An entertaining, jubilantly body-positive memoir.
A New York City–based illustrator's graphic memoir about the "head-to-toe reboot" that helped her "recalibrate and reconnect" to her own body.
In her debut, Elovic transforms what began as an Instagram project, which she undertook in order to combat the way women "reject our own bodies," into a refreshing story about corporeal self-love. She dedicates each chapter to a single body part and recollections of her changing attitudes about that part. The author begins with happy childhood memories of her face and how she loved contorting her features in the mirror for fun. As she grew older and watched pimples erupt on her skin and hair thicken above her mouth, the mirror became a "black hole of critique.” Other bodily changes—e.g., the development of her breasts—were both "thrilling and shocking.” But those changes also forced her to contend with social conventions, like the bras that were supposed to "make me more of a woman" but only made her feel entrapped, and her stomach also became a source of humiliation. As a child, she boasted that her stomach could hold massive amounts of cake, but by adolescence, she became painfully aware that "weight and size" would determine her worth in the eyes of others. She joined Weight Watchers, which “sucked the joy out of food.” Elovic also struggled with the supposed unfeminine act of defecation (“according to teen magazines, pooping was the most shameful thing a girl could do”) as well as her menstruation, which often went “fucking rogue.” Eventually, the author found support among "the Yentas,” a group of young Jewish women that "encouraged me to take joy" in every "gross" part of her body. Featuring colorful folk art–style paintings that transform uncomfortable bodily facts and functions into charmingly humorous images, this book encourages women to help each other accept all their "hairs and jiggles and bumps and smells" for what they are: essentially human.
An entertaining, jubilantly body-positive memoir.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63557-452-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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