Alexandra Jacobs
LightNews LightNews
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
Alexandra Jacobs
@alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
290 followers 40 following 13 posts
I am a book critic for The New York Times and the author of STILL HERE, a biography of Elaine Stritch.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
jpschmader.bsky.social
“‘Troublemaker’ is a repository of astounding resourcefulness; a detailed curriculum vitae; a crack against the soft rump of the modern screen-addled slacker.” @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
Reintroducing Jessica Mitford, the Activist With a ‘Concrete Upper Lip’
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
danielpaisner.bsky.social
Whoo-hoo!!!..

"So many girlish exclamation points pinprick the text that I was moved to look up the author’s age: 82! Whoo-hoo." - @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social

#SusanCheever
@nytbookreview.bsky.social
#books #memoir #amreading #JohnCheever #BookSky #bookreview
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/b...
She’s John Cheever’s Daughter, Except When It Comes to Keeping Secrets
www.nytimes.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
jpschmader.bsky.social
“literary buried treasure.” @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
She’s John Cheever’s Daughter, Except When It Comes to Keeping Secrets
www.nytimes.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
gggphd.bsky.social
Heartbreaking, beautifully-written review by @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/b...
From Epstein’s Chief Accuser, a Memoir Both Sad and Devastating
www.nytimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
jpschmader.bsky.social
“‘Somehow things happened, odd things, when Muriel was around,’ said Shirley Hazzard . . .”—from the review by @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
Into the Dark Heart of a Novelist Who Was ‘Something of a Witch’
www.nytimes.com
September 28, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
palafo.bsky.social
NYT on Trump lawsuit:
A spokesman for The Times responded: “This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
September 16, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
adamm0rgan.bsky.social
Huge thanks to Ron, Becca Rothfeld, @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social, Michelle Hart, @jhowardrosier.bsky.social, @thelincoln.bsky.social, @summ.bsky.social, Chelsea Leu, and everyone else who spoke with me about their craft.
August 26, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
fnfpodcast.bsky.social
NEW EPISODE: New York Times book critics
JenniferSzalai and @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and @sugi.bsky.social to discuss their recent article, “Love Jack Kerouac? Read These Great American Road Trip Books Next.”
@literaryhub.bsky.social
lithub.com/jennifer-sza...
Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs on Great American Road Trip Books
New York Times book critics Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss their recent article, “Love Jack Kerouac? Read These Great American…
lithub.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
danielpaisner.bsky.social
"a mash note to Ye Olde New Journalism. [ #E.JeanCarroll] is a Tom Wolfette armored in a... 'Dior-inspired Zara suit' and Revlon’s Toast of New York lipstick, punctuating her observations with a 'whoooooooosh!' and a 'Swaaaaaaaaaaaaak!'" @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/b...
In ‘Not My Type,’ E. Jean Carroll Gets the Last Gab About the Trump Trials
www.nytimes.com
June 19, 2025 at 11:56 AM
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
The last, perhaps, in a Boxed Set of Bereavement.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/b...
Peeking Into Joan Didion’s Years of Psychological Thinking
Drawn from her previously unpublished reflections on sessions with a therapist, “Notes to John” is at once slightly sordid and utterly fascinating.
www.nytimes.com
April 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
jamiattenberg.bsky.social
This was a fun review from @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social of a book I blurbed and very much enjoyed www.nytimes.com/2025/02/16/b...
In His 80s, and Recalling All the Men He’s Loved Before
Edmund White seems to hold nothing back in his raunchy, stylish, intimate new memoir, “The Loves of My Life.”
www.nytimes.com
February 22, 2025 at 11:48 PM
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
😘
blakeeskin.com Blake Eskin @blakeeskin.com · Feb 4
And kudos to @alexandrajacobs.bsky.social on the ridiculous portmanteau “mourn-moirs.” This post may keep it from being a Googlewhack, but please don‘t let become so common that it loses its defamiliarizing magic
Grieving the End of a Literary Couple’s Globetrotting Life
In “Memorial Days,” Geraldine Brooks retreats to an island off Australia hoping to pick up the pieces after the sudden death of her husband.
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2025 at 4:46 PM
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
The best Chrismukkah present:

Wordle 1,285 1/6*

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
December 25, 2024 at 5:04 PM
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
Who could ask for anything more?
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/b...
It’s Hard to Be the Brother of a Genius Who Died Young
In “Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words,” Michael Owen offers a sympathetic portrait of the lyricist, overshadowed in a life that had him tending the legacy of his younger sibling George.
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2024 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Jacobs
danielpaisner.bsky.social
"This year’s best books mattered because they offered refuge from the wheels grinding in our heads. They made us feel less alone and reminded us that we are still sane." - @dwightgarner.bsky.social
@jenszalai.bsky.social
@alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
#BookSky #books
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/b...
Our Book Critics on Their Year in Reading
Jennifer Szalai, Dwight Garner and Alexandra Jacobs look back at the books that “offered refuge from the wheels grinding in our heads.”
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2024 at 1:07 AM
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
I reviewed a lovely book about “Giant” by Edna Ferber’s great-niece. I feel confident “Ferb” would be on Bluesky!
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/b...
Book Review: ‘Giant Love: Edna Ferber, Her Best-Selling Novel of Texas, and the Making of a Classic American Film,’ by Julie Gilbert
In “Giant Love,” the novelist’s great-niece chronicles the Texas saga’s divisive reception and the epic film adaptation that’s now better known than the book.
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2024 at 3:25 PM
alexandrajacobs.bsky.social
I reviewed Cher’s new femme-oir. (She has upstaged Barbra slightly by breaking it into two volumes.)
Wonder if she’ll make it over here?
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/b...
Book Review: ‘Cher: The Memoir,’ by Cher
The first volume of her frank autobiography is a testament to resilience, chronicling a grim childhood and the brazen path to stardom, with and without Sonny.
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2024 at 11:52 AM