Carmen's Picks

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion (Hardcover)

By Jia Tolentino

$27.00

ISBN: 9780525510543

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Random House - August 6th, 2019

In this world where it is increasingly difficult to hear amongst the static, Jia Tolentino's voice rings out articulate and devastating. She dissects the state of our society and the role that millenials play in it deftly and without bias, but with enough personal experience and intellectual prowess to bring necessary weight to the collection. The topics range from the internet as a force of degradation and self-empowerment, nationwide scams, barre classes, self-optimization, and the paradoxical acceptance of difficult women in mainstream feminism. She is critical in a disarmingly even manner, careful not to separate herself from any parties criticized. In fact, her involvement is key to the story she's telling. 

Rebecca Solnit argues that naming cultural phenomena gives us a platform for change. Tolentino is embodying that idea. She's not giving us answers. She's not even giving us a roadmap. Instead she's giving us definitions, connections and observations that could lead ato more power and agency to affect change. She's arguably a millennial voice unlike any we've seen yet, and she makes a convincing case that we should all be listening.

Play It As It Lays: A Novel (FSG Classics) (Paperback)

By Joan Didion, David Thomson (Introduction by)

$15.00

ISBN: 9780374529949

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - November 15th, 2005

Most people meet Joan Didion in an autobiographical or journalistic essay form. I fell in love with her because of this novel. This book challenged the way I saw the female character portrayed. "Unlikeable" women hold a precarious place in both literature and society, and Didion plays with nihilism, apathy, and moral grey areas throughout the book in a way that generally leaves people squirming. It's a scathing look at Hollywood in the 1960s, a theme she is no stranger to, but what resonated with me was Maria's unsettling awareness of the lunacy of the world surrounding her, as well as her attempts at finding agency in a world that didn't allow for female agency. This book may not be light or easy, but you'll devour Didion's terse language and acute cultural observations. You won't be able to shake this book once you're done.

The Days of Abandonment (Paperback)

By Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein (Translated by)

$15.00

ISBN: 9781933372006

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Europa Editions - September 1st, 2005

What an astonishing book. A raw, feverish, electrifying account of the depths of the human psyche when we lose grasp of the stories we've built for ourselves. Ferrante pulls you beneath the surface of the water and doesn't let go. Is there such a thing as an exquisite drowning? I'm beginning to think so.

The Queen of the Tearling: A Novel (Queen of the Tearling, The) (Paperback)

By Erika Johansen

$16.99

ISBN: 9780062290380

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Harper Paperbacks - April 14th, 2015

I fell into this series without even meaning to. It follows the life of Kelsea Glynn, a girl who has lived in exile her entire life while unknowingly being groomed to be the next queen. Seem like a familiar plot? Think again. This series has serious layers. A failed utopian society in a dystopian world, dark and corrupt magic, an impending massacre, and a surprisingly insightful look at power structures, gender roles, human nature, and government. I couldn't put this book down.

Men Explain Things to Me (Paperback)

By Rebecca Solnit

$12.95

ISBN: 9781608464661

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Haymarket Books - September 1st, 2015

Essential reading for all. The term "mansplaining" may have lost some of its punch, years after the essay credited with popularizing it was published, but the ideas presentedremain just as, if not more, relevant today.  

Solnit thoughtfully connects numerous cultural power structures and the everyday silencing of women to the epidemic of violence against half the world's population.  This book will enrage you, make you think, a nd in the end, give you hope that the fight for equaility hasn't seen its last d ay.  

Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises (and Essays) (Paperback)

By Rebecca Solnit

$15.95

ISBN: 9781608469468

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Haymarket Books - September 4th, 2018

I'm absolutely smitten with Rebecca Solnit. Read this book. Read all of her books. Just do it.