Category Archives: Culture

Reading Well: The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

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

About the same time I finished Samantha Shannon‘s 2019 novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree, I decided to wait to publish things on Reading Well until series of books were complete (or, at least, as complete as current information … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler

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

{ This is hilarious. I actually wrote about Lilith’s Brood way back in 2016, but hadn’t remembered that when I re-read them with a good friend recently. So, yeah. Here’s the original write up. It’s different, and I’m intrigued by … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Celine by Peter Heller

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

In my writeup of Peter Heller‘s The Last Ranger, I wrote Heller’s gifts are in his descriptions of the natural world and in his explorations of alternate modes of contemporary masculinity, and both are on full display in The Last Ranger. … Continue reading →

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Listen/Here: Extra by Peter Evans

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

One of my favorite things musically is when someone I’ve never heard of blows me away: it reminds me of just how much effing music there is in the world, and how deep it goes. Sometimes these musicians are deep … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Vengeance is Mine by Maria NDiaye

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Maria Ndiaye‘s 2023 novel Vengeance is Mine was recommended by a few best-of lists at the end of 2024, so I hopped on. This is a pretty short review as, sad to say, it just never came together for me. … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Tremor by Teju Cole

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Almost a decade ago (!), I wrote about Teju Cole‘s 2012 novel, Open City. Many of those same comments apply to Tremor, published in 2023. Cole’s ability to pay attention to characters and their emotional lives on the one hand … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer

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

I have previously written about Jeff Vandermeer‘s Southern Reach Trilogy, as well as his short-story collection, The Third Bear. Like many of his fans, I figured we were done with the Southern Reach, but no: 2024 saw the publication of … Continue reading →

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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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