One of the best things about being a librarian is working at the intersection of life and the written word.
“How did journalists and correspondents for the New York Times as well as scholars not catch these acts of generalizing and aggrandizing on behalf of elite readers?” she asks. “How did we trade in the breadth of diversity the region has to offer for one view? While reading Hillbilly Elegy I thought, here is how. This is how places and people become caricatures of themselves, ourselves.”
― What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
― What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
“You might be asking, “Why does Hillbilly Elegy sound kind of like the Moynihan Report?” One reason is that white Appalachians became persona non grata after the War on Poverty failed.”
― What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
― What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
“Outdated theories about a culture of poverty in Appalachia, honed in the 1960s, had become popular once more thanks to Hillbilly Elegy.”
― What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
― What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia
“Women endure because we aren’t given any other choice.”
― The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One
― The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One
“To be a woman is to be warbound, knowing all the odds are stacked against you.”
― The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One
― The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One
Melanie’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Melanie’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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