PositiveLos Angeles Review of BooksSprawling and theoretically rich ... These chapters are arranged in no particular order, which can be confusing ... This disorienting randomness is, I think, part of Walsh’s stated purpose as an amateur on amateurs ... When this works, it works well ... Rather than dismissing aesthetics, Walsh is alert to their radical potential ... Walsh’s greatest strength is the attention she pays to labor ... Wide-ranging, dense, and passionate .. If this all sounds a bit exhausting, that’s because it is. Some of Walsh’s references are underdeveloped; others rely on a hefty level of prior reading ... Amateurs! demands the engagement it theorizes, engagement that is a form of amateurish attentiveness, that is also a form of love.
RaveLos Angeles Review of BooksTandoh is as at home with the McNugget as she is with the croquembouche, and equally curious about both ... Delightful ... This is a delectable antidote to the Ozempic era of shrinking portions and ‘thin is in\' ... Tandoh revels in the anarchic delight of modern food culture even while acknowledging its flaws ... A light touch belies a depth of research and practical culinary know-how, but it is evident…that Tandoh really cares about food ... This is a feast of many flavors; pull up a chair, and tuck in.
PositiveLos Angeles Review of BooksAleksic is an enthusiastic guide with an infectiously optimistic outlook, one that doesn’t quite align with the usual hand-wringing about internet slang ... The Rizzler song—to which a whole chapter is dedicated...—is a fascinating piece of etymological analysis ... The problem with all this bright-eyed enthusing is that it can conceal the political dimensions of Aleksic’s subject ... This somewhat cautious (and itself catchy) analysis doesn’t go far enough ... [Aleksic is] refreshingly candid about the tactics influencers have developed to monetize engagement and go viral online ... Many of Algospeak\'s most perceptive insights...are about the rising class of influencers ... Perceptive.
