Kick-starting Creativity
If you would have asked me about a year ago, I probably would have told you I wasn’t a very creative person. Now I realize I was just working with the wrong definition, and making some pretty common mistakes.
Matthew Desmond’s Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Want to know more about affordable housing and why it’s in crisis? Check out Matthew Desmond’s latest book Evicted and come to the library tonight, August 4, at 7 p.m. to meet the author!
Beginning Creative Nonfiction Writers
Pittsburgh has been home to some of the greatest creative nonfiction voices of the past century, from those born here like Annie Dillard to writers who made their journeys through … Continued
Crank Up the Mixtape
Reading the print Mixtape is a door that swings both ways: if you’ve already seen the film about soul music, you’ll be thrilled to get the story behind the story. If this is your first encounter with Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson’s project, it will definitely inspire you to watch the documentary.
Read Harder: Vol. 7
Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat is perfect for summer road trips and getting excited for the Olympics. And while it didn’t win an Audie award — the annual recognition for the best recorded books and one of the Challenge options — it did win an Earphone Award. And that is good enough for me.
Listening to Citizen
Citizen by Claudia Rankine is a book that’s difficult to talk about, yet one that has the potential to serve as the gateway to some of our most important conversations. For just as Rankine isn’t defined as simply a poet, a playwright, an artist or an essayist, Citizen is a book that defies being boxed in by a single genre. Is it a poem? An essay? A meditation or prayer?
Armchair Philosophy
I love reading accessible philosophy, the stuff that takes philosophy out of the ivory tower. Here are some things I’ve read and watched lately that have been of particular interest.
Everything Counts: Short Books for Summer Reading
As a group, the Eleventh Stack bloggers set a goal of reading 170 books for Summer Reading 2016. We started off full-steam ahead in early June, but family, friends, work and … Continued
My Introduction to Lindy West
Before reading Lindy West’s new book, Shrill: Notes From A Loud Woman, I had never heard of her. I kept seeing this book on Amazon as a book that was soon to be released. After reading the description, I was interested.
Hang Ten: Nonfiction Picks for Summer
What does a surfer and a woman suffering from chronic depression and anxiety have in common? They’re both amazing authors with the ability to pull the reader into their stories, even if you’ve even seen a surfboard in real life and are cool as a cucumber in all situations.