colombian artist Andrés Ribón.
The cynical artist Arturo Silva doesn’t give a shit about anyone.
Unfortunately, the world doesn’t care about him anymore either.
Arturo and his agent need to find a way to make art relevant again and devise a crazy plan.
You can watch the trailer above and find out where to stream the movie here.
Are your dreams safe?
In an experiment with three people, scientists correctly predicted people’s dreams using MRI scans.
The scientists could tell if you were dreaming of a man or a woman, a dog or a bed, flowers or a knife.
Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
