For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Success is difficult to define. In the modern American landscape, it’s a term that’s become more or less synonymous with wealth rather than any sort of achievement. In the podcast The Relentless Picnic, the hosts remarked on the seeming absurdity that one could be considered a born-success. Fortunately, that’s not a problem for Nineteen, … Read more
[ad_1] Do you feel it, dear readers? The April rains and winds are starting to die down, and the sunshine is lingering for longer. Do you hear it, dear readers? It’s the sound of coats being doffed and kids (and teachers) celebrating the imminent end of the school year. Spring has finally arrived, and as … Read more
[ad_1] T. Kingfisher’s most recent novel, Nettle & Bone, is a fairy tale, replete with the usual archetypes: a kind-hearted and naïve protagonist, magical companions, difficult siblings—even a villainous tyrant. The narrative follows the adventures of Marra, a thirty-year-old princess who must save her sister from an evil prince. But T. Kingfisher’s stories are rarely … Read more
[ad_1] Climate change has broken time. Geological processes that normally unfold over millennia are now a matter of urgency, and the rhythms that structure our lives have fallen out of sync. Some changes, like biosphere collapse and the thawing of ice caps, are happening much too quickly; others, like popular uprisings and economic shifts, are … Read more
[ad_1] At the end of the world, Kate is Bertie’s best friend. In the aftermath of a world war, after enduring terror and loss together, they still have each other. Until Kate decides to move away—and Bertie is left to grapple with her own personal apocalypse. In End of the World House, Adrienne Celt delivers … Read more
[ad_1] I don’t really know why I do this to myself. There’s no way to narrow down the fantastic poetry of any year into a brief list. Personal tastes aside, my hope is that you pick up as many poetry books—and chapbooks—as you can. Though the focus of this list is contemporary poetry, read any … Read more
[ad_1] We are surely—hopefully—nearing some kind of peak of cultural reboot fatigue, awash as we are in retellings, re-adaptations, and perpetually rebooting expanded cinematic universes. So it’s either an odd or an apt time to recommend a new entry in King Arthur stories, much-reinterpreted and pieced together from older traditions as those legends are. Fresh, … Read more
[ad_1] Maybe you’ve heard the adage inviting you to walk a mile in someone’s shoes before you judge them. Taken literally, the phrase suggests that walking is the physical key to gaining understanding of others—and ourselves. Ben Shattuck puts that to the test in his debut, Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau. … Read more
[ad_1] Peter Rock’s latest novel, Passersthrough, is tricky business. The premise hints at mystery—a young girl goes missing in the wilderness for a week; now, 25 years later, her father wants answers—but the novel itself resists practically every convention of the genre. It reads more like a ghost story—unsettling, ruminative, impressionistic, somewhat like Jeff VanderMeer’s … Read more
[ad_1] True crime has a devoted following in a number of popular podcasts, films and television, and bestselling titles these days. There’s some debate about whether its predominantly female audience is empowered (learn about this to avoid finding oneself in a similar situation) or traumatized by learning details about gruesome murders, yet the mainstay of … Read more