Just right for long, dark nights before the fire (real or electric), these three fairytales for adults kept me reading past my bedtime. Beautiful language, strange and mysterious happenings, and a sense of magic link The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, Melmoth by Sarah Perry, and Damsel by Elana K. Arnold. But be […]
Tag: women’s lit
Book review: The Obelisk Gate
If you’re a fan of speculative fiction, you must read N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy. After devouring the first book, I finished the second and third books and am still catching my breath. These Hugo-winning novels are a feat of wonder, sorrow, and delight, from the elegant, powerful language to the awe-inspiring craft. And […]
Book review: The Fifth Season
Mind. Blown. I finished the first book in N.K. Jemison’s Hugo-award-winning The Broken Earth trilogy, The Fifth Season, and I’m reeling from its sheer awesomeness. This speculative fiction novel for adults encompasses a vast, immersive, world that resonates with our own culture, particularly the way we treat anyone we deem “other.” The plot is continually […]
Fond farewell to Literary Mama
This month is the first in almost nine years that I haven’t helped to prepare the September issue of Literary Mama. This summer, I handed the Poetry Editor reins to my talented colleague and poetic co-conspirator Juli Anna Herndon so I could pursue a writing career. The Poetry department, and the overall site, is in […]
Book review: Saints and Misfits
There are three kinds of people in 15-year-old Janna Yusuf’s life: saints, misfits, and monsters. Saints make the world a better place, like Janna’s elder-care charge, Mr. Ram, and her too-good-to-be-true prospective sister-in-law Sarah Mahmoud. They can be a little intimidating. Misfits are people like Janna. Whether she wears her burkini at the beach with […]