Book Review: On Looking by Lia Purpura

A review of On Looking by Lia Purpura . Acollection of essays that challenges readers to slow down, pay attention, and see the ordinary world in startling new ways.

Book Review: Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso

A sharp, reflective review of Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso. A minimalist meditation on memory, time, and the urge to document our lives.

Aswanglaut and the Art of Reading With a Side Eye

A reflective review of Aswanglaut by Allan Derain , exploring its rich mythology, dense Tagalog prose, and the troubling portrayal of women through a colonial lens.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

A raw, unfiltered review of Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner — a grief memoir steeped in Korean food, family love, and the impossible mess of losing your mother.

Book Review: The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit

A lyrical, genre-defying memoir, The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit explores memory, storytelling, illness, and identity. A reflective book about the stories we tell to survive and make sense of our lives.

Book Review: The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison

A sharp, no-fluff review of The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison — an essay collection about pain, empathy, and emotional messiness. Perfect for readers who like their nonfiction personal, uncomfortable, and a little unhinged.

Book Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

(Or: When Trauma, Magic, and a Very Angry Girl Collide) Let’s get this out of the way: The Poppy War is not your chill little fantasy read. This is not the book you casually dip into while sipping chamomile tea in a sunbeam. This is war. This is trauma. This is what happens when a […]