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Drugstore Makeup Finds I Was OBSESSED With In 2016
I’m not usually a makeup blogger — I mean, LOOK at that flat-lay. Sad! Anyway, I’m not a ‘makeup blogger,’ but I do own, wear, and covet makeup A LOT. Like, a-lot, a-lot. Anyway, since it’s December and we’re winding down the year, I thought I’d share a list of the products I discovered this…
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My First Date with Lush
Yes, you read that right: my first. After I shared about my struggles with acne, I took the advice of the comments and got my butt to Lush on the Upper West Side. It was a rainy Thursday afternoon, and I was the only shopper in the store, with three knowledgeable and enthusiastic employees. We…
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Starship Troopers
This is arguably the most famous of Heinlein’s novels and I would venture to say it is probably the least typical Heinlein novel. The humour is sparse, there’s almost no sexual encounters, and the female characters can be counted on one hand. While I always enjoy The Dean’s writing, I found this one to be…
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Night Terrors: Sex, Dating, Puberty, and Other Alarming Things by Ashley Cardiff
Last month, I was fortunate enough to be stuck on a train for ten hours (ten hours just read that sentence will you!) to devour this entire book in a single sitting. Ashley Cardiff’s collection of essays all revolve around the subject of sex. Because she is openly talking about sex, her narrative voice takes…
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I Was Told There’d Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley
As soon as I finished the first chapter of I Was Told There’d Be Cake, I realized something: Sloane Crosley was the friend from Long Island I never had in college. Her humorous essays are very conversational, relateable, and then…they take a turn for the absurd. I found myself smacking my forehead at her ditching…
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Podkayne of Mars
I can’t wait to introduce you to Podkayne of Mars!!! Told as a diary written by Poddy Fries, nine Mars years old (which is like 16 Earth years – because of the longer orbit, duh, Heinlein thinks of everything) and about to embark on the journey that will change her young life!! But then –…
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I Will Fear No Evil
What do you get when you put the brain of a dying old man into the body of an impossibly hot young woman? I Will Fear No Evil explores every possible angle of a horny old man being surgically implanted into the body of his secretary to prolong his life. Questions like, “Where is the…
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When the Tripods Came
Full disclosure: this is a children’s book. Yes, friends, this is how 1988 does YA dystopian sci-fi. No icky love triangles, no pseudo-sexual undercurrents, no preachy abstinence subtext. Just tripods. What I love about the Tripods is that they’re unpredictable. No little green men screeching “TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER,” in fact, I have no…
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Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle
Nightwing may get top billing in this two-part Convergence story, but it’s Oracle (Barbara Gordon) who clearly steals the show. Told mostly from her perspective, the story examines the more human aspects of being trapped under the giant dome. In very few well-chosen words and images, the reader quickly understands the psychological implications of being…
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Time for the Stars
As far as Heinlein goes, this one is probably one of the least convoluted, and most child-appropriate. That said, he falls into what I like to think of as his “short-book” pattern, where the first half is slow, plodding character development. You get to know someone, get to like them…and then in the third act,…
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Love in the Time of Cholera
Hoping for some light reading? Love in the Time of Cholera is not it. After four hours of reading in a waiting room, I had only made it through the first 30 pages. This wordy behemoth is worth your time, because it will be hard to put it down, I promise. This book is about…
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Flutter
I met Jennie Wood at NYCC14 and this review is so beyond late, but trust me, it’s worth it. If you’re a fan of Sex Criminals and coming-of-age comics, Flutter is one to check out. Navigating growing up and figuring yourself out is hard enough when you’re a teenager. Understanding your body and desires is…
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Trader Joe’s Tuesday: Organic Polenta
Trader Joe’s Organic Polenta Tastes Like: Corn sausage. Cornmeal patties? Polenta is kind of a world unto itself. Great With: Tomato sauce, salsa, cheese, curry powder – corn is a great blank-slate to sauce it up on! Perfect For: Gluten-free “pizza bites” – we did this with tomato sauce and black garlic on slices of…
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TTFN, Hipster Batgirl
Is there any better feeling than being right? Around the last issue of Batgirl of Burnside, I developed a theory as to who the villain was aaaaaaaaand… SPOILER ALERT I was totally right! It’s Batgirl/Oracle herself! In my theory, the whole Burnside blushy-hearts escapade was a fugue state and the REAL Batgirl had to rouse…
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Orphans of the Sky
At 128 pages, you may have a hard time believing this is a Heinlein novel. But it is! And a doozy at that! First, let’s grok the title page: You’re probably wondering, “What does this book smell like?” I’ll let those dates suffice to tell you it smells like Heaven, pure heaven. It also has…
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Saga: Book One
I can’t rave enough about Saga: Book One. Because if I do, I’m afraid I’ll ruin the surprises. Saga: Book One is about Hazel. How Hazel came to be alive. And how Hazel is in danger of winding up dead. We meet some complicated characters. Some not-so complicated characters. And live in a world of…
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In Cold Blood
The Golden Rule is: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” The Golden Rule of the Internet is: “If you can’t say something nice, at least say something funny.” That in mind, I would like to declare that In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is like the worst murder mystery ever…
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Trader Joe’s Tuesday: Salted Caramel Gelato
Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Gelato Tastes Like: Words fail! It’s creamy, savory, sweet. But does it taste like salted caramel? I would say “no.” It’s got a sort of butterscotch-y flavor to it, and it’s delicious, don’t get me wrong. I’m not even sure if I’d know the taste of “salted caramel,” to be honest…
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Sex Criminals
I’ve heard so much about Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s Sex Criminals that it had been on my radar for a while. When I finally got my copy of the vol. 1 trade, I was not disappointed. In fact, I was completely blown away. If you’re unfamiliar, you’re probably thinking a million things right now. …
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Batgirl 38: Backsliding
Don’t be fooled by the shy, demure girl on the cover who’s apparently afraid to ride the subway. In this issue, Batgirl does a complete 180 from badass to Bad Guy. But first, let’s talk about the good things. Even if it comes seemingly out of nowhere, Barbara Gordon’s sudden flirtation with celebrity is an…