Rediscovered Books: Jackie's Picks

“Get a Life, Chloe Brown is such a wonderful, inclusive, body-positive, fun, moving, and steamy book, the kind of novel I want to shove into every person’s hand who says they don’t read romance. Chloe Brown is a plus-size black British woman with chronic illness who is confident, sharp, sarcastic, brilliant, and adorable as hell—and, to my great relief, totally comfortable and happy with her looks and her size. After being temporarily knocked down by her illness, Chloe decides to reclaim her life, so she makes a to-do list: ride a motorcycle, have meaningless sex, go camping, etc. It was such an absolute treat to read a novel about a plus-size woman with a disability having amazing, mind-blowing sex and loving her life. I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about this book, so instead I will just force everyone I know to read it.”

“Phoebe Robinson’s new collection of essays will make you laugh out loud and is a great tutorial on being trash but forgiving yourself for it while still being able to name the things that are #serioustrash. These essays get real about the sitch of our union—calling out nonintersectional feminists, internalized sexism, our workaholic culture, and toxic sosh meeds (social media). Written in classic Phoebe stream-of-consciousness style, this is the perfect antidote to the garbage fire of 2018.”

“Abbi Jacobson (of Broad City fame) set off on a solo road trip from New York City to Los Angeles in an impulsive attempt to shake off heartache from a breakup. This quietly introspective and sweetly self-deprecating essay collection brings readers along on Jacobson’s cross-country trek and shows us that we’re never too old to figure out who we are. The raw honesty and startling vulnerability of this book took me by surprise, inspiring me to take stock of my own path.”

“Little Weirds, a collection of essays by actress and comedian Jenny Slate, is pure magic—a joyous, thoughtful, and deeply gorgeous peek into the soul of an extremely bright and unique individual. Jenny’s mastery of the English language, the way she arranges words to tell a story, the vulnerability with which she does it, and the purity of her heart is so astounding at times that reading a paragraph once or twice is simply not enough. Little Weirds cuts deeply into what it means to be a woman here on this earth. It is about friendship and growth and learning to love ourselves in all of our tender and wild strangeness.”

“Taken from the tweets of this excellent man of many talents, each page has a thought, pep talk, or sweet encouragement for your morning or evening. Illustrated by Jonny Sun, the man behind everyone’s a aliebn, this little book is just what I need to help me start and end each day. Truly lovely and the perfect little gift book for everyone.”