Pretty Face (2017) is another delightful romance by Lucy Parker that takes place in the theater district of London. Lily Lamprey is a young television actress who is known for her luscious curves and breathy voice. She wants to make the jump to the stage, but is hampered by her voice and previous acting experience. That is, until Luc Savage, a successful and notorious director casts her as one of the lead roles in his new play. There is an undeniable and unsurprising spark between the […]
Less than what it seems
Hillbilly Elegy (2016) by J.D. Vance has over 10,000 reviews and four and a half stars on Amazon. It’s on NPR’s Best Books of 2016 list, and was also a book we read in book club. The Economist said “You will not read a more important book this year,” and the New York Times called it “essential reading.” I may be in the minority with this opinion, but I didn’t love it. Although parts of Vance’s life were certainly interesting, it wasn’t what I expected and I found some […]
Personal account of growing up female
“We have to walk through the rest of our day knowing that our discomfort gave someone a hard-on.” Sex Object (2016) by Jessica Valenti was another book I found on NPR’s list of Best Books from 2016. The list has led me to quite a few good books, and I am usually a fan of a good feminist memoir, so I picked it up. In it, Valenti discusses details of her childhood and adult life, showing what it’s like to live when men use you first as an […]
Stories from South Africa
Last year for Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law got me a signed copy of Born a Crime (2016) by Trevor Noah. It was a perfect gift because I was already waiting for it to become available at the library. I’d watched Trevor Noah enough on The Daily Show to come to like him and appreciate his humor. I knew that he was South African, but not much else. It wasn’t until I saw him doing an interview talking about his book that I realized he had some […]