I pulled this novel out of a stack being cleaned, sorted, and packaged for the bookstore. I try not to do that very often. If I did, we'd be inundated with books (we already are, truthfully). But I've heard about this book since high school, and somehow managed not to have read it yet. So,... Continue Reading →
The Nitty Gritty: A Remotely Intellectual Review of Parable of the Sower
Holy Hell Fire. I haven't read something that shook me to the core like this since I read The Handmaid's Tale in college. I wish every person over 18 in the United States had to read this novel. Because it's scary as fuck. And I wish I didn't believe Octavia Butler had prophesied our future... Continue Reading →
The Nitty Gritty: A Remotely Intellectual Review of Grant Park (Leonard Pitts, Jr)
I didn't immediately get swept away in Grant Park's narrative. The cover promised a lot: a thriller that critically examines race in America. The thriller part never quite delivered for me. But the nuanced look at race in America, that rang a lot truer. I'm glad I hung in for it. Leonard Pitts, Jr. wrote columns... Continue Reading →
What Do You Want to Be?
Adults always ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. What a weird question. It's not like kids even have any idea about all the things they could be in the world. When adults pose this question, they're invariably inquiring about career choice--as if a job or a career could possibly define a person. What if a kid wants to be brave? Or curious? But these answers would never do--adults would just chuckle and ask patronizingly--again---yes, but what do you want to be?