For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Towards the end of The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson writes that she considered writing a letter to her son before he was born but decided against it because it felt too much like an act of naming, or of “irrevocable classification, interpellation.” She briefly recalls Linda Hamilton at the end of The Terminator heroically recording … Read more
[ad_1] Kiley Reid’s first novel, Such a Fun Age, was a big deal. It was a New York Times Bestseller and a pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. It was praised by critics for its subtle insights into race and class, and longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Lena Waithe acquired its television rights. Reid … Read more
[ad_1] When I teach Anthony Veasna So’s Afterparties, I start with the book’s dedication, which is addressed not to So’s parents or loved ones but to “everyone who underestimated me, including myself.” I also make sure to note the book’s acknowledgements. Like most authors, So spends the bulk of this section generously thanking family, friends, … Read more
[ad_1] Don Paterson is one of the most decorated and influential poets writing in the UK today. He is also an accomplished guitarist who founded and toured with a jazz ensemble throughout the 90s. Early in his new memoir Toy Fights, which covers the first twenty years of his life, Paterson explains that he quit … Read more
[ad_1] When I was in middle school, I was haunted by the Boomtown Rats’ song “I Don’t Like Mondays.” A local radio station in Atlanta played the song every Monday morning, and it would remind me of dreary weeks at school and what I thought was my sad, inevitable march toward adulthood. The song features … Read more
[ad_1] When Martin Riker’s novel The Guest Lecture opens, its main character, Abby, is lying awake in a hotel bed, trying not to wake her husband and daughter, anxiously planning a lecture on the economist John Maynard Keynes that she’s scheduled to give the next day. When the novel ends, Abby is lying awake in … Read more