| In 2016, photographers and curators used images to tell more than a few worthy stories. No Images? Click here   Read an excerpt of Octavia Butler’s “Kindred,” now a graphic novel. Richard Adams knew his book would frighten kids. And that’s why he wrote it.   Another year over, a new one about to begin. What better time to remember the visual stories from 2016 that reminded us humanity is a beautiful, complicated mess?   “In response to this disgusting validation of hate, we will not cover a single [Simon & Schuster] book in 2017.”   Short film directors, screenwriters and Academy Award-winning actresses talk navigating a still unequal landscape.   The best-selling, award-winning writer was so much more than Princess Leia. And, in honor of her mother, Debbie Reynolds, who died just one day after her daughter, read our tribute to a dancing hero.  Every Friday, HuffPost's Culture Shift newsletter tells you which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Like what you see? Share with a friend. Can't get enough? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: HuffPost's Entertainment newsletter and HuffPost Must Reads.
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27 spectacular photo essays from this year 📸
33 new books you should read in 2017
| New year, new books. No Images? Click here   2017, ahoy! These are the books ― among others! ― that we can’t wait to read. Feminist adult filmmaker Erika Lust thinks it’s imperative that women tell their own story of sex.   A photo of civil rights advocates picketing next to the American Nazi Party puts our country’s current politics into sharp relief.   Titus Kaphar’s latest body of work explores images’ ability to validate, celebrate, erase, convict and condemn.   Some directors are pushing against rape as a plot device. But movies like “Elle” handle the sensitive topic with care.   One of indie music’s best singer-songwriters explains her role in this year’s surprise sci-fi thriller.  Every Friday, HuffPost's Culture Shift newsletter tells you which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Like what you see? Share with a friend. Can't get enough? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: HuffPost's Entertainment newsletter and HuffPost Must Reads.
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16 ballerinas invite you inside their NYC bedrooms
| How Belle laid the groundwork for today’s badass No Images? Click here   Take a peek at where dancers live across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey.  “I feel as though there is a need for women of color to make images of women of color where we can literally see ourselves.”   Yet every year, we read lists of perfect Christmas movies that begin with “Love Actually” and end with “The Holiday." None of these movies are the best Christmas movie. Neither is “Elf,” or “A Christmas Story,” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s definitely not “White Christmas” or “The Santa Clause.” The best Christmas movie is “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”   “La La Land” and its ilk are fun reflections on the Golden Age of film. But there are great movies being made today, too.   Fredrik Lerneryd spent the last year and a half photographing ballet dancers in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi.  Every Friday, HuffPost's Culture Shift newsletter tells you which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Like what you see? Share with a friend. Can't get enough? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: HuffPost's Entertainment newsletter and HuffPost Must Reads.
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