Read This Book…

I have long been a fan of Roxane Gay’s writing, and this compilation of some of her essays spanning a decade does not disappoint. There are dozens of essays in this book, a few book reviews, and some celebrity interviews as well. The author, like many of us, loves to give her opinion and to give advice and you can sense her revelry in the act of doing so, even during some of the more heavy pieces.

This book is divided into seven sections, including “Identity/Politics,” “The Matter of Black Lives,” and “For the Culture.” She includes so many of what I consider to be her greatest hits, like “Cops Don’t Belong at Pride,” “How to Build a Monument,” “Who Gets to Be Angry?,” and “Dave Chappelle’s Brittle Ego.” I was overwhelmed by the amount of things that have happened in the past ten years and I nearly got whiplash as I bounced from essays on the Trump presidency to Chadwick Boseman to a beautiful memorial essay of Toni Morrison. I was also rocketed back in time to essays about the mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, the murder of Sandra Bland, and the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Not all the pieces require readers to reflect on the horrors of the past ten years, and the composition of this book is skillfully balanced with intelligent book reviews, entertaining and thoughtful critiques of films and shows, and even some hilarious observations like the ones included in “Why the Beach is a Bummer” and “Why Are Most Father’s Day Gifts So Terrible?”

The author’s celebrity profiles are brilliantly written in such a way that a few were of people about whom I initially was indifferent, but after reading Roxane Gay’s profiles, I found myself endlessly fascinated. There are nine profiles included, ranging from musicians like Nicki Minaj, Janelle Monáe, and Madonna to actors like Sarah Paulson and Tessa Thompson.

Finally, there are a few choice pieces from her “Ask Roxane” column, which I deeply appreciate as a person who loves to give advice myself. From cover to cover, this book is an excellent and wide-ranging read.