For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Much has been said in recent years about “witness literature,” writing that can feel like a blend of reporting and lyrical prose, bringing poetic attention to headline news topics that are often painful, tragic, and complex. By extension, witness literature can provide healing to the writer and the reader. It may even potentially create … Read more
[ad_1] A decade ago, the success of wizard books and vampire franchises had caused something of a stir in literary New York. Culture writers Lindsay Weber and Amanda Dobbins declared in Vulture that “Mermaids are the New Vampires.” More than one literary agent even went as far as telling me they were seeking out a … Read more
[ad_1] 17 Books to By Indigenous Authors to Read During Native American Heritage Month It’s easy—especially in the United States—to let commemorative times like Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Native American Heritage Month pass without giving them much thought. Because of the long-lasting narratives of settler colonialism, it’s easy to drift through these times thinking only … Read more
[ad_1] One version of the American dream is based on the idea of owning a piece of the land. That dream seems harder to achieve every year for most Americans priced out of home ownership. Colorado’s San Luis Valley promises an exception. Cheap land can be yours in five acre plots at an affordable price. … Read more
[ad_1] Following her critically acclaimed novels “Everything I Never Told You” and “Little Fires Everywhere” author Celeste Ng explores new territory in her latest novel “Our Missing Hearts” by stretching the boundaries of American political reality. This book, centering twelve year old Bird Gardner and his complex relationship with his absent mother, is set in … Read more
[ad_1] How many times have you walked on a beach? Generally, the experience is pleasurably common: you feel the sand between your toes, you pick up seashells, you hold hands with a loved one while you watch the sunset, you feel a light ocean breeze on your cheeks. What is uncommon, however, is if you … Read more
[ad_1] Demystifying the world is central to many coming-of-age stories. Often in these stories we find a wide-eyed, hopeful young person who journeys out into the world seeking to manifest their ideals, only to face impersonal cruelties and structural tragedies which force them to reassess who they are, who they want to be, and the … Read more
[ad_1] Ruins are scars. Some are in the process of healing, succumbing to gravity, dirt, and time, covered in roots and soon to be buried. Others still hurt, poking at the sky, or, more pointedly, at the transformation and defacing of a people’s dignity. No matter their state of decay, the remnants of buildings, monuments, … Read more
[ad_1] Millions of Italians arrived in the United States during the great wave of immigration from the 1880s until the Second World War. Dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, veal parmigiana, and oven-baked lasagna evolved during these years, yet Americans perceived these as the food of foreign ethnics with too much garlic. One dish would profoundly … Read more
[ad_1] American Estrangement, a new story collection by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, sketches America in both space and time. We are anchored in the here and now, yet the stories do not read as grasping for relevance, or as dated. Rather, Sayrafiezadeh captures one of the most essential feelings of the modern-day United States, apathy, and holds … Read more