The past couple of years, I’ve been leaning into my innate anarchism. Reading this book is part of my effort to understand how some early anarchists made their way in this country, fought for their values, and resisted political and social oppression. I picked up both volumes of Emma Goldman’s…
Category: Nonfiction
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The Q Review | Girl in a Band | Kim Gordon
Kim Gordon is arguably and objectively one of the coolest people to have ever walked the planet. Full stop. An artist’s artist. An L.A. girl who made good in New York City. A woman who sought to define her style and relationship to her art, even as part of a…
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The Q Review | The KLF | John Higgs
My only knowledge of The KLF before reading this book is a faint memory of hearing their song “3AM Eternal” on the radio in my senior year of high school, thinking, “What is this?” The music I was into at the time – mainly of the new wave and alternative…
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The Q Review | Going Clear | Lawrence Wright
I love reading about cults, and I’ve never read anything by Lawrence Wright that I didn’t like, so I was all-in from the very beginning on Going Clear. Much of what is in the book has been cited in various articles, documentaries, and published personal accounts from defectors. Still, Wright…
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The Q Review | The Naughty Nineties | David Friend
Let me start by saying that this is a very, very long book. The good news, however, is that it doesn’t feel that long. It actually flew by because it’s composed of popular culture and political vignettes that I lived through as a young adult. I was surprised how many…
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The Q Review | Blazing Eye Sees All | Leah Sottile
I fucking love cults. Not joining them, of course. I was raised in one, so I expend an enormous amount of personal energy avoiding anything cult-like in my daily life and spiritual practice. However, it is undoubtedly due to my personal history that I have a morbid fascination with them….
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The Q Review | Outlive | Peter Attia, MD
Last November, as I lay in my bed recovering from foot surgery, my husband came home from a doctor’s appointment and told me that he needed surgery, too. A quadruple bypass. He’s 52. Needless to say, this experience has lit a fire under our asses to re-examine our diet and…
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The Q Review | Negroland | Margo Jefferson
“White people wanted to be white just as much as we did. They worked just as hard at it. They failed just as often. They failed more often. But they could pass, so no one objected.” I love reading about subcultures and sects. It fascinates me to learn when and…
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The Q Review | Destiny Disrupted | Tamim Ansary
I’ve read a lot of books about Islamic history. I’ve also read several versions of the Qur’an with commentary. These tomes tend to be dry and scholarly. This is fine, but I prefer cordial narratives and a sprinkle of humor when reading a book about history for my pleasure. Tamim…
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Q Review | The Devil in the White City | Erik Larson
One of the best parts about writing these little reviews on my personal blog is that I am under no obligation to be objective or fair. So let me begin by saying this is one of the best books I’ve ever read and if you don’t read it you’re a…