Category Archives: Nonfiction

Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education

Posted on April 25, 2018 by

My job requires me to spend a lot of time thinking about K-12 education. I had this book by Noliwe Rooks on my reading list since before it came out—and before I got this job. As I’ve been doing some … Continue reading →

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What Are We Doing Here?

Posted on April 23, 2018 by

The essays in this collection by Marilynne Robinson address several different aspects of American life, from its Puritan history, to the presidency, to the media. Some also take on such lofty theological concepts as the sacred, grace and beauty, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Short Stories/Essays | 3 Comments

Sally Heathcote, Suffragette

Posted on April 21, 2018 by

I haven’t written a blog post for over two months, and I’m not sure… why not? I’ve just been very busy and tired, and I’ve been reading, but not at my usual volume, and when I’ve thought about writing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Graphic Novels / Comics, History, Nonfiction | 4 Comments

This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America

Posted on April 7, 2018 by

In this collection of 10 essays, Morgan Jerkins reflects on her life and how it represents the experiences of black women in America. Each essay tackles a different aspect of life, including her childhood impressions of beauty, to life in … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Short Stories/Essays | 6 Comments

The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America

Posted on March 31, 2018 by

When I first saw this book by journalist Frances Fitzgerald, I was both curious and uneasy. Curious because I’d like to see a clear-headed examination of the Evangelical Christian movement that I spent most of my young adulthood in, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Religion | 6 Comments

My Wars Are Laid Away In Books

Posted on January 23, 2018 by

This biography of Emily Dickinson, by Alfred Habegger, has been on my TBR for so many years that I’ve lost count — the oldest book on my list, in fact, having survived a number of TBR purges. I read it … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Nonfiction | 7 Comments

The Innocents Abroad

Posted on January 22, 2018 by

Mark Twain’s story of a cruise on the USS Quaker City from the United States to Europe, down through the Mediterranean, to the Holy Land, and home again, is something I’ve read about all my life. Elnora has her mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Nonfiction, Travel/ Exploration | 8 Comments

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

Posted on December 29, 2017 by

I didn’t think it was possible for me to shed tears over a biography, but by the time I got to the end of Ruth Franklin’s book about Shirley Jackson, I was so attached to Jackson that reading about her … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Nonfiction | 6 Comments

Young Romantics: The Shelleys, Byron, and Other Tangled Lives

Posted on December 16, 2017 by

The story of how Mary Shelley came up with the idea for Frankenstein as part of a storytelling competition is fairly well known, but that’s far from the only instance of how the circle around the Shelleys influenced each other, both … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Nonfiction | 2 Comments

Delusions of Gender

Posted on December 2, 2017 by

We’ve all heard the stereotypes. Men are like …. Women are like …. And it starts early, with the assumption that gender differences are inherent and immutable. In Delusions of Gender, psychologist Cordelia Fine methodically (and sometimes snarkily) picks apart studies … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction | 16 Comments