I loved this because I am an identical twin BUT, if you've ever been fascinated or a little weirded out by twins, you very well might like this too. As a philosophy professor and identical twin, Helen de Bres combines her teachings with her lived experience to expound on the intersectionality between being multiple as well as a woman, queer, and disabled versus being a singleton. (And her twin sister, Julia, made the illustrations inside the book!)
This beautiful collection of essays reads like a series of childhood memories languidly leading towards adulthood and a more complete realization of self. Landing somewhere between essays, memoir and poetry, this book transports you to the 100-year-old house of Cox's childhood where her imagination ran free, she communed with stray cats and she wrote her first stories. The author herself best describes how I felt at the end:"It's too soon when we are pulled back to reality to discuss it. I don't know how to articulate the rainbow neon swirl of feeling happening inside of me, and so I sit, reeling in the best way."
This is probably one off the most magical books I've ever read. Her series of essays touch on her personal life but intertwines with century old folktales, or wonder tales as she prefers. Armed with a PhD in folklore, Urquhart weaves a spellbinding, magical journey through everyday life.
Highly recommend to read for those looking for a sense of wonder and magic.
Like many of us, Lindy West loves pointing out plot holes and picking movies apart almost as much as she loves watching them. Unlike many of us, West used to be a professional film critic, lending merit to her commentary. Each chapter focuses on a different classic and often beloved film, summarizing the plot while also pointing out everything that’s wrong with it. This might sound like a bit of a negative premise, but it’s all in good fun and West makes some truly hilarious observations. The book isn’t groundbreaking but it will make you laugh A LOT.
Personal essays meets learning new things meets fruit recipes
Even though these fruits may be difficult, they are worth it. Spokane author, Kate Lebo, will make you want to get your hands on all of the pomegranate to make a molasses or a face mask (or, of course, eat as is).
Looking to have your mind shaken and soothed simultaneously by sheer beauty and complexity and care for every word and sentence? Look no further! Shapland seamlessly explores poisonous toxins, toxic white womanhood, the safety of solitude, motherhood, queerness, capitalism, and her own family's medical misgivings. It's a treatise on being human and being realistically cynical in a world filled with poison, and yet she isn't afraid to point out that there's a beauty within it all despite the sheer shit of things.
If 'My Autobiography of Carson McCullers' didn’t convince you that Shapland is one of the most exciting, subversive, and inventive of American writers, a writer with nerve and wide-ranging interests, then the essays in 'Thin Skin' will surely demand your attention like they demanded mine. Shapland has written more than just essays—these are eruditely-researched works of journalism tangled with deeply personal memoir, connected and cohesive like a mycorrhizal network. These essays about reproductive rights, poison in America, our many failures to out-engineer climate change, and the literal meaning of life will challenge and educate those seeking a way to articulate the discontents of the Anthropocene. 'Thin Skin' is also a masterclass in pandemic-era writing, swimming in the moment without succumbing to it. You’ll find Adrienne Rich, Eula Biss, David Graeber, and Audre Lord in these pages, in-depth frameworks for a subversive queer history, and something that resembles a My Autobiography of Rachel Carson (if we can be so lucky). Shapland grows into her own as a nature writer, and with this new collection, claims her place as a major writer of the Southwest. Not only should this book last; it should be taught.
You know that thing when you learn a new word and then suddenly you see it everywhere? Like it had been there all along you just skipped over it because you didn't know what it meant. That's what this collection was like for me. Explorations and musings on many issues that touch my life: what is love, loss? what is home?, how do we define work as women?, how do we find meaning for our lives?, what can we do to be better stewards of our planet?
Thoughtful, readable and relatable.
Sure, you know that swamps are cool, but did you know just how cool? Pulitzer Prize-winner Proulx has delivered an excellent assessment of how these three title ecosystems impact not only our planet, but our culture and daily lives. Beyond wetlands, it’s also a book about conservation, moss, birds, time, archaeology, labor, literature, and more. You will learn way more than you expect.
At the heart of Alejandra Oliva's story as a translator and activist, between pages of colonial and bureaucratic brutality, is the idea that translation is ultimately a collective act, bringing everyone to the table to experience the humanity at the center of the immigration crisis.
