Books

10 Essential Books About Writing

Must-read titles for writers include works by Elena Ferrante, Akwaeke Emezi, Meg Wolitzer, Yoko Ogawa, and more.

The 99%: The (Class) Difference Between

Harry and Katniss are very different heroes because they live in very different worlds.  But if I had to guess whether most people felt their world more closely resembled the private boarding school with clear-cut lines between good and evil, or the dystopic district with frustrated and... Read more »

10 Quotes From "Girl Land," Made Palatable by Cat Photos

I have combined choice Girl Land quotes with cat photos here to both illustrate the ridiculousness that is this book and to keep you from having to read it yourself. Plus, everything—even rage-inducing Flanaganisms—is easier to handle when accompanied by a cat photo. Read more »

The 99%: The (Class) Difference Between

In Harry Potter, then, social class is a way of telling us something about the characters more than the actual lived reality or a source of conflict that it becomes in The Hunger Games.  This is because in the wizarding world, power doesn’t come just come from... Read more »

Bibliobitch: CALYX Journal is Still Going Strong

CALYX Journal begins its 36th year of publishing fine art and literature by women with its winter 2012 issue (vol. 27, no. 3). This self-described feminist literary journal allows women’s... Read more »

Double Rainbow: Finding Autism in Popular Fiction

Of course one doesn’t have to go finding autism in popular fiction—it’s the subject of intense cultural fascination right now, so it’s just there, everywhere. In novels like Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Jodi Picoult... Read more »

Bibliobitch: Do You Have a Literary New Year's Resolution?

One of my 2012 resolutions is to get back in the books game. I’m resolving to read two new(ish) books a month, even if it means cutting down on the number of TV episode recaps I read online. What about you? Do you have any literary resolutions (or suggestions for contemporary books to add to... Read more »

Bibliobitch: Modelland

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be sent to a nonsensical, exclusive modeling school where girls acquire magical powers that allow them to convince people to buy useless products? Me neither. But Tyra Banks has. Read more »

Bibliobitch: Somnambulist Zine Creates One More for the People

Martha Grover has been publishing her zine Somnambulist since 2003. The first collection of this zine, One More for the People came out on Tuesday from... Read more »

Mom & Pop Culture: Gender is NOT a Genre

With gender stereotypes pervading our TVs, movies, toys, clothes, etc., can’t we just have kids’ books without adding more labels? Read more »

Bibliobitch: We're Glad Jeanette Winterson Was Never "Normal"

Jeanette Winterson is probably the most quotable author I have ever read, especially for those of us who live passionately, love obsessively, and believe that art can (and will) change the world. If you ever want a cool... Read more »

Pages

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

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 »

Know & Tell: The Literary Renaissance of Trans Women Writers

For so long, the people who wrote about us were not us. Finally, that is beginning to change. Read more »

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

Before she was a poet, journalist, documentary filmmaker, anti-prison activist, and college instructor, Walidah Imarisha was fascinated... Read more »