Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
"September 1959. Three o'clock, Saturday afternoon." In Kevin Kruse's history of integration in Atlanta in the latte half of the 20th century, he discusses how neighborhood began to first integrate (and then quickly segregate) because of boundary-creep, leading to voting blocks gaining power, and … [Read more]
Barbary Shore by Norman Mailer
"Probably I was in the war. There is the mark of a wound behind my ear, an oblong of unfertile flesh where no hair grows. It is covered over now, and may be disguised by even the clumsiest barber, but no barber can hide the scar on my back. For that a tailor is more in order. When I stare into … [Read more]
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
The Hollow Places is an atmospheric and spooky novel, but not outright terrifying. It tapped into my weird fear of roots/plants gone bad (see The Ruins) effectively and swept me away nicely for a short and easy read. But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Let's go back to the … [Read more]
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Ok, so the blurb for this book describes it as 'heartbreaking and hilarious', and I need to have a very stern word to the editor because WOW there is nothing hilarious in this book. Jennette McCurdy has, unflinchingly and honestly, recounted a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her mother within … [Read more]
Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller, Tom Shales
The thing I appreciated about this book the most was how it came into my possession. Several years ago (pre-COVID), I went to an estate sale in my parents’ neighborhood. From what I could tell, the person for whom the estate sale was held was a retired military guy, very into sports and “dad” books, … [Read more]
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Horse unfolds in three parallel narratives spanning three centuries. In the 19th century, an enslaved man learns the art of training a horse from his free father and goes on to a long association with the greatest racehorse of his era, the legendary Lexington. In the 20th Century, an influential art … [Read more]
