March: Books One & Two

Now that the summer semester I was teaching is over, and given recent events in the United States — What the hell is happening? I mean, I know what’s happening, but WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING? — I thought it would be a good time to catch up on some reviews that I never got

Quickies: Heartburn & Red Rosa

Heartburn by Nora Ephron Publisher/Year: Random House Audio, 2013 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Meryl Streep Length: 5 hours, 30 minutes Source: Purchase What it is: Seven months pregnant, cookbook writer and food personality Rachel Samstat discovers that her husband has been having an affair with someone she knows. Meanwhile, her well-heeled friends spend their time planning events and gossiping about The Other Woman;

The Initiates

Ètienne Davodeau’s The Initiates is a graphic memoir about the time when he and established vintner Richard Leroy worked closely together to learn about each other’s professions. Davodeau knows nothing about wine or winemaking; Leroy doesn’t read comic books. The two work in strikingly different worlds, but as they get hands-on experience in the other’s field,

Quickies: Lucky Alan & Sex Criminals Vol. 1

Lucky Alan and Other Stories by Jonathan Lethem Publisher/Year: Doubleday, 2015 Format: Hardcover Pages: 157 Source: Publisher What it is: A slim collection of quirky short stories. Why I read it: I like short stories, and I also had the pleasure of hearing Lethem at a Literary Death Match a couple of years ago when he was promoting Dissident Gardens. What I

The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors without Borders

In 1986, photographer Didier Lefèvre was hired to join Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) on a mission into Afghanistan, which was in the middle of a war with the Soviet Union. MSF had roots in the country but had been forced to leave because of escalating violence that had resulted in the deaths of some of their