Book vs. Movie: Nomadland
May 7, 2021
Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Nomadland was critically praised but earned some criticism for how it diverged from Jessica Bruder’s book. How do they compare? … More Book vs. Movie: Nomadland
Tag: Nonfiction
Motherhood, Charity, and Africa’s AIDS Orphans: There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene
February 19, 2019
A review of a nonfiction account of one woman’s quest to save children orphaned by or suffering from AIDS in Ethiopia. … More Motherhood, Charity, and Africa’s AIDS Orphans: There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene
Go Through All the Feels with Michelle Obama’s Becoming
January 26, 2019
Michelle Obama’s Becoming turns out to be exactly the book we need to get through the current political climate. … More Go Through All the Feels with Michelle Obama’s Becoming
Achieve Catharsis with Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, by Phoebe Robinson
December 4, 2018
The Two Dope Queens podcast was one of my favorite things, so I was devastated when I heard that it was coming to an end. The good news is that Phoebe Robinson, one half of those Dope Queens, released her second book just in time to console me. Like its predecessor (You Can’t Touch My Hair and … More Achieve Catharsis with Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, by Phoebe Robinson
Life as a Work in Progress: In Pieces, by Sally Field
November 11, 2018
Celebrity memoirs always give me pause because the ones I’ve read tend to feel as though they have a thick coat of veneer. They’re always conscious of their image, so what they present in the memoir feels calculated or even whitewashed. As such, reading a celebrity memoir usually feels like an exercise in futility: by … More Life as a Work in Progress: In Pieces, by Sally Field
The Nine: Jeffrey Toobin on the Evolution of the Supreme Court
June 27, 2018
In the current political climate, The Nine isn’t a particularly pleasant read for more liberal audiences, but it is something of an essential one. On the day when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, now is actually the perfect time to get to know the ways the court has evolved since Kennedy was appointed under Reagan … More The Nine: Jeffrey Toobin on the Evolution of the Supreme Court
When We Rise: Cleve Jones and His Life in the Gay Rights Movement
June 26, 2018
It may seem surprising that more than half of Cleve Jones’ memoir is taken up with his life before activism–before, that is, his work with Harvey Milk or creating the AIDs Memorial Quilt–but that is the whole point. Admittedly, it does feel as though the first part meanders as Jones moves around, travels, parties, hooks up, … More When We Rise: Cleve Jones and His Life in the Gay Rights Movement
Looking at Bob Fosse in the #MeToo Era
April 18, 2018
As I was finishing Sam Wasson’s biography of Bob Fosse, Molly Ringwald published this article in The New Yorker, and it served as a nice companion piece to how I was feeling about the experience of learning about Bob Fosse’s life. In her article, Ringwald looks back at the John Hughes movies that made her famous … More Looking at Bob Fosse in the #MeToo Era
Tomorrow Will Be Different: Sarah McBride and Transgender Activism
March 22, 2018
Hope for the Future If I may get personal for a moment, this book was particularly meaningful for me because my husband and I have recently gotten licensed to be foster parents and we have been working on a placement with a transgender teenager. You can imagine, then, that Sarah McBride’s story of coming out … More Tomorrow Will Be Different: Sarah McBride and Transgender Activism
Pictures at a Revolution is Porn for Film Buffs
February 28, 2018
If ever there was a book that seemed to have been written specifically for me, this is it. And it did not disappoint. I’ve been fascinated by the Academy Awards since childhood, when I would get sent to bed before the show was over, then sneak out of my room to finish watching with the … More Pictures at a Revolution is Porn for Film Buffs
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