Books

Poetry Review: “All the Eyes That I Have Opened” — Beautifully Clear Sighted

November 13, 2023
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Franca Mancinelli’s poetry refreshingly interweaves personal, historical, cultural, and ecological themes

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Music Commentary: “Now and Then” — Nostalgia By and For the Beatles

November 13, 2023
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In many ways, “Now and Then” is the fitting gift — a single closing bookend, which Paul McCartney has called the Beatles’ last record.

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Book Review: Anna Biller’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” — Imprisoned by Toxic Masculinity

November 10, 2023
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“Bluebeard’s Castle” is a sexy but subversive romance novel steeped in Gothic imagery.

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Author Interview: Critic Jim Sullivan on 45 Years of Modern Rock Chats & Rants

November 10, 2023
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An interview with veteran rock critic Jim Sullivan, who just dropped “Backstage & Beyond: Volume 2: 45 Years of Modern Rock Chats & Rants” in October.

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Book Review: “The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch” — Jane Austen, Bedeviled

November 9, 2023
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Melinda Taub’s thoroughly enjoyable new novel joins other notable pastiches of Jane Austen’s classic story.

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Book Review: “The Vaster Wilds” — A Powerful Annal of Survival

November 9, 2023
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To these eyes, Lauren Groff’s latest novel is her most accomplished yet.

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Children’s Book Reviews: Animal Adaptation and Inspiration

November 8, 2023
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Tired of the same old animal books? Here’s a series filled with fascinating facts, large and small, about farm animals, and an inspiring tale of the bees of Notre Dame.

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Book Review: “The New Leviathans” — No Way Out?

November 7, 2023
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John Gray’s pessimism is a direct descendant of the cultural pessimism preached by Oswald Spengler, whose best-seller, “The Decline of the West,” played a major role in the growth of fascism in the 1920s and ’30s.

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Book Review: “Normporn” — Yearning for the Impossible Middle

November 7, 2023
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The cultural critic’s wrestling with the compromises that the pleasures of mass culture inevitably demand is heartfelt. In a word, it’s normal.

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Book Review: George Scialabba’s “Only a Voice” — Time to Roll Up Our Sleeves

November 5, 2023
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It’s good to discover that George Scialabba is as lively as ever and that “Only a Voice” is filled with provocative arguments that make the reader want to argue right back.

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