It’s becoming harder and harder to stick to the bookish parts of the internet. The […]
Starting in the Middle
In a recent episode of Overdue (Episode 108: Preacher vol. 1 and 2), host Andrew asked what the […]
The Great [Name of Country] Novel
At the request of a reader I can never turn down*, I spent a couple […]
Read before banning
Along with the most frequently cited reasons for challenging and banning books—sex, language, violence, “unsuited […]
Choose Your Own Language
Last week, Tim Parks published a fascinating piece about authors who write in languages they […]
Why study literature?
I have, once again, a terrible case of esprit d’escalier. Earlier today, a colleague opined that […]
There is no spoon; Or, The Assumption that Literature Contains A Truth
I’ve been thinking about Stephen Akey’s article, “The Complete Works” (The Smart Set, 24 March […]
Fiction, nonfiction, and the space inbetween
Ever since I read Richard Lea’s article for The Guardian, “Fiction v Nonfiction – English Literature’s […]
Apples and oranges; Or, my favorites never win
One of my favorite books of last year (The Tsar of Love and Techno, by […]
Half-ass and whole-ass
I’ve been thinking about the difference between a stuffed novel and an overstuffed novel since […]