My aunt first introduced me to Alexander McCall Smith several years ago, when she bought me the first four books in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I thought they were charming and made for perfect bedtime reading. And so I devoured them, not realizing that I would have to WAIT for the next books to come out. That’s the problem with a series you like…the waiting. Thankfully, Mr. McCall Smith is a productive and voracious writer, so you don’t have to wait too […]
The Philosopher’s (Rosetta) Stone
Several years ago, the X and Philosophy pop culture series was really hitting it big. Barnes and Noble had a sale on several hardcover editions, including Harry Potter and Philosophy and The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy, both of which I love. So I snagged them both and promptly didn’t read either for years. Now that I’m going through my Marie Kondo phase, trying to eliminate as much extra kitsch and junk from my life as possible, I’m motivated to read ALL the books on […]
This I Believe
There are two types of people in the world: those who remember high school with great fondness, and those who remember college with great fondness. I fall into that latter camp. I hated high school with my entire being, and I found the person I was meant to be in college. I knew that I had wanted to be an English major, but I didn’t know the incredible potential resting within me until my incredible faculty and friends helped me unleash it. I never even […]
A saga of family, desire, passion, and duty.
Two summers ago, when I was studying for my doctoral qualifying exam in earnest (and seriously, it feels SO GOOD to write about my degree work in the past tense), I read a lot of critical sources that pointed to “essential” works of contemporary British fiction. One work that got batted around quite a bit was Monica Ali’s Brick Lane. I’d purchased it in a Goodwill sale some time ago, and decided it was high time to work through the Unread books on my shelf […]
An Abominable Snowman at the World’s End
My current research is focusing on dystopia, art, and social destruction, so it was time to give the MaddAddam trilogy a re-read. I read Oryx and Crake two and a half years ago for CBR5, and while I counted it the weakest of the trilogy then, I have to recant somewhat and give it a rave review. Allow me to explain what I mean. I won’t recap the book for you here, since I did so two years ago. Instead, I’ll share my insights from […]
A terrific and groundbreaking short story collection
Two things before I launch into my review(s): (1) being an adjunct professor of anything takes all your free time, including reading; (2) it’s easier to take back time reading books than writing reviews. I’m seriously like ten reviews behind, and I actually jotted this one down a few weeks ago, but haven’t actually typed it up. I’m glad it’s only September. I need to catch up and move back into my regular groove! Okay, onto the good stuff. I first read a short story […]
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