For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Jonathan Corcoran has been writing about West Virginia and Appalachia since before I met him. We were both attending graduation programs at Rutgers University–Newark. After graduating, we continued meeting semi-regularly for an informal writing workshop where we would critique each other’s work and gossip about writers we knew. It was here, nine years ago, … Read more
[ad_1] Jonathan Corcoran has been writing about West Virginia and Appalachia since before I met him. We were both attending graduation programs at Rutgers University–Newark. After graduating, we continued meeting semi-regularly for an informal writing workshop where we would critique each other’s work and gossip about writers we knew. It was here, nine years ago, … Read more
[ad_1] Rachel Lyon’s Fruit of the Dead follows a young woman, Cory, on the cusp of adulthood when she signs the paperwork for a job as a nanny for the children of Rolo, a wealthy pharmaceutical executive. She is soon whisked away to his remote island where she regularly samples his company’s latest mind-altering painkiller … Read more
[ad_1] Bora Chung takes readers on a journey to the unexpected in her latest short story collection, Your Utopia. In her 2022 collection, Cursed Bunny, Chung showed us many types of monsters in stories ranging in varying degrees from speculative fiction to supernatural to horror. In Your Utopia, the narratives are decidedly more science fiction … Read more
[ad_1] Walk into any pharmacy in America and you can find eyeliner. That’s true of any halfway decent grocery store as well. I haven’t looked, but I imagine even the 24/7 bodega on the corner near my apartment would have more than one option. There is a ubiquity to eyeliner that is easy to overlook, … Read more
[ad_1] Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City examines drag performance from the 19th Century through the contemporary era, from broad cultural trends to the individual experiences of performers. Elyssa Maxx Goodman dives into language, legalities, and the ebb and flow of perceptions. I first met Goodman a year ago … Read more
[ad_1] Plant-based diets have in recent years shifted from fringe movements to mass market consumerism. The widespread market penetration of products like oat milk lattes has also meant many omnivores are making vegan dietary choices whether they intend to or not. Although there are ever more vegan cookbooks, there isn’t much about the history of … Read more
[ad_1] Every month there seems to be another book steeped in the pandemic’s effect. All that time in lockdown must have gone to good use writing pandemic novels and now they’re all getting published, or at least ending up on my desk to review. Caitlin Shetterly’s debut novel, Pete and Alice in Maine, confronts the … Read more
[ad_1] Helen Ellis has built a literary career around charming humor, if charming is a euphemism for polite TMI. She presents as a sweet southern lady, but, bless your heart, she also talks about sex, kink, and all the things genteel housewives might find taboo. Her latest collection, Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge, doesn’t … Read more
[ad_1] I first met Dr. Amy Brady in real life at a literary reading in Brooklyn. We knew each other through the Chicago Review of Books, where she served as Editor-in-Chief and I wrote book reviews. Since then, she has moved to New Haven and now works as the Executive Director of Orion Magazine and … Read more