For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] In Nicholas Binge’s Ascension, a mountain of nearly unimaginable size appears suddenly in the middle of the ocean, its sides plunging steeply into the sea, its mysterious peak looming unattainably in the clouds, nearly 10,000 feet higher than Mount Everest. The mountain stuns physicist Harold Tunmore, not just because of its sudden materialization, but … Read more
[ad_1] In her debut novel, Things We Found When the Water Went Down, Tegan Nia Swanson asks a lot of her readers. The initial pages of the book offer a list of characters and a map, and footnotes accompany the reader throughout, but it is nevertheless easy to become disoriented in this layered, complex story … Read more
[ad_1] Hannah Gadsby understands the value of context. In Nanette, her startling stand-up comedy show that was made into a Netflix special in 2018, she memorably provides additional context for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. She recounts how she was once confronted by an audience member who, in the course of criticizing antidepressants, argued that if Van … Read more
[ad_1] In her memoir Leaving Breezy Street, Brenda Myers-Powell propels readers through the story of her remarkable life with raw energy and gripping, charismatic storytelling. A survivor of molestation, prostitution, abuse, and addiction, Myers-Powell offers a deeply honest, deeply moving look at the years of physical and emotional violence that she suffered, and the mechanisms … Read more
[ad_1] At ten years old, Brian Broome tried to take lessons from his friend Corey on how to be “cooler”: “…Black boys had to show through our behavior that we were undeniably, incontrovertibly the most male. The toughest. We sat on either end of his bed and I got lost in his pretty brown eyes … Read more
[ad_1] In Cass Sunstein’s book This is Not Normal, he observes that “…the success of President Trump has made many people fear that a president, with his current powers, might have the ability to undermine the foundations of a democratic order, above all by altering the understanding of what counts as normal.” Um, yes. I … Read more
[ad_1] Georges Seurat’s painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is a marquee visitor attraction at the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting of mid-19th century Parisians picnicking on the banks of the Seine is large, but the figures within it are made up of millions of tiny colored dots. To view the painting, visitors … Read more
[ad_1] Sam J. Miller’s new book The Blade Between is not a laid-back read for a languid afternoon. No, this is a sit-up-straight book. Full of jarring juxtapositions, this book is as engrossing as it is challenging. While it requires your attention, The Blade Between rewards you with a heady, addictive mix of realism and … Read more
[ad_1] C.J. Cooke’s new novel, The Nesting, ticks all the boxes of a satisfying thriller, but it’s more than just a safe bet for a good read on a dark and stormy night. Cooke’s thought-provoking depiction of the sinister side of motherhood and Mother Nature adds depth to the book’s fast-paced, gripping plot and amplifies … Read more
[ad_1] Melissa Lucashenko’s novel Too Much Lip tells the story of stolen land and stolen children. Though these crimes are assigned to the past, their violent legacies – poverty, addiction, abuse, discrimination – still plague the Bundjalung Nation, an Aboriginal community whose ancestral homelands lie along the northern coast of New South Wales, Australia. But … Read more