I often struggle with YA books, and did even when I was squarely in their target audience, because it seems like most of them are built on the assumption that the reader wants to relate with teenagers. Which, yeah, is kind of the point, but high school, adolescence—it was a rough time for me andContinue reading “‘Dead Queens Club’ Breathes New Life into History”
Tag Archives: Have already recommended to someone
It’s Easy to Fall Under the Spell of ‘Gothic’
One of the most pleasurable threads running through Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic is that the book’s heroine, Noemí Taboada, can be in the throes of spooky secrets and acutely in danger and still take a moment to consider her outfit. For example: “Noemí changed into a polka-dot day dress with a square neck. She hadContinue reading “It’s Easy to Fall Under the Spell of ‘Gothic’”
‘Exhalation’ is a Breath of Fresh Air
The thing that is striking about Ted Chiang’s work is how well thought out everything is. His are not stories that blossom from a singular thought. His are not suppositions of a singular event spun out a different way. When reading his stories, you get a strong sense that the ideas and the characters areContinue reading “‘Exhalation’ is a Breath of Fresh Air”
Summer’s Over but ‘Beach Read’ Still Sizzles
I have mentioned before how I’m not usually drawn to romance novels (and Kath, if you’re reading, I’m sorry for being a disappointment). It’s not that I hate love, I just struggle with several aspects of the genre. Namely, the heavy reliance on miscommunications and deus ex machina to provide a happy ending, as wellContinue reading “Summer’s Over but ‘Beach Read’ Still Sizzles”
‘Don’t Want to Die’ Isn’t Poor on Prose
If there’s one thing Michael Arceneaux isn’t, it’s coy. His second collection of essays, I Don’t Want to Die Poor, minces no words as he talks about the dire financial straits he found himself in after college and the various ways debt has made his life harder. Through that lens, he talks in about sexContinue reading “‘Don’t Want to Die’ Isn’t Poor on Prose”
Rolling in ‘The Deep’
On my TBR is The Deep. No author, but it’s in with the 2019 stuff, so I wasn’t worried about finding it. Unfortunately (or fortunately), there were actually two books titled The Deep published in 2019 and both look like something I’d put on my TBR list. Since I couldn’t remember which one I meantContinue reading “Rolling in ‘The Deep’”
More Nightmare than Dream in ‘House’
I’ve been recommending Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House to people for months. To the classmate trying to find a way of writing a memoir of her time in the Air Force without resurrecting her past too much. To the colleague arguing that Choose Your Own Adventures weren’t an effective form of storytelling. To theContinue reading “More Nightmare than Dream in ‘House’”
‘Butchering Art’ Makes Gore Fun
I love a good medical history. There’s just something about the collision of history and gore and progress that is fascinating. Deborah Blum’s The Poisoner’s Handbook is one of my favorite nonfictions ever (the PBS doc was fascinating, too) and I am very excited for The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth by Thomas Morris, whichContinue reading “‘Butchering Art’ Makes Gore Fun”
Ring Reads 