Author Archives: Daniel (@MKNN)

Reading Well: Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Nick Harkaway’s Gnomon remains one of my favorite novels, and I’ve been meaning to read more of his work since then. His 2023 noir sc-fi, Titanium Noir, does not disappoint. It’s very much what I would call contemporary noir: dark … Continue reading →

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Listen/Here: Two by the Tuva Halse Quintet

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Next up, we have Two, a 2023 release from the Tuva Halse Quintet, led by the young Norwegian violinist and composer herself, Tuva Halse (wikipedia | website). I’ve always thought violins are an especially tricky instrument in jazz–there is a … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: White Out by Michael Clune

Posted on July 25, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Part Proustian memoir, part recovery narrative, Michael Clune‘s White Out (2013) was gifted to me due to its similarity in topic and tone to Denis Johnson‘s masterful short-story collection Jesus’ Son. There is a struggle at the center of many … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I’m quickly becoming a Katherine Addison fan, having thoroughly enjoyed both The Goblin Emperor and its two psuedo-sequels, The Witness for the Dead and The Grief of Stones. Those lead me to her 2020 novel, The Angel of the Crows. … Continue reading →

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Listen/Here: SPIN by Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Welcome to installment #2 of Listen/Here. As a reminder, I’m picking randomly from recently purchased albums and writing short reviews, modeled, somewhat, on the Reading Well posts. Today, we’re listening to SPIN, a 2024 release from Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin (spelled … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Posted on June 24, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

A little way into Emily Tesh‘s 2023 science fiction novel Some Desperate Glory, I did not think I would enjoy it. But Tesh pulls off a very tricky shift, changing the narrative from a revolutionary narrative to one layered with … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Exhalation by Ted Chiang

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I bought Ted Chiang‘s Exhalation on the recommendation of a friend without knowing much about it. I was expecting a novel, but instead this is a collection of nine short stories, published in 2019, and covering stories published from 2007 … Continue reading →

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Listen/Here: Am Are by Bugge Wesseltoft

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Welcome to a new feature! I’ve been trying to figure out a way to echo some of my writing about books a read in writing about music I listen to. The challenge is there is Just.So.Much of it. So here’s … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Babel by R.F. Kuang

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

How much do you love Oxford and how much are you fascinated by linguistic etymology? The answers to those questions will scale directly with your enjoyment of R.F. Kuang‘s 2022 novel, Babel. Set in a parallel 19th century, Babel exists … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz

Posted on May 17, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Cairo Trilogy was my first encounter with Naguib Mahfouz, the only Egyptian writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1988). The three books were originally published in quick succession, with Palace Walk released in 1956, and both Palace of … Continue reading →

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