The Tournament of Books is something I look forward to every year. Here are the best books that I discovered because of the book bracket competition. … More The Best Reads from the Tournament of Books
I follow the Tournament of Books every year, and every year I have at least one great discovery from the contest. This year, that discovery was Fever Dream. A friend recommended it to me after it defeated the heavy favorite Lincoln in the Bardo in the contest’s opening round. It was described as hypnotic, haunting, and slightly … More Getting Lost in Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin: Book Review
Have you ever noticed how many novels are about white guys who can’t get their life in order? SO MANY. And I can’t deal with it anymore. … More I Can’t with All the Screw-Up White Dudes in Literature: The Nix, by Nathan Hill
“Who would have thought at this time in our lives that we’d still have something like this. That it turns out we’re not finished with changes and excitements. And not all dried up in body and spirit.” Addie and Louis are quiet, decent people in the beginning of their ‘twilight years.’ Both widowed, they’ve been … More Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf: Book Review
“History is the error we are forever correcting.” The Tsar of Love and Techno is a series of interlocked stories spanning generations in Russia, Siberia, and Chechnya. It starts with a bang, telling stories of a Soviet censor who paints his brother, who was executed and whose existence was wiped out by the government, into … More The Tsar of Love and Techno, by Anthony Marra: Book Review
“The human eye senses movement before all else.” There’s a downside to writing a novel that hinges on some mysterious past event. On the one hand, if you don’t provide any answers your audience will be frustrated and rake you over the coals for lacking closure. On the other hand, oftentimes the answers never live … More All the Birds, Singing, by Evie Wyld: Book Review
Supposedly Fun 