this book is made up of excerpts taken from didion’s notebook, which she wrote during her month-long road trip in 1970 through southern states such asthis book is made up of excerpts taken from didion’s notebook, which she wrote during her month-long road trip in 1970 through southern states such as louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. as always, i’m in awe of didion’s ability to capture place and time so well, and getting this little insight into her writing process was a treat. ...more
an engaging and well-written essay collection exploring womanhood, taken from gilbert’s essays featured in ‘the atlantic’. i think this book would be an engaging and well-written essay collection exploring womanhood, taken from gilbert’s essays featured in ‘the atlantic’. i think this book would be a great introduction for someone just getting into writings on feminism, as it’s very accessible, exploring feminist topics and ideas through a popular culture lens with modern reference points that many of us are familiar with. ...more
a smart and thoughtful collection made up from a range of articles/essays that roxane gay has written in the past - with ruminations on identity/polita smart and thoughtful collection made up from a range of articles/essays that roxane gay has written in the past - with ruminations on identity/politics, race, gender, pop culture, excerpts from gay’s celebrity interviews, and a few advice columns. like with most essay collections, i read this over a couple months, picking it up here and there.
when i first heard about this book i thought of a kind of ‘pre-review’ which was ‘i hate running but murakami loves it so good for him.’……..but then iwhen i first heard about this book i thought of a kind of ‘pre-review’ which was ‘i hate running but murakami loves it so good for him.’……..but then i actually started running so the lesson here is that people change!
i will never run a marathon though i would rather just donate the money to charity and not do it. ...more
randomly picked this off my shelf because i wanted a short book to read, and it was such a beautiful and moving collection of essays (or arguably justrandomly picked this off my shelf because i wanted a short book to read, and it was such a beautiful and moving collection of essays (or arguably just one essay).
the premise is that ruth ozeki challenges herself to stare at her face in the mirror for 3 hours, and what follows is a deeply human meditation on race, ageing, time, facial features, memory, identity, japanese culture, philosophy, and i’m sure more that i can’t think of right now. along with the time-marked observations as ozeki carries out the 3-hour challenge, the book is also littered with her personal experiences and anecdotes, making it incredibly introspective and vulnerable.
this is the first book i’ve read by ruth ozeki, and i’m definitely looking forward to reading more of her work after this....more
such an interesting essay collection examining the fan dilemma of separating the art from the artist, what constitutes a ‘monster’, and our complicitysuch an interesting essay collection examining the fan dilemma of separating the art from the artist, what constitutes a ‘monster’, and our complicity and morality when it comes to consuming the work of, and in some cases ‘loving’, artists who have done awful things. you won’t agree with every single point in here, but it’s a compelling, smart, and passionate insight into an age-old debate which no one will ever truly have the answers to. and as dederer states in the book, maybe it’s not really our job to have the answers.
(dederer does, however, kind of come to her own conclusions on how she will move forward with these dilemmas. but it’s something each person must take the time to decide for themselves.)...more
a quick, easy, and overall very comforting read. dear dolly is made up of snippets from dolly alderton's agony aunt column in the sunday times, so ita quick, easy, and overall very comforting read. dear dolly is made up of snippets from dolly alderton's agony aunt column in the sunday times, so it’s the perfect, low-maintenance book that you can dip in and out of whenever you have 5 minutes. i’ve loved dolly’s previous 2 books: her memoir everything i know about love and her fiction debut ghosts, so i’m looking forward to whatever she does next. kind of hoping she does some more tv producing because the tv adaptation of everything i know about love was great....more
a really interesting essay collection covering murakami’s views on being a novelist, his approach to writing, and his experiences in the literary worla really interesting essay collection covering murakami’s views on being a novelist, his approach to writing, and his experiences in the literary world.
i read this over a few months, reading an essay here and there whenever i felt like it - which i recommend doing because reading it all at once would probably make it feel quite repetitive. ...more
read this during my lunch breaks at work and actually really enjoyed it. i only know the basics about nora ephron (e.g. the films she's worked on), buread this during my lunch breaks at work and actually really enjoyed it. i only know the basics about nora ephron (e.g. the films she's worked on), but i'll definitely be checking out more of her work after this. nora ephron era potentially incoming. ...more
i read jonathan’s memoir over the top last year and thought it was such a powerful account of his trauma and the journey of becoming who he is today.i read jonathan’s memoir over the top last year and thought it was such a powerful account of his trauma and the journey of becoming who he is today. while this is an essay collection so obviously a little less personal, you can tell by reading it that jvn is very passionate about these topics, and he approaches them with a great mix of his trademark humour but also candour and seriousness when necessary.
[thank you @harpercollins for the kindly gifted copy!]...more
atwood’s voice is strong throughout all of these essays - the perfect mix of intelligence and wit. the collection feels slightly repetitive at times batwood’s voice is strong throughout all of these essays - the perfect mix of intelligence and wit. the collection feels slightly repetitive at times because a few essays are on the same subject, but if you read this over a few months it wouldn’t matter much. this just reminded me that i really need to hurry up and read the handmaid’s tale....more
after bell hooks tragic passing late last year, i made a mental note to read more of her work. i first became familiarised with bell hooks in an acadeafter bell hooks tragic passing late last year, i made a mental note to read more of her work. i first became familiarised with bell hooks in an academic context, mainly by reading her feminist texts which were instrumental tools in enhancing my knowledge of intersectional feminism during my studies. but i wanted to seek out some of her work that wasn’t feminism-focused, and so 'All About Love: New Visions was an obvious (and the most popular) choice.
in simple terms, this book explores what it truly means to love in our culture and how we maintain the relationships in our lives, whether that be platonic love, familial love, community love, or romantic love. the overarching message is that if we allowed love to prosper, then it could serve as a transformative tool to heal individuals, communities, institutions, and overall just make our lives better. obviously this is a lovely thought, and a master-class in positive thinking, but with the current state of the world right now…….let’s just say the cynical thoughts were creeping in.
the book does include some rather binary representations of womanhood/manhood, although this is more understandable due to it being written/published in the 90s. there is quite a lot of emphasis placed on religion and spirituality, and as i’m not a religious nor spiritual person, those sections weren’t as interesting to me. the writing is very digestible and easy to understand, which i’d say is true for a lot of bell hooks's work. it does read a little like a self-help book sometimes, but if you’re seeking out a book about love i’m sure you’ll be expecting some self-help elements anyway. i definitely recommend this to people dealing with trauma from childhood/abusive relationships, and also i think you’d get a lot out of this if you’re religious/spiritual.
but all in all, it has some valuable lessons and some nice, hopeful sentiments about love....more
oppositions is an essay collection spanning decades of mary gaitskill’s writing career. despite the range of topics explored - from political sca[3.5]
oppositions is an essay collection spanning decades of mary gaitskill’s writing career. despite the range of topics explored - from political scandals, learning to ride a horse in your 50s, to a review of the best-selling thriller ‘gone girl’ - the collection somehow remains cohesive and subtle, with gaitskill’s intelligence shining throughout.
gaistkill’s work is definitely polarising, perhaps even provocative. some of the points she makes you will agree with, and some others you won’t, which is something that gaitskill herself regularly acknowledges. in an essay which discusses whether nabokov’s ‘lolita’ is about love, gaistkill muses on readers potentially throwing the book across the room. but whether you’re inclined to do this or not, her writing remains compelling enough to stick around to watch the thought processes fully form and work themselves out on the page. although the terms ‘nuanced’ and ‘complex’ may seem like easy and simple choices to describe a book, especially a non-fiction, they do serve as the best options in this case.
with a refusal to analyse her subjects through a strictly intellectual lens, gaitskill instead intersects her own personal experiences throughout, no matter the topic of the essay. she veers away from convenience, avoiding the simple, easy answers and holding everything up for inspection - whether that be other writers, celebrities, books, films, music, politics, even herself. gaitskill also focuses her critical eye on some more sensitive topics, for instance sexual assault is a prominent theme, which gaitskill discusses both in terms of her own experiences and also through unpacking her mixed thoughts on the #metoo movement (a subject which is explored further in her novella ‘this is pleasure’).
whether you do or don’t ‘agree’ with the takes and analyses in this collection isn’t really important, and, to me personally, doesn’t seem to be the end goal. instead, gaitskill’s writing encourages the reader to question things, to pause their initial responses, and to take some time to think critically....more
intimations is a collection of six essays, and although written during lockdown, it is definitely not a ‘covid’ book. instead, it is a series of refl intimations is a collection of six essays, and although written during lockdown, it is definitely not a ‘covid’ book. instead, it is a series of reflections and musings smith had during the first few months of the pandemic, particularly her attempts to try and make sense of the world during such a state of perpetual chaos. the postscript ‘contempt as a virus’, in which smith discusses coronavirus and racism as the ‘real virus’ is definitely the standout and the most moving piece, but the whole collection is incredibly powerful and full of smith’s trademark stunning and intelligent prose....more
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