Koalani.net http://koalani.net Authoress | Book Reviewer | Lit Snob Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:23:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Interview with Meghan O’Rourke, author of The Long Goodbye http://koalani.net/2011/05/interview-with-meghan-orourke-author-of-the-long-goodbye/ http://koalani.net/2011/05/interview-with-meghan-orourke-author-of-the-long-goodbye/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 02:00:41 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=1002 Read my interview with poetess and literary critic Meghan O’Rourke about her memoir, The Long Goodbye, in SMITH Magazine.

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/05/interview-with-meghan-orourke-author-of-the-long-goodbye/feed/ 0 Reading At Housing Works: May 9th http://koalani.net/2011/05/reading-at-housing-works-may-9th/ http://koalani.net/2011/05/reading-at-housing-works-may-9th/#comments Sun, 01 May 2011 23:08:06 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=992 Dear Loyal Readers,

I’ll be reading from my short story, “Dorian in Germany” on May 9th at 7 pm at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in SoHo. Please stop by and say hello!

Love, Koa

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/05/reading-at-housing-works-may-9th/feed/ 0 Book Review: An Object of Beauty on Lady Journos! http://koalani.net/2011/03/book-review-an-object-of-beauty-on-lady-journos/ http://koalani.net/2011/03/book-review-an-object-of-beauty-on-lady-journos/#comments Sat, 12 Mar 2011 03:44:03 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=979 My Bookslut review of An Object of Beauty: A Novel by Steve Martin was added to the amazing Lady Journos — dedicated to closing the byline gender gap!

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/03/book-review-an-object-of-beauty-on-lady-journos/feed/ 0 Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture http://koalani.net/2011/03/cinderella-ate-my-daughter-dispatches-from-the-front-lines-of-the-new-girlie-girl-culture/ http://koalani.net/2011/03/cinderella-ate-my-daughter-dispatches-from-the-front-lines-of-the-new-girlie-girl-culture/#comments Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:27:12 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=975 Read my entire review of Peggy Orenstein’s fourth book about princess culture on Bookslut.

Peggy Orenstein’s fourth book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, chronicles the author’s journey through America’s princess culture with her young daughter, Daisy. Beginning with Disney princesses, Orenstein comes to examine American Girl dolls, the “tween” market, Miley Cyrus, social media, beauty pageants, and of course, Barbie, all in the united effort to best understand the decisions she is making for her daughter. Acknowledging early on in Cinderella Ate My Daughter the tumultuous battlefield of potential body issues, poor self-esteem, rampant sexism, and gender essentialist impositions, Orenstein opens her book with an awareness for the road ahead in raising a girl.

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/03/cinderella-ate-my-daughter-dispatches-from-the-front-lines-of-the-new-girlie-girl-culture/feed/ 0 Interview with Maxine Hong Kingston, author of I Love a Broad Margin to My Life http://koalani.net/2011/03/interview-with-maxine-hong-kingston-author-of-i-love-a-broad-margin-to-my-life/ http://koalani.net/2011/03/interview-with-maxine-hong-kingston-author-of-i-love-a-broad-margin-to-my-life/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:47:43 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=967 Feminist writer and activist Maxine Hong Kingston talks to me about using Walt Whitman as a character, why she loves Virginia Woolf, and superstitions about writing on SMITH magazine.

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/03/interview-with-maxine-hong-kingston-author-of-i-love-a-broad-margin-to-my-life/feed/ 0 An Object of Beauty: A Novel http://koalani.net/2011/02/an-object-of-beauty-a-novel/ http://koalani.net/2011/02/an-object-of-beauty-a-novel/#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:36:27 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=963 Read my entire feminist critique of Steve Martin’s novel on Bookslut.

An Object of Beauty, Steve Martin’s latest novel about New York City’s art collecting scene begins in the early ’90s, and rapidly moves to 2010: Christie’s, Sotheby’s, downtown parties, and uptown apartments. Martin’s protagonist, the ambitious and savvy Lacey Yeager, arrives in New York, originally from Atlanta, with a penchant for art history. But from the beginning, Martin establishes that Lacey is not to be confused with other precious, fresh-faced 23-year-olds. Lacey is as aware of her beauty as she is of a Cezanne, and often uses her understanding of both to her professional advantage. She accepts a position as Sotheby’s, selling art by commission, and ascends her social climb from there, meeting everyone worth knowing and eventually developing a taste for “objects of beauty.” Lacey parlays her commissions into her own budding art collection, purchasing a small Andy Warhol before the value skyrockets some years later.

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/02/an-object-of-beauty-a-novel/feed/ 0 Interview with Paul Vidich, co-founder of Storyville http://koalani.net/2011/01/interview-with-paul-vidich-co-founder-of-storyville/ http://koalani.net/2011/01/interview-with-paul-vidich-co-founder-of-storyville/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:01:49 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=956 Paul Vidich discusses his new iPhone, iPad, and iTouch app with me as well as how short stories are marketed, how The New Yorker curates fiction, and how people will be reading in the years to come on The Daily BR!NK.

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/01/interview-with-paul-vidich-co-founder-of-storyville/feed/ 0 “Dorian in Germany” in Slice Magazine http://koalani.net/2011/01/dorian-in-germany-in-slice-magazine/ http://koalani.net/2011/01/dorian-in-germany-in-slice-magazine/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:24:45 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=936

Sneak peek of Slice Magazine's 8th Issue

Dear loyal readers,

I’m pleased to announce that my short story “Dorian in Germany” has been selected for Slice Magazine’s 8th Issue: Lies & Make-Believe to be published this April.

“Dorian in Germany” concerns the life of Dorian Shelley, a young woman living in the 1940s who endures a broken engagement that shames her family. Her depressive temperament and melancholy disposition are closely observed by her much younger brother, Brandon, who struggles to understand his sister’s loss. When Dorian’s family abruptly disowns her for reasons unbeknown to Brandon, he develops a fascination with the country to which she has fled: Germany.

The cover of Issue 8 is designed by prominent illustrator, Sophie Blackall, known for her illustrations in Big Red Lollipop, Pecan Pie Baby, and many others.  The spring/summer issue will also feature interviews with Ray Bradbury, Joshua Ferris, and Lev Grossman.

Issue 8: Lies & Make-Believe is available to pre-order here.

More details to come as I learn of them.

Love, Koa

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/01/dorian-in-germany-in-slice-magazine/feed/ 0 Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV http://koalani.net/2011/01/reality-bites-back-the-troubling-truth-about-guilty-pleasure-tv/ http://koalani.net/2011/01/reality-bites-back-the-troubling-truth-about-guilty-pleasure-tv/#comments Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:10:30 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=929 Read my entire review of Jennifer Pozner’s critical take on reality TV on Bookslut.

Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV is the debut book by Women in Media & News founder and feminist journalist Jennifer L. Pozner. An established media critic and leader of media literacy workshops, Pozner has compiled nearly ten years of analysis and research of recent reality shows such as The Millionaire Matchmaker, America’s Next Top Model, and The Real Housewives series, all the way back to Survivor and The Bachelor. Pozner unpacks these guilty pleasure shows with an eye for sexism, racism, misrepresentations of LGBTQ individuals, and canned messages about romantic relationships and gender dynamics.

]]> http://koalani.net/2011/01/reality-bites-back-the-troubling-truth-about-guilty-pleasure-tv/feed/ 0 Interview with Heather Havrilesky, author of Disaster Preparedness http://koalani.net/2010/12/interview-with-heather-havrilesky-author-of-disaster-preparedness/ http://koalani.net/2010/12/interview-with-heather-havrilesky-author-of-disaster-preparedness/#comments Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:16:48 +0000 Koa Beck http://koalani.net/?p=921 Read my interview with Salon.com’s TV critic, Heather Havrilesky, about her memoir Disaster Preparedness in SMITH Magazine.

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