Archive for the ‘ reviews ’ Category
Before and during the Holidays I had some time to read, surprisingly, even considering all the travel we did (driving down to South Carolina to visit my in-laws, including meeting my one year-old nephew for the first time, and over to Chicago to visit my family, including meeting my seven-week-old niece for the first time). [ READ MORE ]
This round of Recent Reads features two books: one where the indispensable role freethinkers in U.S. history is resurrected and one where sex is depicted within the context of relationships in all of its wonderful banality. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby. “God” can’t be put “back” in the U.S. Constitution because [ READ MORE ]
While I was offline, I did a lot of reading (like always). I’ll have a few posts up like this in the coming month. Here’s a sample of what I read. The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy. Chalk one up for the “Angry Young Woman.” This viciously funny and deftly crafted novel by [ READ MORE ]
I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything. But my offline life has been busier than ever. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler. The stand-up comic and TV show host relates her one-night stands and attempts at one-night stands. Since not every [ READ MORE ]
It’s been a busy month but here is what I have read. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa. An 18-year-old aspiring writer named Mario works at a radio station in 1950’s Lima, Peru with an eccentric scriptwriter. Mario meets his Aunt Olga’s sister, Julia, who is 13 years his senior and recently [ READ MORE ]
Here’s what I read during the first half of this month. The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa. It’s a big ambitious work of fictional history that weaves three narratives: the lives of the assassins of Rafael Trujillo and how they came to their task, the last day in Rafael Trujillo’s life as [ READ MORE ]
My review of Katherine Shonk’s Happy Now? is up at PopMatters. Claire’s husband kills himself on Valentine’s Day during a party by leaping off the balcony of a Chicago high-rise building. It so happens that it was the three year anniversary of the couple’s first date. Jay, who suffered from depression, didn’t leave behind a [ READ MORE ]
My review of Douglas Perry’s The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago has been posted at PopMatters. The Fred Ebb/John Kander musical Chicago, conceived and choreographed by Bob Fosse, is now a Broadway standard with productions touring the world. The 2002 movie version of the musical, directed by [ READ MORE ]
Here’s another edition of what I’ve been reading lately. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Maddening, heartbreaking, and funny story about a preacher’s family that goes to the Congo in the late 50’s and encounters far more than they bargained for. (It’s the father’s fault.) This is not some White Man’s view, ala Heart of [ READ MORE ]
Here are three books that I’ve read recently. Oddly enough, all were checked out of our local library. Master of Shadows: The Secret Diplomatic Career of the Painter Peter Paul Rubens by Mark Lamster. I came across a piece of writing by the author from a friend on Facebook, saw the title of his book [ READ MORE ]
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