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Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

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Tag: Karen Russell

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The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015

January 27, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: From a trip to Neil Gaiman’s London Below to a compendium of the ogres of East Africa, from a scientist racing to his daughter before a black hole consumes the Earth to a man attempting to clone his wife, this first installment of the latest Best American series compiles 20 of the best science fiction & fantasy tales of the last year. The Review: It’s astounding to me that this past year was the first with a […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Sci-Fi, Short Stories • Tags: A. Merc Rustad, Adam-Troy Castro, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Best American, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Best American Series, Best American SFF, Best American Short Stories, Carmen Maria Machado, Cat Rambo, Daniel H. Wilson, Fantasy, Jess Row, Jo walton, Joe Hill, John Joseph Adams, Karen Russell, Kelly Link, Kelly Sandoval, Nathan Ballingrud, Neil Gaiman, Sam J. Miller, Science Fiction, Seanan McGuire, Short Stories, Sofia Samatar, Susan Palwick, T.C. Boyle, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, Theodora Goss

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2014 – The RB Lit Review

December 31, 2014 by Drew

And so, friends, we come to the end of another year.  So many books read, so much to recap – so let’s dive in. VITAL STATS, YEAR FOUR: Books Read: 137 Pages Read: 48,900 (an exact round number – weiiiird) Average Rating: 3.89 (a definite drop from the last two years, although this may reflect a somewhat broader scope of reading? or sharper critical thinking? who knows.) Highest Rating(s): – 6 out of 5 Jeff VanderMeer’s The Southern Reach Trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance) was maybe the […]

Categories: Features • Tags: A Visit From The Goon Squad, Acceptance, Annihilation, Authority, Bad Books, Broken Monsters, China Miéville, Dani Lencioni, David Mitchell, DC Pierson, Edgar Cantero, Embassytown, Eric Setiawan, FSG Originals Series, good Books, Harper Perennial, Haruki Murakami, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, Jeff Vandermeer, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jennifer Egan, Junot Diaz, Kafka on the Shore, Karen Russell, Katherine Faw Morris, Lauren Beukes, Lena Dunham, Meg Wolitzer, Murakami 2014, Nick Harkaway, Not That Kind of Girl, Of Bees and Mist, Olive Editions, Parties, Shirley Jackson, So Many Damn Books, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, The Bone Clocks, The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never had to, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, The City and the City, The Interestings, The Marriage Plot, The Morning News, The People in the Trees, The Southern Reach Trilogy, The Supernatural Enhancements, The Tournament of Books 2014, Tigerman, Vonnegut 201x, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Woolf 2015, year in review, You Should Have Known, Young God

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Sleep Donation

April 2, 2014 by Drew

The Short Version: Sometime into the future, insomnia has gone from being an occasional annoyance to being a full-blown medical disorder.  People simply begin to lose the ability to go to sleep.  A service develops called the SlumberCorps, where healthy sleepers can donate their sleep just like you might donate blood – but even that can only make a dent in the problem.  And then, a baby arrives who is miraculously a universal donor… The Review: We’ve all had those […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Sci-Fi • Tags: Atatvist, Atavist Books, Fiction, Karen Russell, Literature, Sci-Fi, Sleep, Sleep Donation

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Vampires in the Lemon Grove

June 19, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Vampires who slake their thirst with lemons instead of blood, a barn where former Presidents are reincarnated as horses, Japanese girls who are turned into silkworms for the good of production… Karen Russell steps out of the Floridian swamps and presents eight new stories that expand her fantastic world – and her talents as a writer. The Review: The most striking thing, right off the bat, about this collection is how mature it feels.  How much it feels […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Karen Russell, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction, Vampires in the Lemon Grove

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St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

February 27, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: A collection of stories set mostly in the wilds of Florida – but not quite the Florida we know.  This is Russell’s fantastic version of the state: where lycanthropes are real, ghost fish can be seen with special diving goggles, and giant mollusks once roamed the seas. The Review: I’ve had rather a tumultuous time with Swamplandia! since reading it.  At the time, I felt betrayed by the way Russell pulled the magical-realism rug out from under the reader […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: 5+, Fantasy, Fiction, Karen Russell, Magical Realism, Short Stories, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Swamplandia!

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Swamplandia!

April 2, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Ava Bigtree and her family live on and operate a theme park in Florida called Swamplandia!  Their star attraction is their mother, who swims with and wrestles alligators.  After their mother dies, the three Bigtree children retreat in their own various ways while their father disappears – Ossie starts dating a ghost, Kiwi starts working at a rival theme park, and Ava (the youngest) is trying to make sense of it all.  When Ossie disappears to go marry […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Family, Fiction, Karen Russell, Literature, Swamplandia!, The Tournament of Books 2012

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  • Hey! It’s been a while! Just wanted to let you all know that if you’re missing me thinking in text about books/read… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 year ago
  • RT @JoeSudbay: Collins Maine office numbers: Portland: (207) 780-3575 Lewiston: (207) 784-6969 Bangor: (207) 945-0417 Augusta: (207) 622-8… 2 years ago
  • RT @drewsof: How about a #summerreading giveaway? A finished copy of Rebecca Makkai's "The Great Believers," a random ARC, & some SMDB swag… 2 years ago
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