Book Review: How I Resist

Book Review: How I Resist edited by Tim Federle & Maureen Johnson Disclaimer:  I received this advance uncorrected proof through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested.  As an uncorrected proof, there will be significant changes between this and the final product. As I write… Continue reading Book Review: How I Resist

Book Review: Twice Told Tales

Book Review: Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the great American writers; his The Scarlet Letter is studied in many schools across this land.  But it took him quite a while to reach that status.  After crushingly disappointing sales for his first novel, Fanshawe, Hawthorne spent a dozen years in poverty,… Continue reading Book Review: Twice Told Tales

Book Review: The Book of Andre Norton

Book Review: The Book of Andre Norton edited by Roger Elwood Andre Alice Norton (1912-2005) was a prolific author,  best known for her science fiction and fantasy novels marketed to the young adult sector.  (I’ve previously reviewed her 1960 book Storm Over Warlock.)  Her output of short fiction was much less, but enough good stories were… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Andre Norton

Book Review: Things That Are

Book Review: Things That Are by Amy Leach “The secret to crypsis is placing yourself among things you look like, but in a scene where no one will expect you, like Willie Nelson with Lithuanian peasants.” Essays are short pieces in which the author attempts to set down their thoughts.  They can be formal or… Continue reading Book Review: Things That Are

Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan edited by Chad Nevett Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. Transmetropolitan was a science fiction comic book series co-created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson that ran under the… Continue reading Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977

Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977 Edited by Joseph Epstein The American Scholar is a quarterly production of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, published since 1932.  Its primary focus is non-fiction essays, but it also features poetry, book reviews and since 2006 fiction.  I happened across an old issue, was intrigued by one of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977

Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate

Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate edited by John Gaterud Yes, this is yet another literary magazine; I picked up a bunch inexpensively at the book fair.  This one seems to take its title from Jack Kerouac’s writing; this first issue was published in 2007. The index is unusual for this kind of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 18: All We Cannot Alter

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 18: All We Cannot Alter edited by Mary François Rockcastle. This is the latest volume of Hamline University’s annual literary magazine, which I picked up at the Rain Taxi Book Festival.  The subtitle comes from one of the poems in this issue, “Is This What Poets Do?” by Elizabeth Oness.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 18: All We Cannot Alter

Book Review: A Carnival of Buncombe

Book Review: A Carnival of Buncombe by H.L. Mencken The 2016 presidential election campaign has already begun, so let’s take a look at a book about elections of the past, shall we?  H.L. Mencken (1880-1948) was a newspaperman, most famously on the Baltimore, Maryland Sun.  For a number of years, he had a weekly opinion column published… Continue reading Book Review: A Carnival of Buncombe