Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Contributor

BSR Contributor Since May 11, 2020

Elisa Shoenberger (she/her) is a freelance writer whose first job was in a library. She writes about books, cheese and other obsessions, science, and art.

Elisa Shoenberger is a freelance writer whose first job was in a library. She writes regularly for Book Riot, Murder & Mayhem, and Library Journal. She has published articles with over 100 publications including the Huffington Post, Slate, Wired, and the Boston Globe. She has a BA in Latin American History from the University of Chicago, MA in Latin American Caribbean and Iberian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago.

By this Author

8 results
Page 1
Does your job make you? (Image courtesy of Coffee House Press.)

‘Temporary’ by Hilary Leichter

Working identity
‘Temporary’ is the tale of a temporary worker trying to find permanence, a quest that will resonate with American workers, especially in the pandemic. Elisa Shoenberger reviews.
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Reviews 3 minute read
Dissident soldiers have been protesting American conflicts from colonial times the War on Terror. (Image courtesy of The New Press.)

‘I Ain’t Marching Anymore: Dissenters, Deserters & Objectors to America’s Wars’ by Chris Lombardi

Dissenting soldiers
'I Ain’t Marching Anymore' explores the long history of protests by US military members. Elisa Shoenberger reviews.
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Articles 3 minute read
What do museums—especially the strange ones—tell us about ourselves? (Image courtesy of Penguin Books.)

‘The Museum of Whales You Will Never See’ by A. Kendra Greene

What do museums mean?
‘The Museum of Whales You Will Never See’ is an ethereal look at seven unusual museums in Iceland, and what they tell us about ourselves. Elisa Shoenberger reviews.
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Articles 4 minute read
What makes a perfect wife? Maybe the standard recipe hasn’t changed as much as we think. (Image courtesy of Dutton.)

‘Recipe for a Perfect Wife’ by Karma Brown

Dark domesticity
Karma Brown’s ‘Recipe for a Perfect Wife’ follows a woman who finds a cookbook in her new home that connects her to the life of a previous resident, a seemingly perfect housewife from another era. But dark secrets resonate in both women’s lives. Elisa Shoenberger reviews.
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Articles 3 minute read
What's your score? (Image courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.)

‘QualityLand’ by Marc-Uwe Kling, translated by Jamie Lee Searle

A customized world—for whom?
What if a nationwide rating system governed our lives? Marc-Uwe Kling’s dystopian 'QualityLand' imagines a world that might be right around the corner. Elisa Shoenberger reviews
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Articles 3 minute read
Could a better world really lie in a pill? (Image courtesy of Soft Skull Press.)

‘Oval’ by Elvia Wilk

A better pill
How should we make the world a better place? Elvia Wilk’s novel ‘Oval’ explores the pitfalls of philanthropy in present-day Berlin. Elisa Shoenberger reviews.
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Articles 3 minute read
'Thickett' is an interactive game/theater experience from Cirque du Nuit. (Image courtesy of Cirque du Nuit.)
Book cover, title in yellow font. A woman in an apron holds a pie cut with a knife with fruit smeared that looks like blood

Everyone Is Lying To You, by Jo Piazza

Piercing the fabricated reality of tradwife influencers
Journalist, writer, and podcaster Jo Piazza uses her research and interviewing skills to bring her works of fiction to life, including new thriller Everyone Is Lying To You—where real life can be even weirder than fiction. Elisa Shoenberger previews.
Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger

Previews 3 minute read