Category Archives: Culture

Reading Well: The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

{ A Washington Post story from way back in July led to my buying a few titles it mentioned–fantasy/sci fi by female Muslim authors. As always with such, it’s a bit of a crap shoot as to quality. } Ausma … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: The Overstory by Richard Powers

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

This is the 2nd book by Richard Powers I’ve read–a small number for such an acclaimed author, for sure. In hindsight his 2017 novel The Overstory is similar in some ways to the one I read and wrote about a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Originally published in 2003, Hiromi Kawakami‘s The Ten Loves of Nishino was translated into English for the first time in 2019. There is something very sweet about the novel, which follows the protagonist–Nishino of the title–through his life and, yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: To the Break of Dawn by William Jelani Cobb

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

William Jelani Cobb‘s To the Break of Dawn (2007) joins the ranks of hip hop memoirs–narratives that are both a personal declaration of the impact of the art form on someone’s life and an academic and/or political examination of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: Doxology by Nell Zink

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Nell Zink‘s Doxology (2019) traces America through its fin de siècle and entry into the 21st century, following a set of characters combining family of origin and family of choice, and centered on the East Coast. A doxology is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Only Human (2018) is the conclusion of Sylvain Neuvel‘s trilogy that started with Sleeping Giants and continued with Waking Gods. If you liked those, you’ll enjoy the conclusion of the series. For me, I was happy to see the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: John Crow’s Devil by Marlon James

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

As a big fan of A Brief History of Seven Killings and Black Leopard Red Wolf, I decided to look at the rest of Marlon James‘ output, starting with his debut novel, John Crow’s Devil (2005). The novel traces the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Reading Well: Ginger Bread by Helen Oyeyemi

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I’ve been a fan of Helen Oyeyemi since her debut novel, 2005’s Icarus Girl, which I thought was one of the best ghost stories I had read in a long, long time. I read Ginger Bread (2019) having skipped many … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Reading Well: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Trail of Lightning (2018) is the opening novel of a YA duology set in, well, I guess technically it’s a dystopia, but it really is focused on the world after the dystopian events. I think it is Rebecca Roanhorse‘s debut … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Reading Well: The Minotaur Takes His Own Sweet Time by Steven Sherrill

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I didn’t even know that Steven Sherrill‘s The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break (2000) had a sequel until quite recently. The initial emergence of the ancient Minotaur into modern times was one of my favorite novels of the early 21st … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment