Books

There is something almost indescribably wonderful about watching someone come to life again. Perhaps that’s because of the simple of beauty of watching something rich and vibrant spring forth from seemingly nothing – that’s never strictly speaking completely true; there’s always something there, it’s usually just deeply repressed and dormant Continue Reading

One of the more curious aspects of human nature is the lengths that people will go to, and the pernicious accommodations they will make, for the sake of a perceived peaceful existence. Politicians, particularly those of a more authoritarina bent, of which the world has a surfeit right now, take Continue Reading

Growing up gay, especially in a country town, comes with a multitude of odious compromises. And by compromises, we really mean outright theft of mind, body and soul, as you struggle mightily to disguise the obvious in a town where even the most subtle of things seems to eventually exist Continue Reading

The very best books, the kind that make reading a extraordinary and incomparable delight, are those that offer up a sumptuous journey to places and with people you would never otherwise have the pleasure of coming into contact with. By doing so, they offer up a glorious sense of escape Continue Reading

When first you pick up the definitively titled Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, you may tempted to wonder just how many quirky books about characters encountering some great challenge and thus sweet victory or transformation in the twilight of their lives, one book market can take. Take a Continue Reading

Odds are that if you think of Star Wars, and particularly the trilogy that began it all (New Hope / The Empire Strikes Back / The Return of the Jedi), that your mind will first fall upon the unmissable trio of protagonists of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Continue Reading

Humanity has always had a robust love affair with the future. Often burnt by the past and uncertain or despairing about the present, there is something inside of us that optimistically grabs a hold of the future, embracing it like some kind of gilt-edged promised land where troubles will be Continue Reading

There is an uncommon joy that infuses every last word in Becky Chambers brilliantly-affecting A Closed and Common Orbit. That is largely due to the nuanced and empathetic way that the author addresses the prevailing theme of the book which is all about discovering who you are and where you Continue Reading