Non-Fiction | Raging Biblio-holism

Will & I

June 17, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: After a car accident and a botched surgical procedure, Clay Byars is told he may be paralyzed from the eyes down for the rest of his life. He fights back, making an unexpected recovery, but his life is forever altered. As his life and his twin brother’s diverge, Clay must find what it means to live anew in the face of overwhelming adversity. The Review: Most recovery memoirs, particularly those that deal with a catastrophic injury, often conclude with […]

Categories: Memoir, Non-Fiction • Tags: Advance Reviews, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Clay Byars, FSG Originals, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Reviews, Will & I, Will and I

The Hatred of Poetry

June 15, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: Why do so many people hate poetry, or at least claim that they do? What is it, through history, that has caused a disconnect between the idea of poetry as perhaps the most noble of art forms… and the reality of its crushing inadequacy? Ben Lerner, a noted poet in his own right, believes that it may be part of poetry’s essence: that there will always be an impossible gap between a poem’s goal and its actual […]

Categories: Essays, Non-Fiction, Poetry • Tags: Ben Lerner, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Essay, Essays, FSG Originals, Monograph, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Poetry, Reviews, The Hatred of Poetry

Bluets

May 25, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: “Suppose I were to begin by saying that I had fallen in love with a color.” So begins a series of “propositions” – short, often paragraph-or-two essays – exploring Nelson’s love: of the color blue, yes, but also, around the edges, of her friends, of words, and of a lover who broke her heart. The Review: This is a book about curiosity. It is meant for the curious, for those who might think nothing of stopping mid-sentence to […]

Categories: Essays, Non-Fiction • Tags: Bluets, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Essay, Lyric Essay, Maggie Nelson, Non-Fiction, Reviews

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72

May 6, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, doctor of journalism, heads out on the campaign trail, following the Democratic Primary in 1972 on behalf of Rolling Stone. But 1972 was when it all changed – and as McGovern unexpectedly rockets towards the nomination, Thompson buckles down for some full Gonzo journalism… The Review: One of the first pieces of political journalism I can remember reading of my own volition was “Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004” – Hunter’s last piece for Rolling […]

Categories: Non-Fiction • Tags: American Political System, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Democratic Primary, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, Hunter S. Thompson, Journalism, McGovern, Nixon, Non-Fiction, Politics, Primaries, Reviews

Palm Sunday

April 29, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: A ‘collage’, as the man himself puts it, of essays and speeches and thoughts and even a short story and a play – all of which add up to a charmingly odd portrait of a literary life. The Review: There is something about Kurt Vonnegut that runs the risk of coming off as too self-assured, almost cocky, sometimes. It is, perhaps, only his relentlessly Midwestern sense of self-deprecation that saves him – but I have to admit […]

Categories: Essays, Memoir, Non-Fiction • Tags: Autobiography, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Essays, Kurt Vonnegut, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Palm Sunday, Reviews, Short Stories, The Ten Year Catch-Up, Vonnegut 201x

Ban en Banlieue

February 24, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: Bhanu Kapil’s exploration of the absence of a novel she had planned to write – the spaces around the edges of story, the place where performance cannot be captured in text, the research and preparation for a story not told here… except also told in outline, a negative of a story. The Review: The wonderful thing about the Tournament of Books is that it puts literature in front of me that I might never otherwise encounter or experience. Having […]

Categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry • Tags: ban en banlieue, Bhanu Kapil, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, London, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Semi-Fiction, The Tournament of Books 2016, Writing

Woolf 2015

December 29, 2015 by Drew

WOOLF 2015 editions: Penguin Hardback Modern Classics Mrs. Dalloway – 5+ out of 5, 3/2-3/9 To the Lighthouse – 4.5 out of 5, 5/17-5/24 The Waves – 3.5 out of 5, 9/5-9/20 A Room of One’s Own / Three Guineas – 4 out of 5, 10/30-11/13 Orlando – 3.5 out of 5, 12/5-12/10 For the first time, I’ve hit an author in the Ten Year Catch-Up whose major works I have at least a passing familiarity with – and, for […]

Categories: Features, The Ten Year Catch-Up • Tags: A Room of One's Own, Features, Fiction, Modernism, Mrs. Dalloway, Non-Fiction, Orlando, Recap, Stream of Consciousness, The Ten Year Catch-Up, The Waves, Three Guineas, To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf, Woolf 2015, World War One

US(a.)

December 14, 2015 by Drew

The Short Version: A new collection of poetry, essays, and script excerpts from one of our most fiery and passionate artists on the general theme of America, both now and then. The Review: I discovered Saul Williams in 2007 when Trent Reznor helped produce his phenomenal The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust and they gave it away as a pay-what-you-can sort of deal – this was immediately post-In Rainbows – and I had my mind blown the first time the needle dropped. This is […]

Categories: Non-Fiction, Poetry • Tags: America, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Current Events, Essays, Fiction, France, Memoir, Miles Davis, Non-Fiction, Paris, Poetry, Politics, Racism, Reviews, Saul Williams, Scripts, US (a.), USA

Luke Skywalker Can’t Read and Other Geeky Truths

November 25, 2015 by Drew

The Short Version: Maybe you’ve never seen Star Wars or read Harry Potter, never imagined you were running from the boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark or solving a mystery with your deerstalker cap. But chances are, you’ve got a bit of geek in you – we all do. Ryan Britt definitely does and he sets out to consider as much of geekdom as he can in this debut collection. The Review: I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet, but I’m a […]

Categories: Essays, Non-Fiction • Tags: Barbarella, Essays, Fandom, Fans, Fantasy, Luke Skywalker Can't Read, Luke Skywalker Can't Read and Other Geeky Truths, Non-Fiction, Pop Culture, Ryan Britt, Sci-Fi, Space, Star Wars

Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Tag: Non-Fiction