This is Show & Tell where I tell you some things I loved from the week and the one thing I hated, plus round up everything else going on around these parts. The first half of Show & Tell is free to all. The adoration and hateration are for paid subscribers only.

I hope everyone had a nice break from me over the holidays. I know I had a nice break from writing. And, now I’m back. Since I didn’t give you a December book preview, I tacked it on in this edition of Grown-Up Show & Tell. Other than that, it is business as usual around here.

And as a casual reminder from me, a person who is mostly very bad at selling herself, if you’re gifting things to people you know who like books you could always give them a subscription to this very newsletter, and then you could print this little card, and then you could be the best gift giver (and person). But, also, you don’t have to do that. But, like, you could.

This Week in The Stacks

Having a crush is really fun, just ask Olivia Dean’s new album and Donald Trump.

Talking with about We the Animals for book club this week on the podcast.

Books I Read This Week

Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno translated by Natasha Lehrer
Sinno’s memoir of her childhood with a step-father who raped her for years starting at the age of seven. The subject matter here is dark, and Sinno balances that with her use of language and exploration of purpose. She is constantly questioning her own thoughts and opinions and the power of a story and the veracity of memories. This book is honest and challenging and extremely well done.
Fave of the week!

Nature Poem by Tommy Pico
A book length poem about why the author, a queer indigenous poet, can’t write a nature poem. Fresh, funny, and full of voice, this poem is at times tender and then immediately brash and confrontational. Pico is obviously interested in stereotypes, friction with his audience, and the ways words sound and feel as they are released into the world.

Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie GIilbert
An examination of the trends in feminism and the representation of women in popular culture from the 1990’s to today. Gilbert