In totally standard/I-can’t-believe-I’m-even-shocked Olympic news, NBC aired last night’s women’s gymnastics qualifiers straight from Catty Voyeur City. Look, I realize Olympic gymnastics has always been lousy with personalities, whether it’s the (usually Russian) so-called Diva Gymnast or the commentators who make their own creepy sport of over-deriding and/or over-praising anyone who dares set foot on ... Read More

  If you’re a crafter who’s dreaming of quitting your day job, this book will provide you with the necessary know-how. Hello Craft is a non-profit trade association dedicated to crafters and the handmade movement, and their insider knowledge of the industry makes them a natural (and adorable) guide to its nuances. Handmade to Sell walks you through the ins and outs of business -launching, covering topics such as registering ... Read More

In Battleborn, a collection of short stories, Claire Vaye Watkins recreates the rich and complicated history of the desert regions of California and Nevada. The title is derived from one of Nevada’s nicknames, The Battle Born State, which it earned by becoming a state during the Civil War. Similarly, the ghosts of past battles are never far away from the characters’ minds as they struggle through life. Watkins succeeds at using ... Read More

    Purity Ring, the Canadian electronic duo of Corin Roddick and Megan James, sounds like water so freezing cold it shocks your skin—it’s surprising, uncomfortable, and disorienting. Icy-blue notes appear throughout their debut full-length album, Shrines, as James’ aloof-but-assertive vocals go in and out of focus, trading places moment to moment with spastic synthesizers. Roddick handles that instrument, ... Read More

  Oksana Marafioti’s memoir brings to light a minority culture that most people have very little knowledge of beyond TLC’s My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Yes, Marafioti does write about one of those extravagant affairs, in which she donned a mango-colored taffeta gown and teased her hair to the heavens, but the strength of her book lies in the way it makes her Romani family, who moved to California in the early ’90s, and ... Read More