American – Reads A Lot

17 Books to By Indigenous Authors to Read During Native American Heritage Month – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsNovember 22, 2022 by Jeremy M. Carnes

[ad_1] 17 Books to By Indigenous Authors to Read During Native American Heritage Month It’s easy—especially in the United States—to let commemorative times like Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Native American Heritage Month pass without giving them much thought. Because of the long-lasting narratives of settler colonialism, it’s easy to drift through these times thinking only … Read more

“In Whose Ruins” Reveals the Ghosts of American Capitalism – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsApril 12, 2022 by Michael Pittard

[ad_1] Ruins are scars. Some are in the process of healing, succumbing to gravity, dirt, and time, covered in roots and soon to be buried. Others still hurt, poking at the sky, or, more pointedly, at the transformation and defacing of a people’s dignity. No matter their state of decay, the remnants of buildings, monuments, … Read more

How Italian Food Became American” – An Excerpt from the Book – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsApril 4, 2022 by Ian MacAllen

[ad_1] Millions of Italians arrived in the United States during the great wave of immigration from the 1880s until the Second World War. Dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, veal parmigiana, and oven-baked lasagna evolved during these years, yet Americans perceived these as the food of foreign ethnics with too much garlic. One dish would profoundly … Read more

Indifference and Standing in “American Estrangement”

Book ReviewsAugust 12, 2021 by Malavika Praseed

[ad_1] American Estrangement, a new story collection by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, sketches America in both space and time. We are anchored in the here and now, yet the stories do not read as grasping for relevance, or as dated. Rather, Sayrafiezadeh captures one of the most essential feelings of the modern-day United States, apathy, and holds … Read more

To All the Stereotypes I Saw Before: Asian American Representation on Screen by Jennifer Yen

Book BuzzMarch 1, 2021 by Reads A Lot Editor

[ad_1] As we bid To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before farewell, Jennifer Yen, author of A Taste for Love, is sharing her thoughts on the Netflix finale To All the Boys: Always and Forever, and Asian American representation on screen. Scroll down to read! Recently, we said a bittersweet farewell to Lara Jean and Peter when Jenny Han’s To … Read more

American Racism, American Reckoning in “White Freedom” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJanuary 19, 2021 by Brock Kingsley

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: This book and this review were written before the insurrection against the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021 1. Two events in recent history: In April and May of 2020, a series of demonstrations took place inside and around the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan. Demonstrators gathered in protest of recent … Read more

Finding the Fault Lines of American Society in “Carry” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsSeptember 28, 2020 by Dana Dunham

[ad_1] Like a murmuration of starlings, Toni Jensen’s new book Carry changes its shape constantly and effortlessly. Its subtitle is A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, but this book is more than a memoir. It is also a revealing lexicon, a sharp analysis, a well-sourced argument, and a damning indictment. Its form changes even … Read more