#trickmirror

- l.e.n.

— Jia Tolentino from Trick Mirror

#multigraph #photomultigraph #trickmirror #portraitphotography #lanephotographers #lanestudios https://www.instagram.com/p/CcN_2qgrdlz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Yes! Back with another Sunday Spotlight! And as you can see, it’s Trick Mirror. Check out my thoughts 👉🏿 I had this on my tbr list forever. I was scrolling through that list on kindle and was in essay mood, so… Trick Mirror is a collection of nine essays that are mostly contemporary and rigorously researched, which is not always a boon for essays, because they then appear as summarizing what the essayist has read elsewhere and is now putting their own spin on things. There was evidence of this right from the start, in the first essay, The I in the Internet. I mean that subject has been bandied about for as long as the internet has been a thing. There isn’t anything new she offers here, but she cites several sources and although it’s great to know she is both reader and writer, that summary thing induces boredom. However, she picks up the pace and adds biographical notes throughout to liven things up. I think the essays where she talks about her upbringing and her college days are some of the best and the writing is strong there. We Come From Old Virginia allows her to rift on rape culture with the University of VA as center for how rape culture thrives on college campuses throughout this land. She also writes a lot about feminism, but not with much breadth and the only Black feminist that she references is Roxanne Gay, so despite her heavy research, with feminism she is myopic. The strongest essay is the last, I Thee Dread. Women thinking of marriage and the big wedding may want to skip this one, it could change your mind about the whole damn thing. She takes a scalpel to the wedding industry and well, damn. Marriage also comes under scrutiny and the raw deal that women receive in this “marriage construct” has never been clearer and worth serious contemplation. All said it's an uneven collection, but ultimately one worth your time. #ownvoicesreviews #houstonreaders #goodreads #trickmirror #jiatolentino #readmorebooks #reading #readabook #penguinrandomhouse #lovetoreadbooks (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRwYBnTr9Po/?utm_medium=tumblr

Thank you to @randomhouse for sending me this exhilarating new book which I know will be my number one non-fiction book of 2019. Seriously, you all need to read this book! TRICK MIRROR by Jia Tolentino is a book of essays about pop culture and everything current. These essays present modern life as a con — a funhouse mirror that distorts and hides the truth, says Esquire. Just think how we are all “in on the secrets” of reality tv and social media, yet look at what it’s doing to our psyche by influencing our thoughts and behavior. Tolentino discusses topics such as the scamming culture, yoga culture, Fyre Festival, 2008 financial crisis, current government situations, student debt, female empowerment and more. I was so impressed by the intellect, honesty and wit of this young writer from The New Yorker. Think Joan Didion of the 2000s! Even the talented Zadie Smith gave praise to this book; “It's easy to write about things as you wish they were—or as others tell you they must be. It's much harder to think for yourself, with the minimum of self-delusion. It's even harder to achieve at a moment like this, when our thoughts are subject to unprecedented manipulation, monetization, and surveillance. Yet Tolentino has managed to tell many inconvenient truths in  Trick Mirror—and in enviable style. This is a whip-smart, challenging book that will prompt many of us to take a long, hard look in the mirror. It filled me with hope.” If you’ve read it let me know what you thought of it and if you haven’t but hope to, please report back with your thoughts. . . . . . . #trickmirror #jiatolentino #reflectionsonselfdelusion #politicsandprose #essaycollection #bookstyle #fromwhereisit #womenwriters #summerreadinglist https://www.instagram.com/p/B1g_AiInVrR/?igshid=1m9604waq02h

Canada put up a good fight, though. I’m proud of them. Good luck next year, guys!

note: I feel particularly pleased by this one.