Late last night I finished reading Garth Risk Hallberg’s sprawling epic first novel, City on Fire. I bought the hardcover one day, wandering through a bookstore looking for something I could really sink my teeth into. City on Fire served up as much as I… Read More
The Alaskan Laundry by Brendan Jones is your basic quest story. It’s about a young woman from Philadelphia who is going through some personal struggles, which culminate in a big fight with her father, during which he kicks her out of the house. She decides… Read More
The Whites is a pretty good bit of crime fiction. Gritty cop/ex-cop drama, curiously propelled by the actions of one of the characters many years before. Perhaps too many characters for me to cope with. Plenty of detail. Several murders. This was a “notable book… Read More
Last month, when I visited Chicago, I found myself with an hour or so to kill up in Old Town. I had enjoyed dinner with my friend Candy Minx at a place called Mash, across the street from the Old Town School of Folk Music… Read More
The 27th Street bookbox has been mostly self-sustaining with little intervention from me, and there is usually a healthy turnover of books. However, right now there is space for several new arrivals. Depending on size, I’d say it can handle up to 10 books to… Read More
There is a great selection of books right now at the 27th Street Book box. It’s in front of our home on 27th Street (near all the construction madness). Books are free to take. You can keep them or borrow them, and if you like,… Read More
When I became aware that Hajin Lee had written a book I wanted to read it right away. She is the Go streamer known as Haylee and I have been following her games on her YouTube channel. I know you’re thinking, what is a Go… Read More
Not too long ago my friend East Texas Red sent me an email pointing me to a review in the New York Times of the book Beatlebone by Kevin Barry. The review, which was very positive, was written by songster Steve Earle. This is the… Read More
I had a peek into the 27th Street Book Box when I came home from work today. Our community has been keeping it stuffed with books, with new titles every time I look. This kind of thing only works when the community supports it, and… Read More
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is an epic historical novel, by Wayne Johnston. It was published in 1998. I found it in the 27th Street Book Box, and recognized the name of the author, as I’ve previously read his excellent Baltimore’s Mansion. I was afraid… Read More
27th Street 