Books

Book Review: “August” — A Rewarding Curiosity in the Ordinary

April 4, 2020
Posted in , ,

August is funny in a way — over time its small scale rhythms and monosyllabic reactions generate a comforting beauty that settles in.

Book Review: “The Art of Classic Planning” — How to Build Beautiful and Enduring Communities

April 1, 2020
Posted in , , ,

By so memorably reestablishing the fundamentals of urban design and planning, The Art of Classic Planning will be a strategic addition to any architecture or urban planning library.

Book Review: “Franci’s War” — A Very Relevant Holocaust Memoir

March 31, 2020
Posted in , ,

Here we have the story of a young Czech woman who could not only take a piece of fabric and shape it into a gorgeous dress, but could also take her experiences during WWII and shape them into a compelling memoir.

Literary Reconsideration: A.S.Byatt’s “Possession”

March 28, 2020
Posted in , ,

Tour de force? Not quite. Joycean? Perhaps in the way contemporary individuals overlap with ancient, mythical counterparts.

Book Review: “Four Futures” — Surprisingly Relevant ‘Social Science Fiction’

March 25, 2020
Posted in , ,

Peter Frase envisions how our current bedeviling social contradictions and economic abuses may play out in the future.

Book Review: Clive James and the Rewards of Writing Poetry

March 24, 2020
Posted in , ,

English writer Ian Shircore’s book-length study gives Clive James’ poems the loving attention they deserve.

Book Commentary: “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” and the Literature of COVID-19

March 21, 2020
Posted in , ,

“The body is a curious monster, no place to live in, how could anyone feel at home there? Is it possible I can ever accustom myself to this place?”

Book Review: “You Will Never Be Forgotten” — Curiouser and Curiouser

March 20, 2020
Posted in , ,

Whatever might be dark about these stories may also be — since they’re reliably witty and frequently very funny — a welcome distraction and relief from current events.

Book Review: “Tightrope” — A Wake-up Call for America

March 11, 2020
Posted in , , ,

What makes this book so necessary is that these are writers willing to state realities that members of both parties prefer to keep under the rug.

Books Commentary: Chronicler of Boston Crime — The Case for George V. Higgins

March 5, 2020
Posted in , , ,

George V. Higgins created a style that was at first revelatory, then degenerated into a tic at the end of his career.

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives