BOOKS – Page 7 – Reads A Lot

Neurodiversity and Exhaustion in “All the Little Bird-Hearts” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 14, 2023 by Malavika Praseed

[ad_1] This year’s Booker prize longlist has featured numerous introspective, hyperfocused character studies, and Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow’s All the Little Bird-Hearts is no exception. Centering Sunday Forrester, an eccentric woman who lives her life according to a highly structured, self-made routine, the novel takes an intriguing and slightly sinister turn as new neighbors move in: the … Read more

On Writing Through Loneliness – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 13, 2023 by Athena Dixon

[ad_1] A few months into the pandemic, the apartment building across the street from mine had a parking lot party. Tucked away in the tree-lined Germantown section of Philadelphia on a hot summer day this was unusual. Over the months leading up to that afternoon, my neighborhood of buses, cars, and a lively population had … Read more

Setting the Modern Noir Scene in “Here in the Dark” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 12, 2023 by Monika Dziamka

[ad_1] In her debut novel, Here in the Dark, prize-winning culture reporter and theater critic for the New York Times Alexis Soloski crafts a psychological thriller around Vivian Parry, a Manhattan-based theater critic notorious for her acerbic reviews and her predilection for mixing sex, booze, and pills to quell the anxiety and grief she feels … Read more

Art and Individuality in “The End Of The World is a Cul de Sac” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 11, 2023 by D. W. White

[ad_1] What do we ask of art? How, indeed, can we know what it is? On this, the philosophers tend to disagree. At some level, we know it when we see it, as the Supreme Court once said about some other hard-to-define thing. In the twenty-first century, it is probably the most politic to say … Read more

Excavating the Unconscious in “An Archaeology of Holes” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 8, 2023 by Annette LePique

[ad_1] In a 2018 interview, author Stacy Hardy cited Sylvia Wynter as one of her favorite authors and theorists; Hardy specifically noted her admiration for Wynter’s work on the social strictures and boundaries that form a shared concept of “humanity.” Hardy, like Wynter, is deeply invested in the liberatory potential of asking, What does it … Read more

Congrats to the Winners of the 2023 CHIRBy Awards! – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 7, 2023 by Editorial Staff

Announcing the 2023 Chicago Review of Books Awards Shortlist – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] On December 7, 2023, we came together for the 2023 Chicago Review of Books (CHIRBy) Awards, co-presented by StoryStudio Chicago! Now in its eighth year, the CHIRBy Awards honor the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and short essays and stories that feature Chicago and our strong literary community. Congratulations to this year’s winners and to … Read more

The Dangers of Publishing and the Ethical Consumption of Books – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 7, 2023 by macyberendsen

[ad_1] Book influencers are popular on virtually all social media platforms—the biggest being TikTok, Instagram and YouTube—and one of the most popular content to create is a book haul. One YouTube video shows the unboxing of an Amazon purchase of over 40 books. While Amazon is not the place to support the book industry and … Read more

“Songs on Endless Repeat” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 6, 2023 by Dan Kubis

[ad_1] When I teach Anthony Veasna So’s Afterparties, I start with the book’s dedication, which is addressed not to So’s parents or loved ones but to “everyone who underestimated me, including myself.” I also make sure to note the book’s acknowledgements. Like most authors, So spends the bulk of this section generously thanking family, friends, … Read more

5 Questions for the 2023 CHIRBy Awards Finalists, Part II – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 6, 2023 by Editorial Staff

[ad_1] In anticipation of the 2023 Chicago Review of Books (CHIRBy) Awards ceremony, we asked our finalists a few questions about their books, their inspirations, and their favorite way to spend 2 hours and $50 in Chicago. In Part II, we talk to: Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2023 Chicago Review of Books … Read more

Samantha Harvey’s Orbital – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 5, 2023 by Kazuo Robinson

[ad_1] Gran Canaria’s steep radial gorges pile the island up like sandcastles hastily built, and when the Atlas mountains announce the end of the desert, clouds appear in the shape of a shark whose tail flips at the southern coast of Spain, whose fin-tip nudges the southern Alps, whose nose will dive any moment into … Read more