Zine Review: Anecdata 5

Anecdata 5
Olivia M June
Oliviaszines.tumblr.com
www.ParadoxNowCreations.etsy.com

Anecdata 5 is another ‘zine in the life’ of Olivia, containing pieces like a short dream she had, ‘Femme-NOS’, ‘Racism and Romance Novels’, updates on pieces from previous zines in the series, and more. Plus, Olivia continues her variety review section, this time with soda reviews. Though I’ll likely never try any of them, I thought it was fun to see how someone judges soda.

The writing style that I found so engaging in Anecdata 1 continues in this edition and takes topics that might otherwise be ‘delicate’ and makes them read as normal as talking about the weather. (As it should be.) I love learning about new things (and Olivia introduces me to new things) with zines because it’s such a safe but personal place to start.

The piece that really stuck out to me in this issue was “El Centro and Alienation” in which Olivia talks about the disconnection between her and her Mexican-American heritage as well as pondering why attending Mexican-American events can make her feel negative.

Being distanced from my own heritage is a sadness I’ve always carried but sort of just accepted about my life. To read a zine by someone expressing that kind of sadness and isolation made me feel for Olivia but also has inspired me to write about my own experiences.

One more thing to love about zines.

As you can likely tell, this is a perzine series that I am continuing to enjoy and want to have all copies of. I hope to see (and read, of course) more in the future.