All Things Are Too Small is brilliant cultural critic Becca Rothfeld's soul cry for derangement: imbalance, obsession, gluttony, ravishment, ugliness, and unbound truth in aesthetics, whether we're talking about literature, criticism, or design. In a healthy culture, Rothfeld argues, economic security allows for wild aesthetic experimentation and excess; alas, in the contemporary Anglophone West, we've got it flipped.

The gap between rich and poor, privileged and oppressed, yawns hideously wide, while we stagnate in a cultural equality that imposes restraint. This collection of essays ranges from topics such as Sally Rooney, sadomasochism, and women who wait, making a glorious call to throw off restraint and balance in culture in favor of excess, abandon, and disproportion.

In Praise of Shadows is an essay on aesthetics by the renowned Japanese novelist, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. This book explores various elements of Japanese culture, such as architecture, jade, food, and even toilets, combining an acute sense of the use of space in buildings.

The book includes perfect descriptions of lacquerware under candlelight and the mysterious allure of women in the darkness of the house of pleasure. Tanizaki contrasts the subtlety and nuance of traditional Japanese interiors with the dazzling light of the modern age, offering a classic description of the collision between these two worlds.