Category Archives: Culture

Reading Well: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow (2016) is a pleasant diversion wrapped around a very intriguing idea: the protagonist, a thirty year old Russian aristocrat, is, in 1922, sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. His house happens … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Provenance by Ann Leckie

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Set in the same universe as The Ancillary Trilogy, Ann Leckie‘s Provenance (2017) is, essentially, a police procedural. Leckie’s ability to create both characters you care about and cultural settings deep enough to hold your attention shines through, but your … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Binti: Home & Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

These two books complete the trilogy started with Binti, and easily make Nnedi Okorafor the most reviewed writer here on Reading Well. Certainly, I am a fan, but that’s also a product of Okorafor’s tendency to write in what are … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by César Aira

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Published in 2000 and translated into English in 2006, An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter is at most a novella, coming in at under 100 not-full-paperback size pages. The fact that César Aira has been successful publishing works … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Published in 2017, Jesmyn Ward‘s Sing, Unburied, Sing is actually the 3rd entry in a loose trilogy, but it is the first I have read. It is magnificent. The plot is disarmingly simple: two children, deeply dependent on each other; … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Published in 2016, Sylvain Neuvel‘s Sleeping Giants is the first book in a trilogy. It’s a delightful, surprising, quick read, exploring what might happen if we discovered a giant robot powered by massively advanced technology whose pieces are scattered across … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Lucifer’s Hammer, first published in 1977, is a result of the fruitful collaboration between Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. This is a page-turner of a sci fi/disaster novel, focusing on the impact of a sizable comet colliding with the Earth. … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

This is the second book by Paul Auster to appear here, after In the Country of Last Things. 4 3 2 1 is a much more literary, serious work, and one that explores a concept dear to most writers’ imaginations: … Continue reading →

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Reading Graphically: Five Graphic Novels

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

{After a really nice run of novels, I took a break to dig through a pile of unread graphic novels. More and more, I like having a record of what I read in the entirety, so here are some quick … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi‘s Kintu (2014) has received a lot of positive buzz, even being hailed as the first great Ugandan novel, whatever that means (I don’t mean to dismiss the praise, rather to problematize the terms first, great, and Ugandan). It’s an ambitious novel: … Continue reading →

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