A Tale for the Time Being

I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you. A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be. Ruth, a writer

My Brother My Sister: Story of a Transformation

During a visit from her little brother, affectionately nicknamed Chevey (pronounced “Chivvy”), feminist film critic Molly Haskell was stunned by the confession that Chevey had been battling some personal demons his whole life: now nearly sixty years old, he felt it was finally time to come out as a trans woman. Having carefully saved up

Honor

Elif Shafak’s newest book, a multigenerational saga spanning half a century, explores the concept of honor and cultural expectations placed on women. Jamila and Pembe are somewhat estranged twins growing up in a Kurdish village. Marriage will tear them apart in adulthood; Pembe marries Adem Toprak and moves away to London, while her sister stays

Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes mysteries are famous for their big reveal at the end, when Holmes connects all those seemingly random clues into a cohesive narrative and solves the crime. Suddenly, everything is so obvious. The audience can’t believe they didn’t figure it out themselves. Holmes does’t have any magical gifts that made him freakishly smarter than

Quickies: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl and The Turquoise Ledge

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li Publisher/Year: Random House, 2010 Format: ebook Pages: 256 Source: Publisher review copy via NetGalley What it is: A collection of short stories mostly revolving around lonely Chinese characters who are grasping at happier future, but are grounded in the bleak realities of everyday life. Why I read it: I love short story collections and had