What We're Reading – April 2019

Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado I've absolutely loved this collection of short stories, which floats between the weird and the queer, passing horror, black comedy and feminism along the way. Doubles and others are especially important: a wife enters her wife’s dream when they are apart; a girlfriend fades until her girlfriend accidentally falls through her in bed. Most noticeably, in the magnificent story ‘Especially Heinous’, detectives Stabler and Benson from Law & Order: SVU meet Abler and Henson, who always get to the crime scene first but do nothing about the beautiful murdered girls whose deaths fuel most episodes of Law & Order: SVU. Machado’s stories are direct, fast-paced, and funny, yet there’s always a slow-moving malevolence to them, a hidden seriousness, a careful confusion, and a sense of meaning that’s just out of reach for the characters. I can’t wait for her second book – a memoir – to be published later this year. Swithun Cooper, Research and Information Manager   Ordinary People, by Diana Evans Just shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize. Ordinary People is the story of two couples in the second flush of marriage, wondering about where their lives together are going and what compromises they’ll have to make along the way. It’s also a love-letter to London, and to the music of John Legend. I’m enjoying Diana Evans’ lyrical writing style and in depth exploration of her characters inner lives, their frustrations and complex... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-04-11 08:49:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading – April 2019"


From house of horrors to family home

Erica Bauermeister’s latest book is a thoughtful, entertaining memoir of the time she and her family spent renovating the mother of all fixer-uppers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 22:35:19 UTC ]
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From house of horrors to family home

Erica Bauermeister’s latest book is a thoughtful, entertaining memoir of the time she and her family spent renovating the mother of all fixer-uppers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 22:35:19 UTC ]
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What if the problem of racism has no solution?

Frank Wilderson weaves together memoir and theory to make the case for Afropessimism. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-17 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Poet Laureate and Her Mother

Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and former poet laureate Natasha Trethewey’s memoir tells a tragic and inspiring story that shaped her life and work. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Personal Space: Samantha Irby is Fine Not Leaving the House

This is Personal Space: The Memoir Show, with Sari Botton. On this episode, Botton speaks with Samantha Irby about her recently released essay collection, Wow, No Thank You. Irby discusses what it was like to move to a small town in the country after a lifetime of city living, how people wearing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 20:00:01 UTC ]
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Alicia Keys Can Now Add ‘Best-Selling Author’ to Her Résumé

The singer’s latest hit is “Underdog.” Her memoir proves she is anything but one. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-04-16 09:00:04 UTC ]
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Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and T Kira Madden on Craft, Candles, and Character

T Kira Mahealani Madden is the author of the memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls. She is still an amateur magician. Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is the author of Harmless Like You—the winner of The Authors’ Club First Novel Award and a Betty Trask Award. Her short work has appeared in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 08:48:38 UTC ]
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Alex Trebek Memoir Is Coming in July

The book, “The Answer Is …,” arose from the “Jeopardy!” host’s desire to give fans more insight into his life after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-04-15 16:08:39 UTC ]
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'Jeopardy' Host Alex Trebek Releasing Memoir One Day Before 80th Birthday

The book will reportedly feature what the publisher calls “illuminating personal anecdotes.” Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2020-04-14 20:21:27 UTC ]
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Alex Trebek set to publish a memoir while fighting pancreatic cancer

On Tuesday, Simon & Schuster announced it will publish Alex Trebek's memoir, "The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life," on July 21. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-14 19:35:53 UTC ]
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From Hollywood ‘Pretty Girl’ to Empowered Novelist

Susanna Moore’s memoir “Miss Aluminum” is a provocative look at the early circumstances that shaped her writing career. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-04-14 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Freeway Dreams

“I KNEW I WAS QUEER the moment my consciousness had evolved enough to formulate thoughts,” Lydia R. Otero writes in the introduction to the memoir In the Shadows of the Freeway: Growing Up Brown & Queer. In this compelling examination, Otero draws upon decades of experience as a historian... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-04-13 17:00:43 UTC ]
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Personal Space: Hadley Freeman on Finding Out the Tall Family Tales Were All True

This is Personal Space: The Memoir Show, with Sari Botton. On this episode, Botton talks to Hadley Freeman about her fourth book, House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family, a memoir and family Holocaust history published by Simon & Schuster. Botton and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-09 17:00:34 UTC ]
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Religion Book Deals: April 8, 2020

A former beauty queen lands at Convergent, country music singer Sara Evans brings a memoir to Howard Books; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Walden’ may be the most famous act of social distancing. It’s also a lesson on the importance of community.

Henry David Thoreau’s most famous book is more than a guide to nature. It’s a memoir of grieving. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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First #Merky Books novel makes Desmond Elliott Prize longlist

The first novel to be published by Stormzy’s new imprint #Merky Books, That Reminds Me by poet and podcaster Derek Owusu, has been longlisted for the £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize for debuts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 14:35:00 UTC ]
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In ‘Afropessimism,’ a Black Intellectual Mixes Memoir and Theory

Frank B. Wilderson III talks about his experimental approach to writing about blackness and violence, as well as the solace he found in Sarah Vaughan. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-04-05 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Personal Space: Sue William Silverman on Being Fascinated with the Thing You Fear Most

On the debut episode of Personal Space: The Memoir Show, Sari Botton talks to Sue William Silverman about her seventh book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, a memoir in essays published by the University of Nebraska Press on March 1st. In the book, Silverman explores her... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-03 18:00:03 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of April 6, 2020

Among the big books that sold this week are a memoir by actor Billy Dee Williams and Elizabeth George’s 21st Inspector Lynley mystery. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Julia Alvarez discusses her radically different novel, 'Afterlife' (and defends 'American Dirt')

Julia Alvarez's "Afterlife" is her first novel for adults in 15 years. She talks about loss, fragmentation and "American Dirt." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-02 22:24:09 UTC ]
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