Milo and the Calf

Tag: recommended

  • Lorde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

    Zami: A New Spelling of the Name Audre Lorde The autobiography of one of the most important poets of the twentieth century. The story of a first-generation immigrant, a visually impaired girl, who dreamt of things far beyond what her mother could imagine. The story of a woman who read, and wrote, and worked the…

  • Lorde’s Coal

    Coal Audre Lorde Audre Lord would go on to be one of the cornerstones of the contemporary poetry, a woman referenced by anyone who cares about the art form. An activist who taught a generation that “”Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who…

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    Davis’s Are Prisons Obsolete

    Are Prisons Obsolete? Angela Davis   This book came out more than ten years ago, when the modern-day prison abolitionist movement was surging on the left, powered by groups like Critical Resistance and intellectuals like Davis. I was part of that world and I’m a little embarrassed it took me this long to read this.…

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    Ward’s Men We Reaped

    Men We Reaped: A Memoir  Jesmyn Ward There may be other American writers working today who are as gifted as Ward, but I have a hard time believing there are any more gifted. From fiction to memoir, Ward consistently leaves me at the edge of tears at the raw emotion of what she is sharing,…

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    Review: Gay’s Hunger A Memoir of (My) Body

    Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Roxanne Gay A gut punch, a wake up call, a deeply effecting book about race, sexual assault, food, immigration, class, writing, love and America. Really a must read. I’m someone who cares deeply about health and fitness.  I struggle to make the right food choices, and hit the gym,…

  • Review: Ward’s Salvage the Bones

    Salvage the Bones Jesmyn Ward Stunning prose. A look into a world (rural, black, deep south) that is not often depicted in literature. Really, really good. Salvage the Bones tells the story of a young girl and her family and community as they prepare for, and endure, Hurricane Katrina. The sense of dread that permeates…

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    Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate

    The Obelisk Gate N.K. Jemisin This is the follow up to Jemisin’s incredible, mind blowing, the Fifth Season and its good. Very good, even. Jemisin’s prose is top rate, and the story churns forward revealing more about our characters and the world they inhabit, while still keeping up the mystery and allure that made Fifth…

  • Nicolson’s Why Homer Matters

    Why Homer Matters: A History Adam Nicolson This one hit all my sweet spots. A book about Homer that is part travelogue / memoir, part meditation on deep engagement with a text, and part ancient history primer. A must read for the ancient history enthusiast. Nicolson’s easy erudition and his deep emotional connection to the…

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    Review: Armstrong’s Buddha

    Buddha Karen Armstrong A simple, stupid, introduction to Buddhism perfect for someone like me who knows less than nothing about one of the world’s most important philosophical systems / religions. What it has: a concise overview of the life of the Buddha and the central tenets of the system as it was understood at the…

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    Review: Lanier’s You Are Not A Gadget

    You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto Jaron Lanier Lock-in is apparently a concept well known among engineers, but I was unfamiliar with it until this book. It’s worth thinking about. Basically, the concept is that in large complex systems, simple, often arbitrary, decisions can have long lasting effects, which when compounded, can limit the…