Annie Berke

from semi-colons to chia seeds: a life

At 21, I wondered if I should go to law school, and at 41, I think about going back to become a registered dietician. Is this just a "me" thing?

Mostly thinking British women writers of the '60s and '70s, so Tonks' contemporaries, basically, but I'm open to some more creative connections and interlocutors! I'm basically having a total ball, in case that's not coming through, and I don't think I ever want this directed reading to end ;)

In anticipation of @ndbooks.bsky.social's reissuing of Rosemary Tonks' BUSINESSMEN AS LOVERS, I've been doing my own "independent study" reading THE BLOATER and THE HALT DURING THE CHASE (both Tonks), but also Drabble's THE MILLSTONE and Sparks' THE DRIVER'S SEAT...

What should I add to the list?

Me too — pretty sure it’s why we’re friends

Yes, but also, I did have a Samantha

Just gave my website a refresh... always glad for feedback!
Is it too text heavy? Do I need a more professional headshot? What can I do next, fellow freelancers?

annieberke.com

(Would never post this question to Elon's Twitter... can you imagine?! ☠️)

How did you know?! hahahah

me!

Thanks so much, Heather!

Thank you so much, Shelley!

In front of IRA! 😫

Should we all be so lucky as to get @lauramarsh.bsky.social as our editor and @troynovaunt.bsky.social as our friend/Barbie interlocutor

Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights Is Fan Fiction The new movie smooths out the novel’s difficulties and plays fast and loose with its romantic elements.

Give your lady what she *really* wants this Valentine’s Day — to read, like, and repost her WUTHERING HEIGHTS review for @newrepublic 💕

newrepublic.com/article/2063...

Minnesota girl, 10, released from ICE custody after a month in detention Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother released from Texas facility to head back to Minnesota to reunite with her father

Elizabeth, a 10-year-old Minnesota girl, spent a month detained at the ICE facility in Dilley, TX before her release last night w/ her mom.

Dilley now has a measles outbreak and hundreds of other kids remain detained. Elizabeth has flu-like symptoms and her mom has hives, a school official told me

Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post Cuts 30% of Staff, Laying Off More Than 300 Employees Including Amazon Beat Reporter The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is enacting layoffs that will eliminate "hundreds" of jobs.

"Those who were laid off include Caroline O’Donovan, the Post’s beat reporter covering Amazon"

Opposition Party | Los Angeles Review of Books In 2025, television offered a primer in principled dissent.

For LARB, I wrote about the principled dissenters of Pluribus, The Lowdown, Andor, and The Pitt, and 2025 as the year TV celebrated resistance @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/lowd...

Drug dealers have no right to be so handsome and charismatic; how do you JUST SAY NO to the future Indiana Jones?

"Amid the glut of plotless novels, 'Cheltenham Lady' stands out for its marked climax." Sophie Poole on a new edition of Dinah Brooke's 1971 novel, “Love Life of a Cheltenham Lady.” https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/cheltenham-lady-reissue-marriage-novel-brooke-review/

The Studio s2: Seth Rogen, you know what you have to do.

thank you, Anandi!

Thank you as ever to editor extraordinaire @lauramarsh.bsky.social

The Unexpected Charm of Is This Thing On? In A Star Is Born and Maestro, art tore through relationships. In Bradley Cooper’s new movie, it offers reconciliation.

Always love writing for @newrepublic / here’s my latest! 🎞️

newrepublic.com/article/2048...

(Are we talking about the piece I just read?)

I’m not getting out of bed for lemon water, I am only human

It’s the time of year, and time of life, when the internet just can’t stop telling me to drink water before coffee (no.)

It’s so hard for me to come up with my top films, shows, whatever, of the year, in part because 2025 has been interminably long! Like, did Citizen Kane come out this year? MAYBE

See this is why you go to @oliviarutigliano.bsky.social for all your mystery-crime needs 😍

I enjoyed writing this essay almost as much as I loved these two books ❤️📚