I'm not sure how life-changing this is going to be (I won't be signing up for any improv classes), but it was fun and interesting and I enjoyed being I'm not sure how life-changing this is going to be (I won't be signing up for any improv classes), but it was fun and interesting and I enjoyed being in the company of a fellow neurotic....more
I think you're going to love this one or hate it. I love unhinged internal monologues so I'm in the former camp. Also wanted to note that I thought thI think you're going to love this one or hate it. I love unhinged internal monologues so I'm in the former camp. Also wanted to note that I thought this was less about stalking and more about loneliness....more
LOVED THIS. I am a huge fan of reissues that bring back neglected masterpieces of the past to a modern audience, and that was this book's whole vibe.LOVED THIS. I am a huge fan of reissues that bring back neglected masterpieces of the past to a modern audience, and that was this book's whole vibe....more
I love reading about editors, and this was exceptionally well done. Two of the most interesting parts were that Katharine started her adult life in a I love reading about editors, and this was exceptionally well done. Two of the most interesting parts were that Katharine started her adult life in a brief 20-year period when women were expected (and allowed) to thrive in their careers just like men, and that she was a pioneer of working from home, doing much of her editing work from her farm in Maine. I also love seeing biographers use the voluminous correspondence of yesteryear to create a portrait, and Amy Reading did that beautifully.
This was extra fun to read after reading A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker, which of course included many of her authors!...more
I love a huge, best-of compilation of short stories. Some highlights from the first 50 years: The Weeds, Mary McCarthy (1944) - a woman trying to escapI love a huge, best-of compilation of short stories. Some highlights from the first 50 years: The Weeds, Mary McCarthy (1944) - a woman trying to escape her husband Symbols and Signs, Nabokov (1948) - visiting a son who is "incurably deranged in his mind" The Ladder, V.S. Pritchett (1949) - a stepmother, stranded The Happiest I've Been, Updike (1959) - especially the ending
Then came what I thought of as the "Greatest Hits" portion of the book, which were all re-reads and some of my favorite stories of all time: Where I'm Calling From, Raymond Carver (1982) The Way We Live Now, Susan Sontag (1986) Bullet in the Brain, Tobias Wolff (1995) - they is, they is, they is Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proulx (1997)
3.5 stars. Psychological thrillers rarely work for me, so this was a win. It's a Bad Seed/gaslighting/unreliable narrator combo.3.5 stars. Psychological thrillers rarely work for me, so this was a win. It's a Bad Seed/gaslighting/unreliable narrator combo....more
These loosely linked stories over several centuries were really something special, both moving and transporting. To jog my own memory, they featured fThese loosely linked stories over several centuries were really something special, both moving and transporting. To jog my own memory, they featured folk song collecting, a religious cult, an extinct bird, a wife with dementia, a son who is an addict, mysterious deaths at an early 1900's logging camp, and several love stories. If you liked this, try The World to Come by Jim Shepard. ...more
This wasn't my favorite edition, but it was worth checking out for Winners by Merritt Tierce alone. I also liked The Rest Is History by Peggy Shinner This wasn't my favorite edition, but it was worth checking out for Winners by Merritt Tierce alone. I also liked The Rest Is History by Peggy Shinner and Ballistics by Leslie Jill Patterson, as well as these three poems: Black Person Head Bob by Yael Valencia Aldana The Virgin Mary on MTV's Teen Mom: Nazareth by Adia Muhammad If Adam Picked the Apple by Danielle Coffyn...more
Best gift book of 2024? Possibly. It is hard to imagine someone who wouldn't like this.Best gift book of 2024? Possibly. It is hard to imagine someone who wouldn't like this....more
Thanks again, NYRB Classics! I am shocked that this 1926 smash-the-patriarchy classic is not much better known than it is. It reminded me of All PassiThanks again, NYRB Classics! I am shocked that this 1926 smash-the-patriarchy classic is not much better known than it is. It reminded me of All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West, but predated it by five years. Don't be put off by the witchy element--that's secondary to the English village life vibe....more
Loading...
