Back in the day, I would have called Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series of books a guilty pleasure. That was back in my book snob days (which you can read all about here). Now I can happily tell you that I’m a fan of Rizzoli and Isles in both of its incarnations: as a … More Book Series vs. TV Series: Rizzoli and Isles
“You can build a whole world around the tiniest of touches.” I’m just going to say it straight out: this book kinda creeped me out. And not in a good way. The year is 1987. June Elbus is one of those quirky, misunderstood teens in the Royal Tenenbaums, Harold and Maude mold. None of her … More Book Review: Tell the Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
Food, Family, and Heart And now for something completely different. I have never reviewed a cookbook before. Sure, I’ve reviewed books about cooking, but never, ever an actual honest-to-God cookbook. Mostly, this is because I’m traditionally not a chef. Just so we understand each other, I’ll give you some background, then we’ll talk about my … More Book Review: Old-School Comfort Food, by Alex Guarnaschelli
“I suspect that the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.” Hype can be a cruel demon. For an author, it sets an expectation that can be extremely difficult to live up to. For a reader, more often than not it only leads … More Book Review: And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
Dan Savage in Conversation with Andrew Sullivan at the New York Public Library This author event was particularly great for Boo and me. As gay men who grew up in the pre-Ellen world, there’s a special place in our hearts for the It Gets Better Project. I wish it had been around for me when … More The Morning After: Dan Savage at the NYPL for American Savage
“In reality I was playing a part, doing what I imagined I was supposed to do.” Finbar Dolan is having a breakdown. He’s had a mildly successful career at an advertising agency in New York (read: he’s successfully been rewarded for doing the minimal amount of work). His engagement went bust, leaving him with two … More Book Review: Truth in Advertising, by John Kenney
My name is Greg, and I was a book shamer. Thankfully, I reformed. This is my story. Not too long ago, I happened on this blog post from YA author Tara Fuller entitled “Book Shaming: Why Do We Do It?” To break it down, book shaming is essentially book snobbery. It’s the idea that people … More Confessions of a Former Book Shamer
Back in 2009 Colum McCann set the literary world on fire with the National Book Award-winning Let the Great World Spin, a collection of stories centered around the day a man walked a tightrope between the towers of the World Trade Center. Using that true event, McCann elevated the ordinary lives of his characters to … More Book Review: Transatlantic, by Colum McCann
“Nobody ever knows anyone.” Jim and Bob Burgess couldn’t be more different. Bob is sensitive, not very confident, casually self destructive, and dangerously toying with alcoholism. Jim is a brash high-powered attorney with a fancy townhouse in a trendy part of Brooklyn. He’s also a huge jerk, but people are very forgiving of this quality … More Book Review: The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout
“It’s funny how it’s the memories of shame that hang on longest.” After finishing Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs, I’m now two for two with books propelled by rage. Unfortunately for The Antagonist, it pales in comparison to the sublime, burning anger of Woman (review here). To be fair to Lynn Coady, that’s where the … More Book Review: The Antagonist, by Lynn Coady
Supposedly Fun 