Author: Kendra Winchester

From the first essay that I listened to Irby read, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite writers. Her essays are hilarious but still filled with more serious topics, like growing up with a disabled mom and a dad who died far too soon. Yes, Irby uses humor to cope with the difficult things, but she also uses humor to express the bright spots in her life. She describes meeting her wife and falling in love with such tenderness and laugh-out-loud anecdotes.

I love movies and TV. There’s just something about watching a story that taps into universal feelings that we all hold close to our chest. But I also love essays, so when I heard Lindy West had an essay collection all about modern cinema, I downloaded that audiobook so fast. And Sh*t, Actually is a delight. West is known for her over-the-top way of expressing herself, which lends itself to writing about movies. I laughed so much. I can’t recommend it enough if you just need something ridiculous (in the absolute best possible way) to read/listen to as a pick-me-up.

Now that bell hooks’ backlist has been turned into audiobooks, I’m finally getting the chance to read them for the first time. My latest pick is Ain’t I A Woman, which pulls together a lot of hooks’ early writing about how white feminists and the Black men of the Civil Rights Movement ignore the intersectional experience of Black women. bell hooks reiterates over and over that as people who live with both sexism and racism, Black women’s experiences are unique. As hooks describes at the end of her book, a truly inclusive feminist movement is an intersectional one.

Mikki Kendall discusses how modern-day feminist movements have huge gaps in their organizing efforts. Kendall argues that feminism, particularly white feminism, fails to address issues like food insecurity, safe housing, disability, access to education, and the ability to earn a living wage. Each essay discusses a different area that modern feminism could improve upon, providing an intersectional approach to her writing. Kendall makes so many incredible points as she calls out feminism’s weaknesses and the areas where it could improve. If feminism is to continue to improve the lives of women, it must evolve.

In her short collection of essays, queer Singaporean author Tania De Rozario shares her experience growing up as a fat, biracial girl during a time when Singapore required children with a “high” BMI to participate in food restriction and extra exercise. Much of the novel follows De Rozario as she begins her journey of self-acceptance, embracing her body and sexuality as they are, not as society tells her they should be.

Editor Mariam Khan has gathered together a stunning group of Muslim women writers who all share their experiences. In 2016, Mariam Khan heard David Cameron had linked the radicalization of Muslim men to the “traditional submissiveness” of Muslim women. Appalled, Khan decided to push back with a collection of essays of Muslim women from around the world. They discuss issues around family, marriage, sex, gender, and so much more. This is such an incredible collection with so many different views and perspectives. A must-read for any nonfiction lover.

Cartoonist Kate Beaton heads to western Canada to work in the oil sands, taking advantage of the oil rush to help her save money so she can more fully dedicate herself to her art. But out west, she’s confronted with the harsh realities of working in the small communities popping up because of the oil industry. In these sort of episodic-like snippets, she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at her life, pointing out the many issues — sexism and violence towards women in particular — that are common in these communities.

I discovered Persepolis, a modern classic of the genre, during one of my very first Women In Translation Month celebrations. This graphic memoir follows Marjane Satrapi through the Iranian Revolution and her flight to France. She goes to school in Paris for a few years, but eventually, she returns home to Iran. She finds it completely changed. Satrapi’s illustrations capture your attention from the first page, and her memoir is a testament to her love of Persian culture and the grief she experiences as she can no longer live in her home country.

There’s a reason this book is much beloved. The way Kimmerer writes about the natural world just sweeps you off your feet. You are there in the water with her, trying to save her pond from being reclaimed by the land, or you are right beside her as she leads dozens of students out into nature on a guided hike. Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, also discusses her Native Nation’s culture around plants and the traditional practices she was taught by her elders that help care for the land. She investigates these traditions and discusses how these practices work from a scientist’s perspective.

Essayist Margaret Renkl is back with a beautiful book all about a year in her backyard. Each week, she writes about her world as she sees it. Maybe she writes about the many birds who come to eat from her bird feeders. Or maybe she tells us about the tadpoles that she kept in a tank, going so far as to order them special plants. The book itself, the physical object in your hands, is stunning. Her husband, Billy Renkl, has created vibrant, full-color illustrations for each chapter. And if you’re an audiobook fan, you’ll love her performance, complete with her beautiful Southern accent describing the plants and animals with which she shares her home.

From the moment that I heard Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts was coming into the world, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Crystal Wilkinson served two terms as Kentucky’s poet laureate and has long been a member of the Affrilachian Poets. With Praisesong, Wilkinson gives readers a look into her family’s history, starting with her ancestor Aggie, an enslaved woman born in Kentucky in the late 1700s. From there, she traces her family’s history through food and the recipes passed down from mother to daughter. She celebrates Black country cooks and shares Appalachian recipes from her own box of recipe cards. The book is full of beautiful photos of her family and the food they make. This book is such a beautiful, one-of-a-kind reading experience.

Victuals, which won a James Beard Award, is a cookbook I picked up because of Wilkinson’s recommendation, and I fell in love with it from the moment I saw it. In the last several years, Southern Appalachian cooking has been making its mark on the literary world. Ronni Lundy looks at traditional, heritage recipes from Appalachia, celebrating simple ingredients like beans and greens. The photos by Johnny Autry are gorgeous, taking me back to summers watching my grandparents eat salted tomato slices while relaxing on the back porch of their cabin.

Cristina Rivera Garza’s sister, Liliana, was in college when she was murdered by an ex-boyfriend. Decades later, Cristina goes to Mexico City in search of her sister’s case file. But when the police inform her that Liliana’s case file was lost, she decides to make a sort of file of her own, an act to force the world to bear witness to her sister’s life. The rest of the book is about Rivera Garza’s memories of her sister while they were growing up. We learn about all the squabbles they had as kids and all the love they shared as they got older. Rivera Garza also interviews Liliana’s friends from college in Mexico City. This way, she creates a collection of snapshots of her sister’s life leading up to the time of her death. This incredible memoir is one of the best that I read in 2023. It’s a truly stunning testament to sisterly love.

Last year, Pushkin released a new audiobook of Mary Oliver’s incredible essay collection, Upstream. Hala Alyan, Joy Sullivan, and Kate Baer read different sections of the collection, each introducing their portion with some personal thoughts on why they treasure Oliver’s writing. The collection itself is a meditation on the natural world. Oliver writes her prose with a poet’s eye for word choice, each sentence carefully crafted. I’d never read Mary Oliver before, so Upstream was such a perfect choice as an introduction to her work. So, if you’re looking for a place to start reading Oliver’s extensive backlist, I’d definitely recommend you start with Upstream. And if you’re already familiar with her work, Pushkin’s new audiobook edition of this essay collection is a must-listen.