Jessica Mitford

This is Jessica Mitford. If you don't know who she is, you should read Leslie Brody's biography, Irrepressible: The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford, which I reviewed for Bookforum.

(you have to sign in, but it's free! also bookforum is great!)

(i am seriously thinking of switching to Tumblr, you guys)

Apparently J.K. Rowling considers herself to be most influenced by Jessica Mitford. Fascinating, huh? So much so that she named her daughter after her. Pretty nice name!

If you're interested in more about the Mitfords, or the Mitford sisters, there are Jessica's letters, Unity's biography, or many many books by Nancy and Jessica. So have at it!

Girl Power

Yo, if you're looking for a great summer dance album with substance to get you geared up to face your daily demons, look no farther. Check out my review of Robyn's new album, Body Talk Pt. 1 over at Planet Magazine. You can thank me later.

Do you think Robyn is "Team Bella" ?

Molly Fox's Birthday

Deirdre Madden's Molly Fox's Birthday is an absolute pleasure.

I reviewed it at The Second Pass. This novel is beautifully written, introspective, smart, and moving. Flavors of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway make it the perfect summer read -"life; London; this moment in June."

Neither I nor Molly Fox are in London, but boy, this book is good.

Sweets through the Bittersweet

Yesterday my review of Kate Moses' Cakewalk went up at The Millions. I hope you'll read the review and the book, a memoir of Kate's childhood and her difficult relationship with her parents. At the end of each chapter she includes a recipe, from a sweet featured in the chapter. Though the recipes are a nice addition (and delicious, I might add - I made her peanut butter cookies) what really rings solid and true about this book is Moses' struggle to come to terms with her parents' marriage and her mother in particular.

I know I have always expected my family to be loving - and I'm very lucky that most of my relatives are supportive. However over the last year I've had to accept that simply because I share DNA with someone doesn't mean they will be a positive, supportive presence in my life. After years of emotional abuse, I've just stepped away. I'm open to the idea that things could change, but I don't expect them to.

Moses' book made me realize that the people who truly love us love us for who we are, flaws and all. Those are the people we want to keep around - they want to see us succeed, see us happy, see us live in the city we love, make a life with the person of our choosing, and encourage us towards fulfillment. This message seems like it should be commonplace, but in looking back at my life I have allowed myself to spend too much time with hurtful, negative people who are intent on tearing me down and seeing me fail. I'm done with those people, and I'm ready to appreciate those in my life who make me feel good about who I am - or who I'll become.

So pick up a copy of Kate's book. She's a fantastic writer - you may have heard of her last book, Wintering, about Sylvia Plath's last weeks. Read a few chapters, bake a cake for that person who loves you for who you are - there are plenty of recipes to choose from.

Around the Interwebs

Updated!

Dear friends, I apologize for neglecting the blog as of late, but you will find me a few other places on the internet this week.

I made my debut at The Millions with this piece on Food and Writing. Publisher's Weekly then mentioned it on their morning report.

At This Recording I wrote an essay on one of my favorite writers, Sylvia Plath.

My monthly column at Bookslut is up, this one on Suzanne Collins' Sci-Fi Young Adult novel Hunger Games.

And lastly I've had a great deal of feedback on my review of Emily Gould's And The Heart Says Whatever at Time Out, including a nice nod from Jezebel.

As always you can find all my published clips at www.jessicaferri.com.

Thank you for reading!

Emily Gould's "And the Heart Says Whatever"

Dear readers, you can find my review of Emily Gould's collection of essays And the Heart Says Whatever in this week's Time Out New York here, along with a few recommendations of my favorite memoirs and tell-alls. Thank you as always for reading. xoxoxo

Adventures in Babysitting

Hi friends. I wrote this essay about babysitting for This Recording.

I hope you enjoy it, and as always, thanks for reading.

Fruits of Labor Linkage

Charlotte Gainsbourg is the nicest, chicest person in the world; check out my interview with her as proof.

I reviewed Joshua Ferris' new novel, The Unnamed, for Time Out New York.

Finally, I got all boy-crazy at This Recording.

In further news, I just finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, thus cementing her as one of my favorite authors of all time.

2010!

Professional Website

I'm proud to present my professional website, which you'll find at jessicaferri.com. The site includes my published work, bio, blog, column, magazine, resume and links. Take a look and let me know what you think!

David Chang: The 99%

Last week I interviewed uber-chef David Chang for The 99%, a new website that explores the ideas of entrepreneurs, where their inspiration comes from and how they get their dreams off the ground. David is the owner and chef of Momofuku, an empire that will soon feature five restaurants here in New York.

He was a wonderful interview subject, who told me the need for expansion is not only related to growth and success, but also to provide more opportunities to his employees. What a guy!

Read the interview here!

Shout-outs!

I won't lie to you, this post is filled with blatant self-promotion. Mainly because I cannot figure out how to make my "professional" website worth looking at. Look at this thing. It's terrible. If anyone has any advice on a better format for published work, I'd love to hear it. Or, if you're a bored web designer and you'd like to take a crack at it, I'll buy you a drink in exchange for your labor. Seriously, it's gross.

The main issue with the page is that it doesn't give the websites and magazines in which I've been published the accolades they deserve. I was honored this past week with publications from the following:

• This Recording believes in me but more importantly believes in the power of Buffy.
• Planet magazine sent me to interview AIR. One word hypenate: googly-eyed.
• Time Out New York published my review of Amy Sohn's Prospect Park West.
• The Second Pass was kind enough to let me wave the PLATH banner.
• Identity Theory ran my review of Wells Tower's Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned.

Stay tuned for my monthly column at Bookslut, and surprise you'll also find on their site.

Thanks so much to all my editors, and to you, precious readers.
High five.

Kissing Dead Girls

Ladies and Ghouls, I'm pleased to announce my new column on the paranormal appearing monthly on Bookslut, a "Ladies' Night in the X-Files," if you will. The first piece is on Stephenie Meyer's first installation of the Twilight series. I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to know what you think!

Also: RIP to the King of Pop.