Why did you love this book: In one of life’s strange twists of fate, in 2004 I was lucky enough to attend the season one cast party for The O.C. (I’ve got a picture with Ryan Atwood to prove it!)
A superfan of this show and many like it, I knew from the moment I saw the title of this book that I would be the target demographic, and if you love Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, or Glee then, trust me, you are, too.
In her book author Thea Glassman delves into the impact these shows have had on youth culture and the entertainment industry at large. She includes many interviews with writers and actors who worked on these ground-breaking shows giving readers first-hand accounts into how some of our favorite Hollywood sausage was made. I highly recommend this book for any fans of teen shows past and present.
The untold stories of seven revolutionary teen shows (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee) that shaped the course of modern television and our pop cultural landscape forever.
The modern television landscape is defined by influential and ambitious shows for and about teenagers. Groundbreaking series like Euphoria, Sex Education, and Pen15 dominate awards season and lead the way when it comes to progressive, diverse, and creative storytelling. So how did we get here from Beverly Hills, 90210?
In Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek, entertainment journalist Thea Glassman…
It’s no secret that Curtis Sittenfeld is my favorite author and that I would read the whole Google Terms & Agreements policy if she wrote it. Thankfully, she didn’t, and she instead continues to use her talents to craft deep, relatable, and hilarious characters like she has once again in Romantic Comedy.
Set during the pandemic, this tale of a sketch comedy writer (think SNL) and her unlikely relationship with a pop star has the perfect blend of sugar and spice with a dash of Sittenfeld’s trademark feminism. Great writing, pure entertainment.
Studying the evolution of language is one of my nerdy passions (why yes, I have read The Professor and the Madman about the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary), so this book was right up my alley.
In Wordslut reporter, linguist, and Sounds Like a Cult podcaster (it’s great, check it out), author Amanda Montell deep dives into how language can both oppress and free us and gives loads of examples of how it’s been used throughout history to do both. Fun, snappy, and—bonus—educational, this was an eye-opening read that has helped me become a more precise communicator and altogether better writer.
"I get so jazzed about the future of feminism knowing that Amanda Montell's brilliance is rising up and about to explode worldwide."-Jill Soloway
A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us.
The word bitch conjures many images, but it is most often meant to describe an unpleasant woman. Even before its usage to mean "a female canine," bitch didn't refer to women at all-it originated as a gender-neutral word for "genitalia." A perfectly innocuous word devolving into an insult directed at females is the case for tons more terms, including hussy,…
Seventeen-year-old Joel Teague has a new prescription from his therapist—a part-time job—the first step toward the elusive Normal life he’s been so desperate to live. Lucky for Joel, ROYO Video is hiring. Dubbed “Solo” after his favorite Star Wars character, Joel works his way up the not-so-corporate ladder without anyone suspecting what was wrong with him. That is, until he befriends Nicole “Baby” Palmer, and the two quickly develop the kind of friendship movie montages are made of. However, when Joel’s past catches up with him, he’s forced to choose between preserving his new blank-slate persona and coming clean. Set in the pop-culture-rich 1990s, this remarkable story tackles challenging and timely themes with huge doses of heart.
