Kayla Vokolek

Whether an interpretation of his life, a contemporary retelling of a play, or a direct celebration of his work, these works of fiction all directly draw inspiration from the life and creativity of Shakespeare.

Because our city would be much sadder with just megacorporations running the show. Recs for restaurants/cafes are in my celiac list from farther back!

A variety of works written for the purpose of uplifting Palestinian dignity and/or storytelling. Quite coincidentally, I started this list before discovering it was Read Palestine Week, an initiative started by Publishers for Palestine.

My home state of California is huge and populous and diverse, so twenty books won’t come close to representing the cultures, locations, and ideas of the state. But it was fun to come up with a list anyway!

All of these books look to honor the earth and encourage others to not take its wonders for granted. Many mix the personal with the environmental—we are indeed a part of the earth! Others take a more straightforward approach in advocating for stewardship of this beautiful world.

As someone who writes creative nonfiction and loves the genre immensely, I’m disappointed when people think nonfiction is merely boring, dry, and straightforward. If written well of course, our world and the people in it are fascinating enough for true accounts to be worth excitement too! Especially when form and structure are employed in unique ways.

collected my data from personal experience, following celiac creators on Instagram/Yelp, and keeping up with Find Me Gluten-Free reviews

With the FBI classifying trans people and their allies as part of a dangerous ideology, it’s more important than ever to financially uplift trans people and hear their stories, fiction or nonfiction. No one story can ever represent an entire group, but these all speak to the undeniable fact that trans people just want to be accepted and loved like everyone else.

It’s officially almost autumn, that means it’s Gilmore Girls season. Although over 300 books are mentioned on the show, I’m capping the list at 50 because there are just too many! Plus, I’m not giving sales to Ayn Rand.

Beyond the obvious of avoiding gluten, celiac made me think more about what I put in my body and what helps my digestive system. But also, it’s important to enjoy what you’re eating without worrying about nutrition all the time!

My recommended spots across LA County. However, please use your own discretion when visiting these places, especially non-dedicated spots—I am not responsible for any glutening that may occur. No affiliate links included on here. But if this helped you, please consider dropping a dollar or two to my Venmo @Kayla-Vokolek so I can continue finding safe, yummy places!

Contrary to presidential belief, we’re not living in hell over here in the Beaver State, and in fact Portland boasts an impressive literary tradition and community. Most authors live in Portland proper, but some in the suburbs or other cities.

Cohesive themes and strong writing.

different kinds of nonfiction are featured: memoir, personal essays, research-based arguments, and interview-sourced perspectives

Compared to the Big Five publishing houses, indie presses take more chances on debut authors, support marginalized authors at higher rates, and welcome stories that are experimental and less likely to be commercially successful. Supporting indie presses helps publishing continue to make these kinds of books possible.

August is Women in Translation Month! These all provide great writing and interesting perspectives, cultural and otherwise. Most links support indie bookstores! (I know Africa is underrepresented, but many of the authors I do know, like Oyinkan Braithwaite, write in English).

everywhere you can find good food in Portland, even if you have celiac disease! or even if you don’t— good food is good food! if this helped you, consider dropping a dollar or two to my venmo @Kayla-Vokolek so that I can keep funding new discoveries!