i love [miranda] july

I can't remember when I first heard about Miranda July. I think it was some time in 2006. All I know is that once I saw Me and You and Everyone We Know (which July wrote and directed), I was hooked. I love watching movies or reading books about relationships (or lack there of) or how people connect (or the ways they simply can't), and these themes are the focus of Ms. July's work, be it art, film, or literature.

No One Belongs Here More Than You is a collection of 16 very unconventional short stories, each dealing with a character's loneliness and need to be loved/accepted. I'm sad that I left my copy in Canada, as I feel that it only gets better with each read. I suppose I could buy a new one, as it comes in four colours (so we can read a book that matches our outfit, of course). If we're wearing something other than the chosen colours? She urges us to read a different book that day. Oh, and the whole website is slides of July writing on her dry erase board (ie. fridge and stove). Check it out.

Additionally, July (with Harrell Fletcher) launched a website in 2002, called Learning to Love You More, which encouraged visitors to complete various assignments. Sound lame? It's not. My personal favourites are: give advice to yourself in the past, write the phone call you wish you could have, take a picture of strangers holding hands, and reread your favourite book from fifth grade. The best 'assignments' were taken, creating a wonderful book with the same name, which will have a permanent place on my coffee table.
With a fans like Dave Eggers and David Byrne, a feature in Interview Magazine, and countless props for Me and You and Everyone We Know, it seems that July is best.