Welcome to Litsy!

Again so in awe of an author's prowess that I'm scrambling to come up with the words to properly praise their writing.
There is no better way to understand Gay's skill than reading her essays (articles? These were all originally published in column form) first hand. This is a marvelous collection for any attention span as most entries are around three pages and none over ten. 1/?

“...anger is an entirely appropriate response to bigotry, systemic bias, and injustice...They want the airing of opinions to be nothing more than a harmless intellectual exercise. And I suppose, for those whose lives are not materially affected by the issues on which they opine, that might be possible.“ 💅🏼🙄
Never seen someone be so eloquent while also be 1000% done at the same time.

More of this thought process before commentating, please. 🙏🏼

The book is “a product of its time,“ sure, so let me just say that said time and the people who lived in it were plain terrible.

Previously published short essays on politics, pop culture, interviews with celebrities, and a snippet from Gay's advice column. I enjoyed the pop culture pieces the most, because Gay geeks out in a way that makes you see the appeal of the stupidest things. (Except the Bachelor. Nothing can make me see the appeal of The Bachelor.) The political sections were hard to read--because now they rhyme. The rest was pretty meh. A soft pick.

#AAM

The United states has become ungovernable not because of political differences or protest or a lack of civility but because this is a country unwilling to protect and care for its citizens--its women, its racial minorities and especially its children.

When politicians talk about civility and public discourse what they're really saying is that they would prefer for people to remain silent in the face of injustice.

I highly enjoy Roxane Gay's non-fiction. Her writing style is very approachable and clear, and I never feel condescended to. I just love her.

#aam

@Soubhiville

Finished this book recently! Roxane Gay is one of my fave writers, and these essays showcase her eloquent, impactful writing. The essays touched on a ray of pivotal topics, and I love how Gay isn‘t afraid to state and explain her perspective even if it goes against the typical or majority view. I liked that there were some more lighthearted essays as compared to her previous works. Some essays were repetitive but overall it‘s an intriguing read.

I read this one over the course of many months. I savoured each essay. Overall the collection left me feeling sad, angry, delighted, inspired and hopeful.

Roxane Gay has opinions and I‘m here to read them, or in this case, listen to her expertly narrate them. Several I‘ve read before, and some seem a bit dated as they feature commentary on movies and celebrities staring in roles which are not their most recent. Nevertheless I very much enjoyed this essay collection which also features themes of race relations in America, and a poignant essay about her late brother. Gay has a way with words.

I may have read some of these essays previously. If I did, they bore rereading.

So, I enjoyed this listen (there was a lot of really deep thought provoking essays in there). I‘m I enjoyed listening to her read her own essays (I think it helps with the emotional content of it)

A collection of essays written by Gay over the last 10 years. Most of these I had read before, and it is great to have them all compiled!! I loved revisiting her essay about The Fast and Furious franchise!! I also love these movies and though I have read it before it still had me giggling.
This would be a great holiday present for the feminist and literary people in your life.

I love Roxane Gay, so it‘s no surprise that I loved this collection of pieces previously published in various places. Most of them are fairly short, making this easy to dip in and out of, though I plowed straight through. Five enthusiastic stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Who is reading some nonfiction this weekend?

I am headed to a very wet book festival, where I am cursing whoever decided that November in Oregon was the perfect place to make people stand in queues for hours outside was a good idea. But I have the lovely Roxane Gay's new Opinions to distract me for the times I am in line without my friends - when we want to see different panels.
Excited to see Curtis Sittenfield and Naomi Alderman today.

If you read all of Gay‘s work, no matter where it‘s published, you‘ve probably already read the essays collected here. They were all new to me because I usually just read her books. I love her writing because it‘s so concise and clear. Here she deals with racism, sexism, and homophobia, as well as lighter issues. Some celebrity interviews appear and some excerpts from her advice column.

Tonight‘s reading.

This is a compilation of Gay‘s opinion columns plus a couple of interviews and longer pieces about celebrities/pop culture. (I enjoyed the Madonna interview!) Most of the opinion columns appeared in the NYT, but a few early ones appeared elsewhere. Gay‘s perspective is always interesting even when I don‘t agree. I‘d recommend if you‘re a fan, too. She narrates the audiobook.

PS Loved reading about her and wife Debbie‘s art collection! 🤩

Gasp! How did I not know about this?!? Coming October 1! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳