Advice on how to dress professionally hits marginalized women so, so differently than men or even women with more privilege.

Toni Morrison died this month at the age of 88. The Guardian has a round-up of author tributes to her. Hannah Giorgis considers her legacy in American writing.

The interlibrary loan system (in America) is the apex of human civilization. It just is.

Jay-Z’s deal with the NFL is giving them cover for Colin Kaepernick.

Here are the creepiest sexist film reviews ever. (I am delighted that the Wonder Woman review is included here, because Jesus Christ.)

How did escape rooms become such a phenomenon? (I went to one once and I couldn’t stop coughing and it was rather stressful. The game master person came on the intercom to be like “….do you need a cough drop?” and it was like the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, although it did not cure my cough, in the end.)

A pleasing trend in time-traveling lesbians has emerged; please everyone read The Psychology of Time Travel.

I enjoy it when people get mad about colloquialisms. (I say this as someone who sometimes gets mad about colloquialisms.)

“Rereading Jane Eyre recently, I was struck by how witchy it is.” On the resurgence of witches in pop culture.

These are tiny dollhouse renos. I have nothing to add to that.

The 1619 Project is an initiative by the paper to observe the 400th anniversary of slavery coming to America. It’s a massive undertaking under the leadership of Nikole Hannah-Jones, and if you have NYT access, you shouldn’t miss it. The Guardian is running a week-long series to commemorate the same event, which you can find here.

In many ways things are incredibly bad and getting worse, but here’s a bright side: Looks like humans cured Ebola???

This is a very pure video.

I hope that you have glorious plans for the weekend. It is Thursday as I write this, and I have already used up a rewatch of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but if you haven’t yet done that this week, I recommend it. However charming you remember it being, you are exactly right. It is that charming. I might watch it another time this weekend. It’s in my top three movies and I mean that, along with Clueless and 10 Things I Hate about You YEAH YOU HEARD ME AND I STAND BY IT.

This has ended on a strangely combative note. I wish you all good luck in this cold dark world.

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The Color Purple. Wow.

When I was young, my mother had told me once that The Color Purple was one of her favorite books of all time, and I remember her telling me her favorite line (“White folks is a miracle of affliction”), and in early middle school I asked her where her copy was because I wanted to read it. And that’s the only time in my entire life I can remember my mother telling me not to read a book. She said wait a few years and I’d like it better. When I finally did read it (and oh my God, it blew me away), I assumed that she had been trying to steer me clear of it because of the fairly extensive sexual and violent content, but I asked her and she said no, she just thought I’d like it better if I waited a few years. She said that giving it to an eleven-year-old to read would be like giving To Kill a Mockingbird to a precocious kid of eight – the kid might be able to read all the words, but s/he’d be missing out on all the richness that’s there. She said you only get to read a book for the first time once, and there are some books that you just really deserve to have the best first-reading experience possible.

I totally agree with that.  And this is a damn good book.  It’s one of those books that everyone should read.  Everyone in the whole world.  In fact I’m just off to ship a few hundred copies off to world leaders.  Do ’em good.

P.S. Although they are both Important Black American Women writers, I am forced to read Toni Morrison much more often than I am forced to read Alice Walker.  In fact I have never had to read Alice Walker, except for one short story once, whereas I have had to deal with Toni Morrison kind of a lot.  And you know what, you know what?  I.  Don’t.  Like.  Her.  Beloved makes me feel queasy.  The Color Purple is a much better book and everyone should just, just, just revise their damn syllabuses.

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