Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt This was my hour of power summer—meaning I packed my summer full of an hour each day (sometimes more) of powerful 20th century and modern day classics—and I’m proud of myself. I’ve not only read more than a handful of wonderful novels, I’ve viewed their movies or listened to them performed,…
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston I have a reading list a mile long, so the choice of my next book has lately been influenced by what’s been written about the book before I open it. This was the case with Their Eyes Were Watching God. The talk surrounding this book weighed heavily…
Still Writing Dani Shapiro Dani, your words were like those from the sister I’d always imagined. They gave encouragement, testified about my trials and forgave me my trespasses while lighting a fire under my behind with enough heat to deliver me from evil. Most importantly your words seemed to speak of the difficult mother/daughter relationship…
The Known World Edward P. Jones Why you have to read this book… Brilliant.…So utterly original that it makes most everything previously written about slavery seem outdated and pedestrian. It belongs on the shelf with other classics of slavery, like Toni Morrison’s Beloved and William Styron’s The Confessions of Nat Turner. -Atlanta Journal-Constitution One of…
*One of the first things any image consultant will ask is: Who are you? This is a loaded question if you consider it with the gravity it deserves. Ideally you’ll reply with an abundance of virtues and adjectives that paint a picture of a fantastically together “you.” Then there are folks that will be a bit more critical…
This rumination on cleaning came about after my experience with a new housekeeper. I had a three year old, a lovable, sloppy husband, and a puppy in my household all at one time. I couldn’t do it on my own. In stepped the cleaning woman. We’ll call her “Rhonda” for the sake of anonymity. After…
Fresh Off the Boat Eddie Huang Read Eddie Huang’s book, to know that the title of this post is a direct quote from Huang’s dad. He cleverly captured Eddie’s militant conviction and pugnatious attitude in this referring to him as a slanted-eye Malcom X. Huang’s dad might have even captured a bit of Eddie’s mayhem, like dealing and petty crime, which…
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson Hunter, Hunter, Hunter…boy, what the hell was you thinkin’?!? My question can apply to both the story (which for me was a head scratcher) and the personal choices (tragedy to the comedy for which Hunter S. Thompson is over reaching). Let’s start with the story… I…
Armies of the Night Norman Mailer Pulitzer Prize winner, Norman Mailer. I’m reading through this book with much difficulty, straining to see the brilliance in it others have seen, and of course how it justifies its prize winning hype. Okay, it’s the same conundrum I faced in art school when they tried to convince me…
The New Journalism Tom Wolfe Having just read The New Journalism by Tom Wolfe, I’m compelled to say something about it, but not inspired. Nonetheless, you’ve gotta love an anthology and that’s what this is; a slice out of time with Tom Wolfe as an excellent curator. He’s a straight shooter and firsthand participant, which…
Simply Forgotten 