Ilona Andrews’s Magic Binds is the perfect predecessor to the book Kate Daniels fans have been waiting for since the beginning. It’s also a terrific ride in its own right. Just like all the others, Magic Binds retains the core cast of characters and conflicts Kate Daniels fans love, while also breaking new ground. In this book, Kate’s […]
Introduction: A Year of Contradictions This last year was quite a ride. Without doubt, 2016 was one of the most dynamic years of my life, both in terms of personal development and world events. When I look back on it years from now, I expect to experience feelings of deep ambivalence. This was the year […]
I’m one of those people who thinks Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the apotheosis of English literature. I’ve never encountered another text that can move me so profoundly, entertain me so thoroughly, or describe the human condition with commensurate depth and clarity. I consider Hamlet to be a once-in-a-civilization––perhaps even a once-in-a-species––creation. So, in one way, I am the perfect […]
Months ago, my decision to purchase this book was an act of intellectual calculation. I’d heard an excellent recommendation on a podcast, and believed dipping into the mind of Adrienne Rich would be edifying. In the wake of the recent election, however, I grabbed this collection of essays off my bookshelf in an act of […]
Evan Osnos’s Age of Ambition is packed with detailed observations and curious facts that will edify anyone looking to learn about modern China’s domestic structure and growing role on the international stage. Osnos is a talented writer whose style can be described as “humanist nonfiction”––a series of interview-based narratives organized by theme and supported by ancillary research. […]
Two-thirds of the way through, I was all set to give Magic Slays a lukewarm review. I felt like I was reading the inevitable slump in Kate Daniels’s story––the one where her clever mouth, kick-ass fighting moves, and romantic difficulties all start to feel more enervating than exciting. And while there is an element of routine in […]
Even if we won’t admit it, I think most people spend quite a lot of time thinking about sexual norms––what they are, where they come from, and to what extent each of us either conforms to or subverts them. Jesse Bering’s Perv invites the reader on a lively journey through historical and current perspectives on what […]
Poor Kate Daniels! She can’t even enjoy a fried chicken wing or a cup of coffee without some hellraising demon or malevolent god showing up to ruin her day. If Magic Bites is the lure for this series, Magic Burns is most certainly the hook. Ilona Andrews’s characters continue to entice and impress with a level […]
Reading Mathew A. Foust’s Loyalty to Loyalty was a special treat for me. Foust was the graduate teaching fellow who led my discussion section for Mark Johnson’s Philosophy 101 lecture course during my first term at the University of Oregon. It is no understatement to say that Foust changed my life; after just a few weeks, he encouraged […]
I read Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote more out of obligation than inspiration. For people who care about the history and possible futures of the novel, Don Quixote is impossible to ignore. So, aided by the encouragement of a close friend and Edith Grossman’s deft translation, I set out with Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on a journey so […]