Well, Americans, how were your Thanksgivings? I hope you sternly noped any racisms you encountered from your relatives and ate plenty of delicious turkey. We are reaching the end of a wonderful Nonfiction November, hosted this week by the fab Lory from the Emerald City Book Review. It’s been a month full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book! I may as well confess now that I have not been as riotously active a participant in Nonfiction November as I intended.…
11 CommentsAuthor: Jenny Hamilton
Happy Wednesday, team, and happy early Thanksgiving to all the Americans! This is our sad and subdued post-election podcast in which we nevertheless try to find things to be thankful for. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go! Episode 71 Ask us for our gift book recommendations over at the Holiday Gift Guide! We’ll be giving out recs on the podcast that airs on December 14th, so hurry and get your requests in! Here’s my tweetstorm about how to be a good ally. What…
5 CommentsI didn’t do this on purpose, although I would have if I’d thought of it: The book I read immediately after the election turned out to be a work of experimental fiction that explores how life and education in a dictatorship narrows the range of thoughts that it is possible to think. Alejandro Zambra’s Multiple Choice, translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell, is a spoof on the Academic Aptitude Exam, required for all college-bound Chilean students, which Zambra took in 1993, when Chile was in transition to democracy following years of dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet. In an interview with The…
11 CommentsManuel Gonzales NK Jemisin Nicole Chung Mira Jacob Masha Gessen Vann R. Newkirk II Rebecca Traister Rembert Browne Nikole Hannah-Jones Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham A whole bunch of writers of many genres Stay safe, guys.
11 CommentsNonfiction November continues, hosted this week by Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves. This week we’re talking book pairings! This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story. Mm, yes, I love a good game of Read This Then That. Nonfiction November has pegged me accurately in this regard. Let’s start with a creepy debut novel…
34 CommentsNote: I received a copy of Committed from the publisher for review consideration. I maintain a master list of Claims that Require Heightened Scrutiny, and the number one item on my list — indeed the reason I started to maintain the list — is this: Any claim that a complicated problem has a simple solution. Nothing infuriates me more1 than people insisting that a complicated thing is actually very simple if people would just look at it in a new way. No! Systems are complicated! Even when there is a simple solution (e.g., we have a vaccine that prevents polio),…
18 CommentsIt’s super weird listening to this podcast (that’s why I’m posting it late) because Whiskey Jenny and I were so young and innocent when we recorded this. Now we are old and sad. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go! Episode 70 Ask us for our gift book recommendations over at the Holiday Gift Guide! Fill out the form by November 30th, and we’ll be giving out recs on the podcast that airs on December 14th. What We’re Reading Do You Want to Start…
2 CommentsWell, the weather is still confusingly warm, but nevertheless my calendar informs me that we are now in the month of November, which can only mean one thing, book lovers: The triumphal return of Nonfiction November! This week is hosted by Rachel of Hibernator’s Library, and we’re talking about book selection techniques. To wit: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If…
15 CommentsMy TBR spreadsheet entry for Kat Howard’s Roses and Rot just said TAM LIN WITH SISTERS, which, I mean, if y’all have been around for a little while, you’ll know that I am about Tam Lin retellings. In this one, sisters Imogen and Marin have won prestigious Melete residencies, which will allow them to work on their art (Imogen writes, Marin dances) with top-of-their-field mentors for a year. This is the first time the two of them have lived in the same place since Imogen fled their abusive mother’s house to attend boarding school as a teenager. At first, Melete…
17 CommentsHappy Friday, team! This time next week, I’d like to say the worst election season that ever electioned will all be over, but I can’t say it with any degree of confidence. This time next week WHO KNOWS but hopefully it’ll be okay and we can start the long and arduous process of getting our mental health back to normal. Have some links, in the meantime. A very cool look at how the designer for The Science behind Game of Thrones created the book’s cover (and her very own Iron Throne). Remember that whole VOYA mess? Of course you do.…
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