Tacky

King’s unapologetically devoted to unrefined pop culture, and I’m right there with her. I completely relate to the magnetic pull of lowbrow reality shows like Jersey Shore. I sit down to an episode of Real Housewives and get up five hours later with a full bladder, cheese-dusted fingers, and no idea how so much time has passed.

I’m sometimes embarrassed to admit my love of what others may not find sophisticated, but King’s essays make me proud to be in such great company, and I feel nothing less than joy about it. 

This book is a series of personal essays by the humorist Rax King, who connects vilified pop culture people, places, and items (Creed, The Cheesecake Factory, lip gloss, to name a few) to pivotal moments in her adolescence and young adult life.

She celebrates rather than denigrates these extremely “uncool” markers in pop culture, through the lens of a young woman learning to love and appreciate herself, her family, and her sexuality, in the same way she has come to love and appreciate tackiness.

I’m obsessed with her turns of phrase and brutal honesty on every page.