The month of May has arrived. The temperature is rising, area plants are blossoming; all told, it’s moving from “read indoors by the fire” weather to “read outside in the park” weather. Which is serendipitous, as we have a couple of suggestions for your springtime reading to coincide with the start of the month. They range from insightful looks at music to boldly crafted fiction; there’s also a merman in there. Here’s a look at some of the books that […]
Afternoon Bites: Adapting Tóibin, Nicola Griffith, Laura van den Berg’s Latest, Warren Ellis on Ghost Stories, and More
In our afternoon reading: Colm Tóibin on film, thoughts on Laura van den Berg’s new novel, an interview with Warren Ellis, notes on not finishing books, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Joyce Meets Proust, Nicola Griffith Interviewed, Brian Costello’s Playlist, John Coltrane, and More
In our afternoon reading: a look at the new book Vintage Black Glamour, interviews with Nicola Griffith and Liz Harris, a review of John Coltrane’s Offering, and more.
Morning Bites: Nicola Griffith, Jeff VanderMeer Interviewed, Hamish Kilgour’s Latest, Bill Cosby Onstage, and More
An interview with Jeff VanderMeer, a look at Nicola Griffith’s Hild, a new album from Hamish Kilgour, musings on Bill Cosby, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Writers’ Favorite Meals, Writing About Against Me!, Rachel Cantor Reviewed, Nicola Griffith Interviewed, and More
Talking with Deborah Solomon about her Norman Rockwell biography, writers on dining in Paris, Nicola Griffith interviewed, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Flannery O’Connor, Musical Subways, Kevin Sampsell Excerpt, Nicola Griffith’s Playlist, and More
In our afternoon reading: an excerpt from Kevin Sampsell’s latest, thoughts on Flannery O’Connor, a Nicola Griffith playlist, musical subway turnstiles, the excess of album launch parties, and more.
#tobyreads: Bonjour, Pulp
Sometimes pulp is a detective in a fedora brandishing a revolver; sometimes it’s a rocket ship and a ray gun. Sometimes it’s more complex than that; sometimes certain basic elements are reworked and run through varying sensibilities. One can see the influence of Mickey Spillane’s stark prose on James Ellroy and David Peace, even as each brings their own particular sensibility to the table. (Related: this New York Times Magazine roundtable discussion of pulp is essential reading.) The three books discussed […]
#tobyreads: Geography Revisited — Brian Francis Slattery, Francesca Lia Block, and Nicola Griffith Rewrite Familiar Landscapes
Fiction has a particular ability to rework familiar places into new iterations of themselves. In some cases, this can be by presenting alternate or fantastical versions of a certain space; in others, it can come through pushing that space into the future (or pulling it back into history.) The three books discussed today reveal new sides to cities and towns we thought we knew — and make for good, sometimes moving reading.