For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Lines suggest beginnings and endings, possibilities and limits, differences and connections. Lines can be made by humans. Hand-drawn borders on maps mark one sovereign’s subjects from another’s, their consequences cascading down generations in languages spoken and traditions shared. Lines can be made by nonhumans, too. The horizon stretches across the sea. Waves reach up … Read more
[ad_1] When an occupation has ended, what do we have left? Traces of Boots on Tongue: And Other Stories addresses the question in micro and macro forms, within the narratives of the story, and in a broader sense of time and place. Set in the early years of independent India, this short story collection delves … Read more
[ad_1] Welcome to the hero’s story. The hero suffers, the hero overcomes. The hero is plucky, quirky, strong against all odds. The hero is in almost every book you’ve picked up and put down again. Many times, the hero is one narrator that tells you the story from beginning to end. Contrary to this norm, … Read more
[ad_1] The idea of the multiverse—an infinite array of alternate worlds that differ from ours, minutely or dramatically—has exploded into popular consciousness in the last decade or so. It’s a concept that has been frequently explored by physicists, philosophers, and science fiction for quite some time, and now features prominently in large multimedia franchises such … Read more
[ad_1] The posthumous publication of a beloved author can be a dicey proposition. Unless the writer managed to finish the manuscript before she passed, the resulting book is often a work of assemblage and hearsay, incomplete and speculative by nature and thus rarely conventionally satisfying. And if it’s a book that was hidden away in … Read more
[ad_1] Near the beginning of the novel, a man comes across dead bodies that have been dead for a while. He knows there’s more to the scene than he can see. And for seeing what he sees, he will be pursued by a force he does not understand. The novel is The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy’s … Read more
[ad_1] When an alien entity sneaks aboard a corporate spaceship, with no motive besides sabotaging the mission and murdering those aboard, commander Uzoma Ifiok launches an investigation—despite knowing that the real danger isn’t the one picking off her crew. From my place at the center of The Preserver’s spacious bridge, I watched a world … Read more
[ad_1] As a queer ex-Catholic from New England now living in the Midwest, reading Jeanna Kadlec’s memoir, Heretic, felt like staring at a reversed image. She’s a lesbian ex-Evangelical Christian that moved from the Midwest to Boston, and her debut explores the ways Evangelicalism–especially white American Evangelicalism–shaped her early life, sense of self, and ultimately … Read more
[ad_1] As the holiday season approaches and many families and friends begin to gather, it’s the perfect time to begin planning what books you’re going to take with you on your travels. This November is a cornucopia of literary delights, full of heralded new releases from acclaimed authors and debuts from exciting emerging voices. Whether … Read more
[ad_1] Kaoru Takamura has won most of the prestigious mystery and literary awards in her native Japan, including the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, the Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prize (twice), the Naoki Prize, the Shinran Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, the Noma Literary Prize, the Jiro Osagari Prize, and the Mainichi Arts Award. She’s been … Read more