When I was in the seventh grade, I went to summer camp and discovered books I had never heard of or seen before. Other girls brought books like Flowers in the Attic and Forever, stolen from their older sisters. We all borrowed them and couldn’t get enough of these adult-seeming books. And then one girl showed us The Shining. I had no idea what it was, but she told me it was scary. And Constant Reader, it was scary. But not scary enough. I devoured The Shining, […]
Missing episode of Midsomer Murders
The main character in Cover-Up Story is Doug Perkins, of London PR firm Perkins and Tate. To call Perkins and Tate a successful PR firm would be stretching the truth: they have a tiny office, their part-time receptionist/secretary is literally a schoolgirl, and buying a cup of coffee might blow the petty cash budget. It is the late 1980s and the excesses of the decade have taken their toll. Perkins is putting all his eggs in one basket: he is banking on financial and reputational saving from Nashville’s Bart and […]
College baseball, without Linklater, with the White Whale
The cover drew me in: this book looks like it should be a delicate coming-of-age tale about a boy growing into a man, using baseball as an allegory for the wins and swings-and-misses of life. Given the cover model’s relaxed repose (and likely heavily influenced by the amount of fanfic I read, which, as John Cho says “gets gay fast”), I also assumed it would be a tale of a young man discovering his homosexuality. Baseball, young men exploring their sexuality: tick, right up my alley. […]
A review almost as long as a Russian novel
As the nights grow longer and temperatures begin to drop, atmospheric conditions become right for reading some Russian literature, with its deep snows, howling wolves, tragic lovers, wars and revolutions. Given their lengthiness, if you’re stuck at home with nowhere to go, a classic Russian novel will keep you occupied for a good long time. Plus, if the unthinkable happens on November 8th, it’s not a half bad idea to be on cultural speaking terms with our new overlords. CBR8’s recent survey of classic novels […]
Faces look ugly when you’re alone
It figures that a book about people who are happy in their isolation would resonate with me. Shirley Jackson’s self proclaimed “paean to agoraphobia” gives of a sense of unease even during what should be the most mundane domestic scenes. Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, her sister Constance and their ailing uncle Julian are the surviving members of a once prestigious family. The surviving Blackwoods are hated and ridiculed by the surrounding villagers due to an incident which resulted in the death of Merricat and […]
Butterflies are free…except not so much.
I feel like this sort of high concept story would have read better in a fantasy or sci fi setting. The dialogue and character interaction just didn’t work for me in the modern day U.S. It’s also very possible that someone who hasn’t read a metric ton of true crime and gritty realistic crime fiction might find this book more enjoyable. Personally, while the overall story was engaging and kept me interested until the end. The writing style came off almost as if a […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- …
- 99
- Next Page »