by Shin Yu Pai Ben Fountain’s first collection of short stories, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, was published by Ecco in August 2006. The book was tapped by the Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers Program, the Borders Original Voices Program, and was the Number One Book Sense Pick for August 2006. His fiction has appeared in Harper’s […]
by Eric Lorberer When last we sat down with the prolific Neil Gaiman, he had just published American Gods, a novel that introduced his already acclaimed storytelling skills to the realms of bestsellerdom. Since then he's released an astonishing array of work, including the young adult novel Coraline, the graphic novels 1602 and The Sandman: Endless Nights, the radio drama Two […]
THE CLASSICAL TRIVIUM: The Place of Thomas Nashe in the Learning of His Time Marshall McLuhan edited by Terrence Gordon Gingko Press ($39.95) LOVING THE MACHINE: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots Timothy N. Hornyak Kodansha International ($26.95) by Ann Klefstad What happens when you use a new lens to reread a familiar aspect […]
Volume One Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy Bloomsbury USA ($14.95) by Maria Christoforatos More often than not I conduct my days dressed in scruffy denim overalls and unshined shoes, however Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy's The Affected Provincial's Companion refreshed my more subtle sensibilities. This lovely book—designed almost entirely by the author and with a foil-embossed green cover and […]
Francine Prose HarperCollins ($23.95) by Eva Ulett In the opening line of her new book, Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose asks an essential question: "Can creative writing be taught?" Her response is that creative writing can be learned in part from the careful reading of accomplished writers, including the old masters; "And who could have […]
Ander Monson Graywolf Press ($15) by Jessica Bennett Ander Monson has a geeky devotion to many things: computers, disc golf, card catalogs, pop culture, and, above all, words. His playfulness with the last has produced a volume of poetry (Vacationland, Tupelo Press), a collection of fiction (Other Electricities, Sarabande), and this new non-fiction collection, the […]
Keith Knight Top Shelf Productions ($12.95) by William Alexander Pat Parker once wrote a poem called "For the white person who wants to know how to be my friend." It starts like this: The first thing you do is to forget that i'm Black. Second, you must never forget that i'm Black. I'll be using […]
Jules Verne translated and edited by Frederick Paul Walter and Walter James Miller Bison Books / University of Nebraska Press ($15.95) by Ryder W. Miller Mostly known for movie adaptations and a few books widely read by adventure fans, Jules Verne (1828-1905) has in recent years gained renewed attention for his prolific body of work. […]
Hala El Badry translated by Nancy Roberts The American University in Cairo Press ($22.95) by Rudi Dornemann Some novels derive their power from an in-depth view of a single individual facing a crucial time in their life. Others offer a panoramic view of many lives, perhaps across the events of many years. Hala El Badry's […]
Alan DeNiro Small Beer Press ($16) by Rod Smith German theologian Rudolf Otto (1869-1937) coined "numinous" to describe "that which is wholly other," the mysterium tremendum et fascinans ("mystery awesome and fascinating") that leads people toward magic, religion, and the like. Alan DeNiro's stories have plenty to do with otherness and abound with awesome, fascinating mysteries. Yet […]