In the upcoming Sunday Book Review, Anna Holmes discusses some of the rookie mistakes she made as a new writer: I regret many things, including, but not limited to: Inserting myself into reported narratives where I didn’t belong. Crafting long, complex sentences that I thought made me sound intelligent and sophisticated. Assuming that aggressive, masculine-sounding […]
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Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Power of 'Confessional' Writing
Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams, a book of essays, writes in the Guardian about the power of confessional writing: Confession doesn’t just allow – it incites. Someone tweeted about my essays: “After reading this book, I want to write about my hidden pain until my fingers bleed, and then I want to write […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
When a Successful Business Is One That Can Pay Employees a Decent Wage
At the New York Times, reporters Steven Greenhouse and Stephanie Strom look at businesses that pay their employees well over minimum wage, including In-N-Out burger, which starts employees off at $10.50 an hour, and Boloco, a burrito chain with 22 restaurants in New England: John Pepper, Boloco’s co-founder, said the strategy for his Boston-based company […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
A History of Scorpion Venom in Medicine
The new issue of Wired has a story about Jim Olson, a pediatric oncologist and cancer researcher whose lab is looking into whether a scorpion-venom concoction can help detect cancer cells in our bodies. Injecting our bodies with scorpion venom may sound somewhat outlandish, but it’s been used in medicine for quite a long time: […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Problem With Strong Female Characters in Hollywood Right Now
At the Dissolve, Tasha Robinson discusses why having a Strong Female Character in a film isn’t good enough if her presence is superficial. Robinson cites Valka from How To Train Your Dragon 2 as an example, as well as Strong Female Characters from other recent films: And Valka’s type—the Strong Female Character With Nothing To […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Falling in Love, 30 Years Later
At Vogue, Mira Jacob writes about watching her parents love 30 years after being paired up in an arranged marriage: The night before I went back to New York, I came home to a sight so disquieting that I stood outside in the dark for a full five minutes, just watching. It was late. The […]
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Revisiting the Hobby Lobby Case in Two Stories
In light of today’s Supreme Court ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, we’re revisiting two stories: 1. Spin, Measure, Cut: Hobby Lobby and the Tangled Skein of Reproductive Rights (Susan Schorn, The Hairpin) Susan Schorn writes about family history, crafts, and the power of choice: In America, my great-grandmother endured multiple pregnancies, many of which […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
When David Sedaris Became a Fitbit Addict
From David Sedaris in The New Yorker: acquiring a Fitbit™ and an addiction to tracking his movements.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Childhood Heroes: A Reading List
Earlier this year, a 17-year-old high school student from the Bronx named Donna Grace Moleta won the chance to meet Bill Nye “the Science Guy.”
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Childhood Heroes: A Reading List
Earlier this year, a 17-year-old high school student from the Bronx named Donna Grace Moleta won the chance to meet Bill Nye “the Science Guy.”