126. A Season Most Unfair
A Season Most Unfair. J. Anderson Coats. 2023. 285 pages. [Source: Library] [Children’s Historical; MG Historical, Middle Ages] First sentence: I’m only going out to get the fire started, but
Category: Books
Book Review: ‘The Exhibitionist,’ by Charlotte Mendelson
THE EXHIBITIONIST, by Charlotte Mendelson “I prefer stories about squalor,” J.D. Salinger’s Esmé said. Esmé would have gone nuts for “The Exhibitionist,” the fifth novel by the English writer Charlotte
Barnes & Noble Workers at Main Brooklyn Store Join Union
Barnes & Noble workers at the retail giant’s main Brooklyn location have voted to unionize after the company’s New York Flagship Store unionized earlier this month. The Retail, Wholesale and
Oprah Named 2022 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion
Posted on March 30, 2022 Oprah Winfrey has been named the PEN/Faulkner 2022 Literary Champion. Oprah is known for generating millions of book sales through her Oprah’s Book Club selections.
SHADOW GAMES review at Gravetapping
Ben Boulden at Gravetapping has a great review of the new edition of my novel Shadow Games. Here’s a small taste: “I have a particular fondness for Shadow Games.
Twitter rips into Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘pretentious’ poetry – except it’s actually by Shelley | Poetry
“Rise like Lions after slumberIn unvanquishable number-Shake your chains to earth like dewWhich in sleep had fallen on youYe are many – they are few.” It’s not the first time
Why Hasn’t the Pantheon’s Dome Collapsed?: How the Romans Engineered the Dome to Last 19 Centuries and Counting
In Rome, one doesn’t have to look terribly hard to find ancient buildings. But even in the Eternal City, not all ancient buildings have come down to us in equally
Rumpus Original Fiction: Fantasyland – The Rumpus.net
Rumpus Original Fiction: Fantasyland The spotlight belongs on Portia Control. For tonight’s final number, she takes the stage wearing the highest hair in recorded history. Her wigs are always an
A Conversation with Regan Penaluna
PHILOSOPHY IS NOTORIOUSLY grisly toward women. Over cocktails one evening, professor-turned-journalist Regan Penaluna told me that during the oral examination for her PhD in philosophy, one of the examiners asked
The Land of Dust and Plastic | Aida Alami
In 1956 Juan Goytisolo, one of Spain’s most influential contemporary writers, took a bus to the eastern part of Almería, a province in Andalusia. Under Franco, this was one of
Perfect Picture Book Friday! How to Behave at a Tea Party by Madelyn Rosenberg
Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose
It is time…
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for summer break. Ashley’s kids have been out since the end of May (the lucky duck), but mine don’t finish for a few more
A Death Greatly Exaggerated: Canada’s Thriving Small and Fine Press
I only learned recently that The University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library almost always has an exhibition going on and the
Becky’s Book Reviews: 120. Projekt 1065
Projekt 1065. Alan Gratz. 2016. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [Middle Grade, Young Adult Historical Fiction, World War II] First sentence: It’s hard to smile when you’re having dinner with Nazis.
Reframing the West: New Fiction Makes Room for Voices Long Denied
Their eyes meet across a crowded street in 1870s Dodge City, Kan., the gunslinging bounty hunter and the impulsive rebel, one a dark-haired loner, the other a striking redhead: two
Fall 2023 Children’s Announcements: Publishers A-E
Abbeville Legends of Major League Baseball by Craig Calcaterra (Oct. 3, $15.95, ISBN 978-0-7892-1473-7) compiles photo-filled profiles of28 retired baseball greats across multiple generations. Ages 9–12. Abrams The Enchanted Symphony
WGA Writers on Strike Over Streaming, AI and Preserving the Writers’ Room
Posted on May 2, 2023 The Writers Guild is now on strike after a late Monday night attempt at a deal failed. This means production of films and TV shows
Lawrence Block on Four Lives at the Crossroads
It seems only appropriate that I write something about FOUR LIVES AT THE CROSSROADS for Ed Gorman. He’s in part responsible for my decision to foist it upon all of
Psychedelics by David Nutt review – hope or hype? | Science and nature books
There’s no more powerful mind-altering substance than a book. Five years ago, Michael Pollan wrote How to Change Your Mind, in which he described new research on psychedelic drugs, and
Some of the Oldest Photos You Will Ever See: Discover Photographs of Greece, Egypt, Turkey & Other Mediterranean Lands (1840s)
Beginning in the late seventeenth century, aristocratic Englishmen or continental Europeans came of age and went on a Grand Tour. Lasting anything from few a months to a few years,
From The Archives: What To Read When You Want To Celebrate Pride
From the Archives: What to Read When You Want to Celebrate Pride This was originally published at The Rumpus on June 26, 2020. June is Pride Month, and while we
On Adam Kirsch’s “The Revolt Against Humanity”
THE REVOLT AGAINST HUMANITY: Imagining a Future Without Us (2023) belongs in a Columbia University series titled “Global Reports.” Reportage of the views of leading figures in “the revolt against
