I want to give this five stars for Gay’s thoughtful approaches to difficult subjects and her clear and direct and compelling style, but man, I had alrI want to give this five stars for Gay’s thoughtful approaches to difficult subjects and her clear and direct and compelling style, but man, I had already read most of the pieces in this book at the time they were published. Only the actor/artist portraits and self help were new. That’s not to say it wasn’t great to reread some of those short opinion pieces again but they are just always already dated for me. If you haven’t read her work before or kept up with her recent writing religiously like I have, then this would be EXCELLENT, but I guess I was hoping for more new work. ...more
I think I only read the first line of the description so I initially felt a little mislead by what the book is actually about. Glad I got over that. TI think I only read the first line of the description so I initially felt a little mislead by what the book is actually about. Glad I got over that. This is really good, putting this up there with Sea Change in the “defied then exceeded my expectations + had the best kinds of endings” category. ...more
Cute and charming vignettes on working in a rare/antique bookstore. Doesn’t cut deep and maybe runs out of steam and gets a tad repetitive at times buCute and charming vignettes on working in a rare/antique bookstore. Doesn’t cut deep and maybe runs out of steam and gets a tad repetitive at times but overall a fine way to pass time. The chapter on cursed books was my favorite, and was also far too short. ...more
I am so glad I switched from the audiobook to the physical book for this one, it is such a rich text and it’s made all the richer for the images and tI am so glad I switched from the audiobook to the physical book for this one, it is such a rich text and it’s made all the richer for the images and the double layer of footnotes (not to mention that the hardback is beautifully bound and smells insanely good)....more
Another collection where I had encountered some of the pieces in grad school and wanted to sit with the whole. There are some real standouts here thatAnother collection where I had encountered some of the pieces in grad school and wanted to sit with the whole. There are some real standouts here that most people will probably have heard of ("Poetry is Not a Luxury" and "The Master's Tools..." are likely the most commonly encountered) but I was really taken with Lorde's multiple pieces on sexism and anger. "Man Child" was especially stunning, and I loved how Lorde is always trying to reclaim space for making art regardless of other circumstances. ...more