Category Archives: Culture

Reading Well: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I’ve always been a devotee of Barbara Kingsolver (see prior writeups of Unsheltered and Prodigal Summer), but had largely assumed the crowning achievement of her illustrious career would be 1998’s The Poisonwood Bible. Enter 2022’s Demon Copperhead, a novel of … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Bob the Gambler by Frederick Barthelme and Double Down by Frederick Barthelme & Steven Barthelme

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

Donald Barthelme is easily the most famous of the clan, but his brothers, Frederick and Steven, were also writers, English professors by profession and somewhat degenerate gamblers by choice. I read Bob the Gambler by Frederick (1997) first, and enjoyed … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Fraud by Zadie Smith

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Fraud, Zadie Smith‘s 2023 novel, is a bit of a departure for her: it is a historical novel, focusing on real people and real events in the late 19th century, specifically the household of the once-acclaimed writer William Harrison … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Bloodsworn Trilogy by John Gwynne

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

John Gwynne‘s Bloodsworn Trilogy contains The Shadow of the Gods (2021), The Hunger of the Gods (2022), and The Fury of the Gods (2024). My guess is most of you who will absolutely adore this trilogy already know about it, … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

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

S.L. Huang retells the story of Water Margin, a tale described as a minor classic of martial arts literature in their 2023 novel, The Water Outlaws. While retaining the setting and shape of the source material, Huang gender-flips many of … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I usually hold off on writing about series until they are complete, but it’s not clear when (if?) Moniquill Blackgoose plans to release a sequel to 2023’s To Shape A Dragon’s Breath. I hope they do, as this is an … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Trans Girl Suicide Museum by hannah baer

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I am so far from the target audience of Trans Girl Suicide Museum that I hesitate to comment on it. But, I did read it, and I do have thoughts … so … Trans Girl Suicide Museum (2019) is hannah … Continue reading →

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The Witness for the Dead & The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Set after the events of The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison‘s The Witness for the Dead (2021) and The Grief of Stones (2022), are, simply, delightful. They most closely resemble the rambling murder mysteries associated with Sunday nights on PBS, but … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Painter by Peter Heller was the very first book I wrote about for Reading Well. Later, I wrote up The River, and while it preceded these scribblings, his even earlier novel Dog Star remains one of my favorite novels … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Passenger & Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Posted on December 21, 2024 by Daniel (@MKNN)

There are, in my view, few–if any–greater American novelists of the late 20th century than Cormac McCarthy. His final two novels, released simultaneously in 2022, form a fitting capstone on his career. The Passenger and Stella Maris are related, but … Continue reading →

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