Books:
- Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
- The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (currently reading)
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- Middle Passage by Charles R. Johnson
- The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Tale of the Heike
- BFG by Roald Dahl
- Nine Stories by J.D. Sallinger
- The Plague by Albert Camus
Movies:
- Cool Runnings
- Interstellar
- Ex Machina
- Crooklyn
- Lion King
- Mad Max
- The Big Lebowski
- A Christmas Story
- Black Panther
- The Dark Knight
- The Nutty Professor
Albums:
- Rastaman Vibration by Bob Marley
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
- Break it Yourself by Andrew Bird
- Wave Like Home by Future Islands
- Where We All Belong by The Marshall Tucker Band
- Chulahoma by The Black Keys
- Aquemini by Outkast
- Déjà Vu by CSNY
- Lemonade by Beyonce
- Golden Hits by The Drifters
Chicago:
- 49th Street Beach
- Dan Ryan Woods
- Top Notch Beefburgers
- George Blossum House (Grandma’s)
- South Shore Country Club Golf Course
- Garfield Park Conservatory
- Jimmy’s or Woodlawn Tap
- The Cove
- Comiskey Park
- Harbee’s smoking section
Artists:
- Alice Shaddle Baum (Grandma)
- Karl Wirsum
- Ray Yoshida
- H.C.Westermann
- Roger Brown
- Jefferson Pinder
- Isabel Barbuzza
- Fred Berger
- Miji Shin
- Christina Ramberg