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Could a better world really lie in a pill? (Image courtesy of Soft Skull Press.)

‘Oval’ by Elvia Wilk

A better pill

How should we make the world a better place? Elvia Wilk’s novel ‘Oval’ explores the pitfalls of philanthropy in present-day Berlin. Elisa Shoenberger reviews.

Elisa Shoenberger

May 18, 2020 Articles 3 minute read

A book for Black women? (Image via Viking.)

‘Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot’ by Mikki Kendall

Mikki Kendall’s ‘Hood Feminism’ argues that feminism is a movement that forgot Black women. Reviewer Lindsay Gary wonders whom the book is truly addressing, and why it ignores long-established scholarship in fields like African womanism.

Lindsay Gary

May 12, 2020 Articles 5 minute read

An intimate history you never knew. (Image courtesy of Liveright Publishing Corporation.)

‘The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History’ by Kassia St. Clair

Looking through the loom

It touches us from birth to death, but how much do we really think about fabric? Kassia St. Clair’s ‘The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History’ unspools an exciting world, from mummies to spacewalks. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Gail Obenreder

May 05, 2020 Articles 3 minute read

Author Christina Rosso-Schneider and her dog Atticus Finch celebrate her debut story collection, ‘She is a Beast,’ at A Novel Idea on Passyunk. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

A Novel Idea’s Christina Rosso launches her debut book ‘She is a Beast’

Women take all

Local author Christina Rosso-Schneider’s debut is a collection of feminist fairy tales in which women fight against the “beasts” of the patriarchy—even by becoming beasts themselves. The co-owner of A Novel Idea on Passyunk talks to Kirsten Bowen about launching a book in the pandemic.

Kirsten Bowen

May 05, 2020 Articles 5 minute read

Two hundred breathtaking pages: Jacqueline Woodson’s ‘Red at the Bone.’ (Image courtesy of Riverhead Books.)

‘Red at the Bone’ by Jacqueline Woodson

Destiny beyond family

How do the past and present influence the lives of three generations of a Black family? Jacqueline Woodson’s novel, ‘Red at the Bone,’ looks at a mother-daughter relationship from a unique perspective. Andrea Smith reviews.

Andrea Smith

May 04, 2020 Articles 3 minute read

Some of du Pont’s “children”: peonies outside the old du Pont home, now Winterthur Museum & Library. (Photo by Lois Mauro, courtesy of Winterthur Museum.)

‘The Winterthur Garden Guide: Color for Every Season’ by Linda Eirhart

The wilds at Winterthur

Horticultural inspiration is growing this spring with Linda Eirhart’s ‘The Winterthur Garden Guide: Color for Every Season.’ Pamela Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Apr 24, 2020 Articles 4 minute read

Forget what you thought you knew about colors. (Image courtesy of Penguin Books.)

‘The Secret Lives of Color’ by Kassia St. Clair

Hues you can use

Who knew hues could be so riveting? Gail Obenreder reviews Kassia St. Clair’s colorful book.

Gail Obenreder

Mar 30, 2020 Articles 4 minute read

The cover of ‘Stan Hochman Unfiltered’ shows Hochman in his role as a sportswriter in ‘Rocky V.’ (Image © 1990 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. All rights reserved. Courtesy of MGM Media Licensing.)

‘Stan Hochman Unfiltered,’ edited by Gloria Hochman

More than sports

‘Stan Hochman Unfiltered’ highlights an iconic Philly voice that took readers beyond the stats. Pamela Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Mar 29, 2020 Articles 5 minute read

Loss, survival, and witnessing in an absorbing story from Appalachia. (Image courtesy of Hachette Books.)

‘The Third Rainbow Girl’ by Emma Copley Eisenberg

The only way to cope with loss

Philly author Emma Copley Eisenberg’s debut, ‘The Third Rainbow Girl,’ discovers the aftermath of a murder in Appalachia that resonates throughout America. Katy Scarlett reviews.

Katy Scarlett

Mar 23, 2020 Articles 3 minute read

The history of slavery isn’t what you thought. (Image courtesy of Harvard University Press.)

‘Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War’ by Vincent Brown

The real history of the transatlantic slave trade

A new book by Harvard’s Vincent Brown proves that we can’t grapple with slavery simply as a problem of American history. ‘Tacky’s Revolt’ takes a global lens to the transatlantic slave trade, highlighting the largest rebellion of enslaved people in the 18th-century British empire. Vena Jefferson spoke with the author.

Vena Jefferson

Mar 06, 2020 Articles 5 minute read

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