In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Sarah Gailey’s new novel, fiction by David Leo Rice, and more.
Morning Bites: R.O. Kwon Nonfiction, PEN America Award Finalists, Bailey Gaylin Moore and Donald Quist Interviewed, and More
In our morning reading: new writing by R.O. Kwon, an interview with Bailey Gaylin Moore and Donald Quist, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Covering “The Great Gatsby,” David Leo Rice, “Black Futures” Reviewed, Mark Leyner, and More
In our afternoon reading: covers for “The Great Gatsby,” an interview with Mark Leyner, and more.
Morning Bites: Bhanu Kapil, Namwali Serpell on Film, David Leo Rice, Matthew Salesses Interviewed, and More
In our morning reading: a literary award for Bhanu Kapil, an interview with Matthew Salesses, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Tariq Shah, Noah Cicero Interviewed, Johnny Stanton, Anna Wiener’s Memoir, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Tariq Shah’s novel, interviews with David Leo Rice and Noah Cicero, and more.
“Something Only A Consummate Outsider Could Concoct”: A Conversation with David Leo Rice
My first real conversation with David Leo Rice took place at the Schlafly Pasta House inside the Lambert St. Louis International Airport. We were both waiting for connecting flights after a rather zombified cusp-of-COVID writer’s conference, and we talked about Boston (where David had gone to undergrad and where I was finishing grad school), about being Jewish, about the Kabbalah, and about all kinds of books. It was a lovely conversation despite the increasingly bleak news that kept leaking out over the noise of the terminal. I soon after that read the first volume of A Room in Dodge City, which was easily one of the most fun and bizarre books I have read in a long time, and after reading an advanced readers copy of A Room in Dodge City, Volume 2: The Blut Branson Era, forthcoming this January from Alternating Currents, I was excited to (virtually) sit down with David, talk about the second volume of the trilogy, and continue our conversation about literature, Jewishness, and (perhaps) an end to a certain kind of world.
Afternoon Bites: Lauren Oyler, Francisco Goldman Interviewed, Marc Laidlaw, David Leo Rice Fiction, and More
In our afternoon reading: fiction by Lauren Oyler and David Leo Rice, an interview with Francisco Goldman, and more.
Vol.1 Brooklyn’s January 2020 Book Preview
A new year, and plenty of new books to go along with it. The works that have us the most excited this month are a wide-ranging bunch, encompassing memoir, uncanny translated fiction, and groundbreaking explorations of the craft of writing. There’s plenty to keep you hooked this month, when it comes to noteworthy books; here’s a look at some of the ones that have us especially intrigued.