The Princess Bride was such an integral part of my childhood that I can't really imagine what being a kid would have been like without it. There aren't many films I feel this way about--Star Wars is the only other one that comes to mind. Given how beloved The Princess Bride is to me, it's... Continue Reading →
I don't even know where to start with this book. I loved it so much. I couldn't put it down. Now that I've finished it and returned it to the library, I find myself thinking about it constantly. I was blown away by O'Connell's raw honesty, beautiful prose, and cultural insight. But what surprised me... Continue Reading →
This is a tough one to review. Jazz Jennings was fifteen when she wrote it, and I want to say things like "this is a book written by a teenage girl, so take it with a grain of salt", but there's something about that that feels icky and dismissive of teenagers. Teenagers are as complicated... Continue Reading →
This is a hard book to classify--it's a memoir, but not a typical one. In seventeen linked essays, each one relating a near death experience, O'Farrell explores the inherent tension between life and death, the push and pull of mortality, the randomness, fragility and beauty of existing as creatures who die. It sounds vague and... Continue Reading →
I loved this book. I was looking forward to reading it, but I did not expect to love it so thoroughly. I loved it so much that I had trouble turning off the audio (which I highly, highly recommend--Sedaris is a superb reader). I devoured the 15 hour audiobook in 6 days, and every time... Continue Reading →
Ron Chast's graphic memoir about her parents' old age and death is about as blunt and straightforward as a book can get. This is not a criticism: the book, though fraught with descriptions of many things most of us do not want to think about, is compulsively readable. Chast's bluntness is what makes this memoir so... Continue Reading →
I was so looking forward to Heart Berries. I’ve recently rediscovered memoir (mostly thanks to audiobooks) and this one has been popping up all over the bookish internet as a book to look out for in 2018. Mailhot's memoir deals with her childhood on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest, her relationship with... Continue Reading →
Scaachi Koul's debut essay collection, One Day We'll All Be Dead And None Of This Will Matter, is funny, biting, warm, insightful, and curious. It was an utter delight to listen to on audio, a perfect blend of humor and depth. Despite dealing with serious issues, the overall tone is mostly light and jubilant. And though... Continue Reading →
I've been avoiding reading this for years, mostly because in my head I had it pegged in the vein of Eat, Pray, Love: privileged white lady gets divorced, does something totally radical and unexpected, and boom! enlightenment and empowerment. I do not need any more of those books in my in my life. But then, last... Continue Reading →
This Will Be My Undoing is a powerful blend of memoir, cultural critique, self-reflection, and celebration. Jerkins explores the experience of black girlhood and womanhood through a kaleidoscope of lenses. She writes frankly about sex, relationships, and dating, and the intersection of blackness and womanhood and sexuality. She writes eloquently about the various spaces she's... Continue Reading →
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