Author Archives: Daniel (@MKNN)

Reading Well: Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee

I usually really react well to J.M. Coetzee’s work (see Disgrace). Elizabeth Costello (2003) is a very strange novel. There are two dominant modes in the book: one is a series of lectures given by the eponymous lead character; the … Continue reading

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Reading Graphically: 5 Graphic Novels

{so, yeah … many months have passed. We’ll be catching up over the next few weeks.} Another interlude … Pierre Paquet and Tony Sandoval‘s A Glance Backward (2015) is a translation of Paquet’s original work in French, telling a fantastical … Continue reading

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Reading Well: My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Oyinkan Braithwaite‘s debut novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer (2018) is a rollicking ride, the arc of which is described quite well by its title. Set in contemporary Lagos, the strength of the novel is the relationship between the two … Continue reading

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Reading Well: The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

This massive collection encompasses The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010), The Broken Kingdom (2011), and The Kingdom of Gods (2014). A shorter novella, The Awakened Kingdom (2014) is tossed in for good effect. Having been really pleasantly surprised by N.K. Jemisin’s … Continue reading

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WWC2019: The Final

I’ve been oddly reticent about writing up a preview of this one. I suspect it’s because I will be rooting for the Orange, without thinking they have much of a chance at all against the USA. Soccer analytics still feels … Continue reading

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WWC2019: The Semifinals (for real this time)!

Four games remaining … How We Did Meh. No exact scores, got Germany – Sweden wrong (along with everyone else), and had basically refused to pick the USA – France match. England – USA Jill Ellis‘ highly conservative style, demonstrated … Continue reading

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Reading Well: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

I have very high expectations each time I start a book by Barbara Kingsolver. Most of the time, she exceeds them. Unsheltered (2018) is a good book, but not among her best. The premise/structure is pretty lovely: the novel alternates … Continue reading

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WWC2019: The Quarterfinals!

{ Got ahead of myself and originally published this as the Semis. Whoops. } How We Did Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Evidently, I don’t respect Scandinavia as much as I should, as both Norway and Sweden surprised. … Continue reading

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WWC2019: The Round of 16

{ I’m writing this immediately after the Germany-Nigeria game–travel and work got in the way of getting it done before that. } Nothing too surprising coming out of the groups–sure, exactly how Scotland/ Argentina/ Nigeria/ Chile/ China would end up … Continue reading

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WWC2019: The Second Games

A note on VAR to open. I’m a fan, for sure–getting calls right strikes me as generally important–but there are two points that, I think, need to be addressed: First, if you look for a penalty, you will usually find … Continue reading

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