Some settings seem tailor-made for sinister plots. Mid-twentieth century Finland, as portrayed in Katja Ivar’s […]
A Story-Telling Fail
When I visited Phoenix over Christmas, there was only one thing my four-year-old niece wanted […]
Same Same, by Peter Mendelsund
If anyone could work out the precise formula for productive creativity would never have to […]
The Salt of the Earth, by Józef Wittlin
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a strange creature. It spanned a huge swath of central and […]
Eighty Days, by Matthew Goodman
One of my favorite books is Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. I love the book partly because […]
This week on the bookish internet
Jen Sherman creates her perfect book nook at IKEA…which makes me wonder what we bookish […]
Here’s Your Hat What’s Your Hurry, by Elizabeth McCracken
Elizabeth McCracken has lurked on the edge of my bookish awareness for a while, praised […]
The Quiet American, by Graham Greene
Graham Greene’s masterly novel, The Quiet American, is the kind of novel that I find impossible not […]
A Reader Resolves!
Last year, I decided to skip reading resolutions. The year before, I was going through […]
Here and Now and Then, by Mike Chen
The wonderfully gripping novel, Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen, opens with one of the worst moments […]