Books

Book Review: “The Last Fall” is Up for the Count

November 23, 2023
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Sheldon Goldberg’s engaging first novel spotlights the world of pro wrestling.

Arts Commentary: Perceptions of Putin –“The Wizard” and What Lies Behind the Curtain

November 20, 2023
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How well “The Wizard of the Kremlin” will be received here is an interesting question, especially when the novel is evaluated in the light of Mstyslav Chernov’s visceral documentary “20 Days in Mariupol.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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