Category: Books
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With apologies to Refused, sometimes the classics don’t go out of style Émile Zola (translated by Elinor Dorday), La Débâcle We all have gaps in our reading history. In the… more ›
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There’s a good piece of advice I’ve seen shared a lot over the years, and it boils down to a very simple act: if you like a piece of art… more ›
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Thoughts on two (or five) books and a general update Cesare Pavese, The Selected Works of Cesare Pavese (translated by R. W. Flint) Sometimes the internet is good. I was… more ›
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Quick thoughts on two very strange, very compelling books in translation. The Twenty Days of Turin by Giorgio De Maria; translated by Ramon Glazov The Twenty Days of Turin messed… more ›
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It began with a podcast. Specifically, an episode of Reading Writers in which guest Nicholas Russell discussed several authors of uncanny fiction whose work he admired. One of them was… more ›
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I can’t say precisely why, but I’ve been on a short story collection kick lately. Maybe it’s been Aaron Burch’s story-centric newsletter; maybe it’s because I’m looking to write more… more ›
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On Thursday, the National Book Critics Circle Awards for publishing year 2025 took place. Publishers Weekly has an excellent write-up of the event, which I highly recommend checking out. I… more ›
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I’m back from this year’s AWP, which was an excellent time. And I have brief thoughts on three books with one big element in common. William Melvin Kelley, A Drop… more ›
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tk I heard you like capsule reviews? Here are some capsule reviews. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Years ago, I picked up an early novel by Robert Jackson… more ›
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Since 2011, I’ve had a tradition of reading a book by a single author on Christmas Eve. Initially, that was John Steinbeck; now, it’s Muriel Spark. In 2025, that reading… more ›
Notes, thoughts, & miscellany 