Post-Mortem: I’ll Never Write Another Book Review. I Can’t Wait to Do It Again!

In WaPo: “A baffling book about elite hypocrisy.” Also IRL events!

Hi friends, 

I’m writing from the sky after pitching 200 college professionals at the First Year Experience conference! There’s little I love more than trash-talking “grit” to an auditorium full of teenagers — so I’m praying some schools pick Acceptance as a first-year read! If you know any college/speaker people who might like a copy, shoot me a note! 

I’ll Never Write Another Book Review. I Can’t Wait to Do It Again!

For The Washington Post, I reviewed Rob Henderson’s Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. If you’ve seen me in person, you’ve probably heard me express my bafflement with this book, which contains some really good ideas but ultimately falls short. (No more spoilers, promise. Just read the review.) 

Timeline: 

2021 or early 2022: My book editor forwarded me the announcement that this book came out. I stuck it in my ideas spreadsheet. 

July 2022: I requested a galley. I pitched one place before I read the book… but thank God I read it because… wow. 

August-December 2022: I went back and forth on whether to review this book dozens of times. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Eventually, I tried a few places and I abandoned it after sending to Washington Post. But they took it! 

Perspectives: 

Me: “This was so fun to write! It was so easy! I can’t wait to write more!” 

Byron: “You hated it and swore you would never write another.”

Huge shout out to Lorraine Berry and Alicia Garceau for their feedback1  

Upcoming Events

I’ll be doing a few more events before taking a break 

• March 3rd - 10:30 a.m.: I’ll be one of the three keynotes at the Sunday of Strong Women Book Event at the Kaplan JCC in Tenafly, New Jersey. Tickets here! 

• March 16 - Brooklyn Public Library ideas Festival, in conversation with Alissa Quart! Time TBD; I’ll announce on Instagram and Twitter. 

• April 27 - 2 p.m. - Independent Bookstore Day at Greenlight Bookstore! This will be part of a Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl and I’ll be signing books and hanging out, probably starting at 2pm! 

Recommendations

• Harry Styles’ “Childbirth Class” — extremely relevant. 

• “Touching Yourself” by The Japanese House. This is my most-listened to song of the last six months. Despite the title, it’s child-safe. 

• American Fiction — I see one movie a year, and this was THE ONE. It’s based on a Percival Everett novel from 2001 but couldn’t be more timely! (And Everett has a new novel coming out that kept me up for 4 hours Sunday night…) 

Until next time!  xxoo

Emi