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4, 4 for 4

Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon by Matt Fraction

Death Comes As The End by Agatha Christie

Country Dark by Chris Offutt

Heaven's A Lie by Wallace Stroby

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Over the weekend and into the early part of this week, I read four books. Each one merited four stars and all were good in their own unique way…   Hawkeye, Vol 1: My Life as a Weapon It’s good. I guess. No really, it’s good. All good. It’s fine. Just…it’s kind of why I don’t read a lot of comics: simplistic hero narratives with twee dialogue. I know this is what everyone wants thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m not sure it’s what […]

The Horrors of Replacement Theory Conspiracists

Weeping Waters by Karin Brynard

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Some have pegged Karin Brynard as the “South African Stieg Larsson.” For good and not so good reasons, I can see why. I’m not an expert on South Africa. I know the broad strokes of the fall of apartheid and how it functioned before the rise of President Mandela, but as far as how the country is adapting today, I’m mostly clueless. I have no doubt that a herrenvolk government doesn’t just switch to multicultural democracy overnight, and that South Africans are probably several generations […]

In which a shocking shift in tone and genre works wonderfully

Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley

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Nathan and his family move around a lot. They have currently found themselves in a rented farmhouse in a small, rural North Carolina community in the 1950s. The family that Nathan’s parents are renting from live in the main house on property. They have a son, Roy, who is a senior at the same high school that Nathan will go to as an underclassman; Roy even drives the local school bus. Very small town. Where Nathan is school-focused and shy, Roy is outgoing and more […]

Tales of the Times

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Crosby

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

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I read two books this week, a new one I was excited about and one that I’ve been putting off for three years. Both are good. Blacktop Wasteland This one was pretty hyped. I’ve seen S.A. Crosby’s image everywhere and it was covered review-wise by all the big ticket spots, including The New York Times. I’ve had my eye on Crosby for a while, even though I had yet to read him. A chance encounter at the library helped me nab this one. It absolutely meets the […]

Now for something different: A sort of a follow-up

The Views of Populists: What Trump Voters’ Perspectives and Perceptions of Trump Voters Tell Us About U.S. Democracy by Katherine J. Cramer

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With this paper, Professor Kathrine Cramer revisits the rural groups she originally interviewed for her 2016 book The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.  These included various morning “coffee klatches” gathering at local gas stations in small Wisconsin towns with populations ranging from 600-2000.  The groups were made up of men who were either retired, unemployed or employed.  One central-west group was made up of a women’s lunch group made up of employed and retired women.  The interviews were conducted […]

“Up North” vs “The M & M s” A Review of The Politics of Resentment, Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker

The Politics of Resentment, Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker by Kathrine J. Cramer

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Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle applied for an 810-million-dollar grant to build a high-speed rail between Milwaukee and Madison.  This is a heavily traveled route by car.  Perhaps a high-speed rail route between the two cities with a short travel time could have persuaded a lot of those drivers to leave the car at home, and take the train. We’ll never know. Doyle’s successor and present Governor, Scott Walker gave back the money.  People in Milwaukee and Madison may have grumbled, but there was no political […]



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