1. The Inclusive Language Field Guide by Suzanne Wertheim
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Wertheim was the keynote speaker at the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee luncheon earlier this month, delivering a 101-level rundown of why inclusive language matters – that managed to be actually fun! – before sending us home with a copy of her latest book. It’s as practical and engaging as her keynote while diving deeper into the sometimes subtle ways the words we use enable often generations-long subjugation. I hate to tell you, folks/friends/y’all, but “you guys” is not gender-neutral, no matter how much you want it to be.
2. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
BRIANNA SCHUBERT, ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR
I am about a quarter into this book, and it’s fascinating! It’s about how so much data fails to take gender into account and how that perpetuates bias and discrimination, often without anyone even realizing it’s happening. Data that is often considered “gender neutral” is actually often treating men as the default and women as atypical. The author packs in tons of examples and – get this – data to illustrate the phenomenon, as well as examples of times when gender was considered in terms of data and how useful that can be. It’s easily shaping up to be one of my favorite books I’ve read this year, so I definitely recommend you check it out.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
3. The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor (Again)
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
There are some writers who make me never want to write another word – writers who are so good that it boggles the mind, that it throws the mediocrity of the other 99% into sharp relief, that to read them is infuriating for someone who hopes to one day be a decent writer themselves. Flannery O’Connor is one of them. Alongside the likes of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Walker Percy, George Saunders and others, she’s one of those weirdos who can do things with words that don’t seem possible. Her volume of complete short stories, released posthumously, is the summation of that genius, with 31 tales set in the Deep South with stolen legs, misfits, back tattoos and unforgettable moments of violent grace. Good Country People and Parker’s Back are particular favorites of mine. I’m currently re-reading them yet again and plan to continue to do so for many years ahead.
4. Quantum Criminals by Alex Pappademas and Joan LeMay
EVAN MUSIL, INTERIM EDITOR
Shout out to my fellow Steely Dan enthusiasts. I’m in the middle of reading this book: a who’s who of the sleazy, down-bad characters that populate the songs of the famous yacht-rock band. If you don’t enjoy their impossibly slick sound, this isn’t for you. But if you’re down with the Dan, it’s smart, sardonic and entertaining – much like the band itself – but also isn’t uncritically fawning. And the stylish illustrations pair perfectly.
5. Devil House by John Darnielle
HALEY WICHMAN, EDITORIAL INTERN
It’s a spooky, fictional, true crime sort of book that I had hoped to finish by the time Halloween was over, but the passage of time got to me. It was written by the lead singer of The Mountain Goats, and from the quarter of this book that I’ve read, I’d say his lyrical writing and novel-writing skills – or overall storytelling – are pretty top-tier.
