Tag: president

Bookstr’s Week in Review ICYMI

Ah, February. It’s always the speediest month after the decade of January. This week is, as many of us are (sadly) aware, Valentine’s day. Fun fact: the day that follows is Single’s Awareness Day, apparently. Anyways, the ramblings of a single girl on Valentine’s Day belong on HBO and the pages of my personal journal. I promise you are still on Bookstr and not a Sex and the City script excerpt. So, what have you missed this week? Let’s find out.

If you’re WEEKS behind, here‘s what we’ve been up to recently.

 

black history month

 

February is Black History Month and everyone here at Bookstr is working hard at writing about, designing for, and (most importantly) reading the work of authors of color. Here are five female authors of color with some exciting releases. There’s a bus making the rounds in conjunction with members of the NBA. Barnes & Noble did their take on popular covers for the month’s commemorations. Lauren is filling us in here. Keep an eye out for some features coming up this month, like the 5×5 series kicking off with Black History Month as it’s inaugural theme.

 

 

every day is someone’s birthday

 

Wow, we really can’t go a week without it being somebody else’s birthday. How many can there possibly be? It’s almost like there’s more than 365 people in the world. This week saw bestselling author Ransom Riggs celebrating his 41st birthday. James Joyce’s birthday would also have been this week, alongside the publication date of Ulysses.

 

via GIPHY

 I know. These GIFs are getting less relevant as the weeks go on but I just can’t resist.

 

Not my president

 

Don’t worry, this isn’t about Trump. (He really isn’t my president, FYI, Ireland has Micheal D. Higgins.) This week we learned a little more about George Washington in a new biography. There’s a new book set for release this summer, taking a look at what could have been. If Hilary Clinton had never married Bill, where would she be now? Would 2016 have ended differently?

 

Three to read

 

I’m not sure how I’d frame my week if it wasn’t for the one constant of Nehal’s bookish wisdom. She’s back with some gems this week and they perfect for this crazy weather. Is it raining? Warm? Snowing? Who knows. You won’t care because you’ll be so engrossed in your new reads. Check it out here. For some more weather-appropriate books take a look at Kali’s recs here.

 

 

Miscellaneous/just for fun/harry styles

 

Was it the Harry Styles that got you? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. Kathryns got us sorted for a HS fix here. Have you ever wondered what star George Orwell was born under? Satisfy your astrological interest here. We’ve got some exciting YA releases recently that are as fun as they are anticipated (aka A LOT). Take a look here. Match up your fave 90s film with a book here, courtesy of Gina. Match up your fave bagel with a book here, courtesy of Kathryn.


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New Biography Offers inside look at Melania Trump

CNN’s Kate Bennett has covered Melania Trump, current First Lady of the United States, since her husband took office in 2016. In her new biography, Free, Melania, Bennett offers readers the first behind-the-scenes look at Melania. Bennett makes the case that most of the rumors about Melania aren’t exactly true – she’s not just a trophy wife, nor is she a secret member of the #Resistance.

image via macmillan publishers

To research Free, Melania, Bennett met with some of Melania’s childhood friends who knew her as an aspiring model. She traveled to New York, Mar-a-Lago, and Melania’s home country, Slovenia. In one passage about her traveling to Slovenia, Bennett writes:

Ask a Slovenian if ‘resting bitch face’ is a thing in their country, and they will look blankly at you and say, ‘it’s just ‘face.’

In a recent interview, The Washingtonian‘s Andrew Beaujon sat down with Bennett to talk about all things Melania.

Bennett even had something to say about the whole “I really don’t care, do u?” coat fiasco in 2018, when Melania wore the now-infamous coat to visit migrant children.

Image vie Esquire

That jacket is the biggest mystery of Melania, and there are many, many mysteries of Melania. It was a terrible, terrible decision [to wear it] and will be part of her legacy.

I always say that there are no Melania Trump coincidences. If you were to ask her, “Did you wear that white pantsuit at the State of the Union as a symbol?,” she would say, “No, I just wore the white pantsuit.” But there’s no question that everything she does, especially nonverbally, is a thoughtful decision. Which was why the jacket was so strange….The worst thing about the jacket was that it negated the impetus she had for making that trip, which I think came from a good place.

Bennet and Beaujon talked about the issues Melania’s taken charge of in the last year – vaping and bullying – but Bennet could not confirm whether Melania’s youngest son, Barron, vapes. And, of course, Bennet commented on the conspiracy theory that Melania Trump is being held hostage in her marriage:

AB: Which brings us to their relationship. Does she like him?

KB: This answer always surprises people when I tell them. The answer is: Yes, she does. They speak throughout the day. On the phone. Constantly.

This is another thing that surprises people: She really digs living in the White House. I don’t think she would have chosen to be First Lady, but now that she’s there . . . . I’ve never thought she was trapped.

For more of Kate Bennett’s musings on the First Lady, pick up her new book Free, Melania available from Macmillan Publishers.

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Featured image via The Hill

 

Noma in robe holding wand

Hermione Actress Says President Trump ‘Not Welcome’ at ‘The Cursed Child’

Well, it’s not really official but in a short interview before the Tony Awards Sunday night, Noma Dumezweni, actress who portrays Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, boldly told Variety that President Trump should not come see the show. She believes the reason the play continues to resonate so much here is probably because of the current sociopolitical climate.

 

 

 

The Tony Award winning play follows Harry, employee at the Ministry of Magic, and his son, Albus, who is preparing to begin his Hogwarts schooling. Harry is feeling overtaxed and is constantly haunted by his dark past. Meanwhile, Albus is experiencing the strain of being in his father’s shadow.

 

Dumezweni mentions the story, and J.K. Rowling’s message is about becoming more connected by bringing our darkness into the light, which I guess Dumezweni feels is not a message the President promotes.

 

Feature Image Via Playbill