I enjoyed Elaine Castillo’s first novel, America Is Not the Heart (in part because of my conviction that she has written fanfiction in her life; this is based on nothing), and I am ravenously excited to read her new book of literary criticism, How to Read Now. I will put the relevant link first so that y’all can share my excitement. Here are the links! “My issue with how we read is as much an existential grievance as it is a labor dispute.” Elaine Castillo addresses the foundation of white supremacy in the literary world, making me VERY excited to read…
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Happy Friday! I’ve got some excellent links about the new HBO series The Underground Railroad, plus some thoughts on *jazz hands* trauma. Cause I am who I am, fundamentally! Barry Jenkins worked hard to avoid sensationalizing and exploiting Black trauma in his adaptation of The Underground Railroad, but the material was difficult nonetheless. A therapist was on set at all times to protect and help the cast and crew. (link) Always read an Alex Brown review! They’re at Tor this week reviewing Barry Jenkins’s new TV adaptation of The Underground Railroad, which handles Black trauma with care and thoughtfulness. (link)…
1 CommentWell, we have come to the end of another week, and as such we must read some links and think about the world. I am writing this post whilst finally watching WandaVision, and you may expect that my next links round-up will contain lots of links about WandaVision, because I am enjoying it tremendously thus far. Also Teyonah Parris is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I gasp every time she smiles. Anyway, have some links! “It’s disingenuous to say their race doesn’t matter in this world, when the most prominent and numerous people are white.” On the…
Leave a CommentWell, 2019 is over, and I say good riddance to bad rubbish, overall. So many trash things happened this year that when I discovered Notre Dame burned down this year, I had to fact-check it thrice. (It did though.) (Not over it.) On the positive side, I read a lot of terrific books, and there are many more awesome books in the offing for 2020 — which will be a separate post, of course! Here’s a list of my favorite reads of the year, listed in the order in which I read them. There are thirteen of them, which I…
Leave a CommentHello, it is Friday, and I am pleased to report that I have (mostly) emerged from the weeds of a time so busy that I thought I was going to have to rip my hair out. I did not rip my hair out! Hurrah! As the prospect of a slightly quieter time loomed before me, I very cleverly took on a large new project. Ha ha I don’t know why I’m like this. Please send help, I can’t disentangle my feelings of self-worth from productivity. ANYWAY HERE ARE SOME LINKS, and I’m sorry we all have to live in late-stage…
Leave a CommentTired: Making fun of Franzen Wired: Making fun of Bret Easton Ellis Just kidding! Those things are both incredible! So I’m kicking off this links round-up with Isaac Chotiner’s very magical interview with Bret Easton Ellis, as well as a review of the “old man yells at cloud” book Ellis has, apparently, written. Be blessed. “It felt hidden, like I said a magic word and there was Prague.” An interview with Helen Oyeyemi. The rise of publicly thirsty women. Some thoughts on cultural appropriation, rules, and self-censorship, from Jeannette Ng. An extremely normal and fine profile of Carmen Maria Machado.…
Leave a CommentAll right, I am sufficiently settled into my new status as Short Story Advisor that I have decided to give this monthly feature a proper name. I am calling it Shortly Ever After, with thanks to the writers and editors of Lady Business for naming assistance, and I will never stop doing it until you pry it from my cold dead hands because I’m all about short stories now and that is just my life. Next month I’m going to have a DAMN LOGO, that’s how serious I am about my newfound short story obsession. (Never before has a New…
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