During a six-decade performing career, Rita Moreno has won an Oscar, a Tony, a Grammy, and two Emmys. In Rita Moreno: A Memoir, she details her upbringing, her years in Hollywood, and her struggle to break barriers in art and life.
Feminine Psychology and Neurosis and Human Growth by Karen Horney (Norton, $20 each). Where does a young Latina in the 1950s find a healthy feminine role model? Struggling to figure out who I was, I eagerly read an article by German psychoanalyst Karen Horney—later published in Neurosis and Human Growth—on what she called “the tyranny of the should.” Her writings helped change the course of my life. Intentionally or not, Dr. Horney was a trailblazer of the feminist movement.
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The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan (Ballantine, $15). Usually it’s impossible to understand the difficulty of cultural change unless you’ve lived it—in my case by leaving the island of Puerto Rico for the shores of big America. In this 2001 novel, Amy Tan shows how human experience differs in American and Chinese cultures, exposing the reader to a level of insight usually only known experientially. A must-read.
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (Harper Perennial, $16). Hearing my late husband, Lenny, laugh out loud while reading this book made me so curious that I couldn’t wait for him to finish. “Stop kvetching and buy your own copy,” Lenny said. So I did. Michael Chabon’s novel about an imaginary Jewish settlement in Alaska is infused with colorful detail, humor, and many surprises.
Ironweed by William Kennedy (Penguin, $15). The plight of the homeless and the disenfranchised of any society is troubling—especially in America, where these people are often nearly invisible. We might even step over them on the way to the grocery. Ironweed, though a hard read, exercises the soul and brings to life the themes of grace, empathy, and redemption.
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October 19 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
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A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
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AI: is the bubble about to burst?In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
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Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
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Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
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Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
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Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
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Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
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Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
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Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
