Book Review: Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho is one of my literary gaps — I’d heard of him, meant to read him, yet never got around to him until now. Is Manuscript Found in Accra the best introduction to him? I don’t know, but this slim novel — if “novel” is the right word — gives me plenty to think about.
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Get in My Belly: Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
Because I am lactose intolerant and the Lactaid/lactase-enzyme pills do not work for me when it comes to many rich desserts, my life has been devoid of peanut butter cups in any satisfying quantity. Until now. Behold, my friends, this superior moment of deliciousness:
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30 Years of Music: 2007
2007 in music seems to be all about making up for neglected artists in previous columns, a lot of love and appreciation, and one hell of a dance party. Let’s do this.
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Lit Mags I Have Known: A Short Guide
Often I hear it said that the only people who read literary magazines are other writers. There might be some truth to that, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In a time where many newspapers and magazines are still not giving women their equitable due, sometimes it pays to look off the beaten path for new voices.
Read More30 Years of Music: 2006
My favorite releases for 2006 seem to alternate between the All-Time Favorites I am constantly trying to shove into your hands, and the lovely gems that I keep meaning to own… after which I will then metaphorically foist upon you like the rest. Let’s get to it!
Read MoreBook Review: Dora: A Headcase by Lidia Yuknavitch
A Declaration: Lidia Yuknavitch has done more for “the body as art form” than anyone in recent memory. (Maybe that’s not accurate, but I feel that way, so let’s roll with it.) Her memoir, The Chronology of Water, is all about her own body, the brutal beauty in what can happen to a body, and her novel, Dora: A Headcase, …
Read More30 Years of Music: 2005
Reviewing 2005 in music surprised me somewhat because I’d forgotten how many of my favorite albums were released that year. So please, let me metaphorically shove them into your hands.
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P-Mag Nostalgia Project: 1996 with Sara Habein
Friends, 1996 is one of my all-time favorite years, and it was also a leap year. Pick out your favorite babydoll tee and gather round the wayback machine, because it’s time to say goodbye to Jessica Fletcher.
Read MoreBook Review: Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook
Rock bios used to be one of the main types of books I read and the first section of the bookstore I would visit. After awhile, I grew tired of the poorly-written ones — accounts that were either overly fawning without introspection, or maybe they were inaccurate, or perhaps they held too much of a grudge. One’s music taste is …
Read More30 Years of Music: 2004
2004! The year of my daughter’s birth, and also the year in which I felt like the decade really started to come into its own, musically. My personal favorites from this time skew a bit indie, yet I still include some popular tunes that I really dig. Let’s wander back, shall we?
Read More30 Years of Music: 2003
My roundup of personal favorites from 2003 errs a bit on the interconnected nature of music. One artist knows another who worked with another who was inspired by another, and on and on. I enjoy seeing and hearing my favorites overlap, as it’s just one more way to show that art is not created in a vacuum. So let’s get …
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News Appetizers: Frustrations with The Man Edition
On this Friday afternoon — whether you’re lamenting the cost of putting gas in your car, or maybe you’ve received new work wardrobe requirements, and you know, orange MusicTown aprons really don’t suit you — there’s just one thing to do…
Read More30 Years of Music: 2002
2002 was a strange year, musically, in that there was not a lot of music that really excited me at the time. Many of the songs featured this week are those I’ve discovered in retrospect, with a fair number of songs coming from a music collection other than my own. Still, many of my usual favorites manage to sneak their …
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Dispatches From Ladyblogland: Entertainment Edition
Greetings, one and all. Shall we take a stroll through a few internet neighborhoods and see what’s been happening in Ladyblogland? This week’s feminist dispatches center around our entertainment.
Read MoreNews Appetizers: Now with More Reasons to Leave Work Early
Greetings, Persephoneers! It’s Friday, and perhaps you’re looking for a reason to duck out early. Maybe you have a hot date. Maybe that date is with Netflix and ice cream because you cannot EVEN with this day. News Appetizers don’t judge.
Read More30 Years of Music: 2001
2001 is a hard one for me — not for lack of great music, but more because I was a depressed human making bad decisions during most of that year, and come that September, the national climate took its own downturn. The feels, man. Let’s have them.
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