Books

A black and white photo of a woman posing nude with a camera pointed towards a mirror. On the mirror there is one sign that reads $5 and another that reads 3 minutes in bold, black font.

Private Eye: Inside Cammie Toloui's "5 Dollars For 3 Minutes"

by Lily Burana
February 10, 2022 at 1:14pm
Toloui’s photos turn the peep show around on its audience. Read more »
A Black woman wearing glasses and a gray button-down shirt with long braided locks and gray highlights on a tan background.

Admitted But Not Accepted: Kendra James Shares the Undertold Story of BIPOC Students at Elite Boarding Schools

by Jaelani Turner-Williams
February 3, 2022 at 11:47am
In “Admissions,” Kendra James opens up about her difficult time at the elite Taft School. Read more »
A Black man wearing a pink shirt and black blazer is pictured next to the book cover for "And the Category Is..." Both images are on a bright pink background.

In Vogue: Ricky Tucker's Essential Read on Ballroom Culture

by Dr. Jon Paul
January 31, 2022 at 2:08pm
Ricky Tucker’s “And the Category Is…” offers a careful and thoughtful examination of ballroom culture. Read more »
Portrait of American author Joan Didion as she poses outdoors, Berkeley, California, April 1981

Joan Didion Taught Us How To Embrace Complication

by Elly Belle
January 24, 2022 at 11:48am
The lens we use in storytelling impacts the reality of readers, and Didion was committed to getting it right. Read more »
The book cover of "The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan is pictured on a beige and burgundy background.

Policing Parents: Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” Imagines a Carceral State for “Bad” Moms

by Nylah Burton
January 20, 2022 at 2:40pm
In Jessamine Chan’s debut novel, “The School for Good Mothers,” the question of how to punish bad mothers is answered by the state, in an America not much different from our own. Read more »
Photos of Najmieh Batmanglij, Madeleine Kamman, and Marcella Hazan vertically spliced together

Rethinking Legacy: "Tastemakers" is a Starting Point for the Problematic History of Recipes and Food Media

by Aditi Kini
January 14, 2022 at 10:32am
The James Beard award winner Mayukh Sen’s first book invites trouble, but more questions come up in the process. Read more »
A gif of people perusing a collection of over-sized books, including Girl from the Sea, The Other Black Girl, and Detransition, Baby.

BitchReads: 11 Books We Loved Reading in 2021

by Bitch HQ
December 27, 2021 at 10:00am
Read more »
Author Juhea Kim in a bright red shirt in front of an orange background. To her right is a picture of the cover for Beasts of a Little Land

Juhea Kim Talks Korean History and Why Books Should Break Us Open

by Edi Kim
December 13, 2021 at 2:34pm
A new book explores the power of artistic imagery from Venus to Beyoncé. Read more »
An image of the book cover of A Snake Falls to Earth. On the cover, a Native American femme wears a yellow shirt and headphones. Her red clay colored skirt turns into a snake at the bottom.

“A Snake Falls to Earth” Gives YA Readers a Vivid Coming-of-Age Story

by Amanda Gokee
December 8, 2021 at 12:11pm
Darcie Little Badger’s second novel follows an unlikely pair: Nina, a young Lipan Apache girl, and Oli, a cottonmouth snake. Read more »
Author Catherine McCormack, a young blonde woman with long hair, stands in front of green foliage. Next to her is an image of her book cover for Women in the Picture.

Women in the Picture: The Art Historian Challenging the Western Gaze Through a Feminist Lens

by Nicole Diaz-Radlauer
December 2, 2021 at 12:27pm
A new book explores the power of artistic imagery from Venus to Beyoncé. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

Rewriting the Future: Using Science Fiction to Re-Envision Justice

by Walidah Imarisha
Spring 2015 • Law & Order
Our justice movements desperately need science fiction. Read more »

Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »

Demanding the Impossible: Walidah Imarisha Talks About Science Fiction and Social Change

by Kristian Williams
April 13, 2015 at 2:23pm
Before she was a poet, journalist, documentary filmmaker, anti-prison activist, and college instructor, Walidah Imarisha was fascinated... Read more »

Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens

by Zetta Elliott
December 17, 2013 at 3:19pm
What happens when two great black women fiction writers get together to talk about race in young adult literature? That's exactly what happens... Read more »