Yesterday‘s #bookmail, this collection of #poetry is made up of lyrical verse & prose poems composed at sunrise every day for a year (2009-2010)

Academic but not prohibitively so—Camilletti‘s prose style isn‘t dense though it is rigorous. For any creative this critical exploration of imaginary portraiture is fascinating

from the end of the #poetry collection—a kind of summation. I‘d encourage readers to start with it, the final third, and then go to the beginning. A lyrical but formally difficult collection

Today‘s #bookmail is some stellar literary academic reading

This was the best #poetry collection of 2018 in my judgment. Here‘s a short review I wrote for the Seattle Book Review that was recently published: https://seattlebookreview.com/product/if-they-come-for-us-poems/

I wrote a brief review of Dunstall‘s #scifi novel for Seattle Book Review: https://seattlebookreview.com/product/stars-uncharted/

This was a fun & compelling story without being too over the top as so much hardcore #sciencefiction can be

this #poetry in translation looks quite promising

Today‘s #bookmail are a couple of fascinating #poetry collections from Entre Rios Press

Releasing in early April, I just finished a review of this wonderful #YA dark #fantasy novel. Check it out—https://wp.me/p2171Y-7MB

#youngadult #magic #goth

This novel painted a vivid picture of Manhattan through the 20th century via the stories of its characters—a group of women trying to live their lives independently

My latest book review: http://misanthropester.com/2019/02/28/white-gloves-rob-roys-by-ilona-joy-saari/

“of what makes us who we are not”

Jessica was kind enough to do a brief interview. You should check it out: http://misanthropester.com/2019/02/25/the-pleasant-ambiguity-of-unresolvable-fra...

#poetry

Today‘s #bookmail is a pretty interesting looking literary novel

In every ritual practice there are, eventually, wild frustrations. In this #poem we see how the initial casual rage splinters & then seams back together at the end both thx to the ritual practice #poetry

New #bookmail—another promising looking #poetry collection from Shaindel Beers

A very nuanced & moving #poetry collection—eager to write up a review of this

ignore the rather terrible cover art. This legal #thriller takes on the opioid epidemic & does so in a compelling manner. For a courtroom drama novel, this was engaging and well crafted

Read my full review here: https://misanthropester.com/2019/02/05/law-and-addiction-by-mike-papantonio/

#suspense

the Vultures of Wicked Saints—this Cyrillic flavored (if you will) #fantasy novel pits blood warlocks against clerics & it awesome

I‘m a sucker for a nature or pastoral poem & this was perfect for this morning where the first snow ❄️ had arrived #poetry

This #poetry collection was yesterday‘s #BookMail—hope to have a proper review done soon!

Masterful in its depiction & ability to convey the crushing banality of bureaucracy in a too normalized future—however, ultimately the prose lacks any kind of tension or emotional heft

This is slow going this far & honestly very subdued. I wouldn‘t say this is #speculative fiction, #scifi, or necessarily #literary, but it does possess aspects of all those genres. Waiting for it to heat up...

Unsatisfying. Bulk of the novel attempts to mirror pulp tv drama & does so poorly with far too much purple prose

What began as a strong narrative beginning to wrestle with grief has now turned into a cliche male-fantasy & it's kinda pissing me off

So far this novel is deeply depressing but quite good

Goodreads giveaway win—looking forward to some dark #fantasy

My first #poetry review of 2019: https://heavyfeatherreview.org/2019/01/02/mcclure/

Appropriately grim & panicked, this is my last read of 2018 & it captures the essence of the year #scotus #politics

An accomplished collection of casual lyrics by a well-established poet. However, few of these poems carry any weight or relevance outside of the poet which ultimately makes the #poetry forgettable & unnecessary

A 9/11 novel set ten years after published nearly twenty years after the event wallows in trauma but doesn‘t seem to care about the moral consequences of doing so—well crafted prose that certainly has a flavor readers of #mystery & viewers of procedural tv show will enjoy.

I have to wonder, why write this now? And completely ignore the cultural & political decisions that created the traumas the novel explores?

This #biography is less a survey of Debussy‘s life and more focused on how the great composer developed his style.

Full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/13/debussy-a-painter-in-sound-by-stephen-wals...

10 short stories that are a kind of #magicalrealism but manage to feel more genuine, good humored, & realist than a lot of other #fiction

This is a delightful & quirky debut

Full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/15/the-wrong-heaven-by-amy-bonnaffons/

A collection of Scalzi‘s blog posts over the last 20 years. These are #essays are funny & nuanced and fans of the #scifi writer will get a very good sense of the kind of man the author is

Read full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/20/virtue-signaling-other-heresies-by-john-sc...

In the era of #Trump where racism & authoritarianism has become emboldened, this is a necessary read. Systematically assessing and analyzing the varied techniques and tactics used by fascists while showing how politicians can use fascism without being fascist
#politics

Full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/24/how-fascism-works-by-jason-stanley/

An exceptional #novel & arguably one of the #BestOf2018

Full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/26/the-golden-state-by-lydia-kiesling/

For lovers of #movies like Garden State or 500 Days of Summer where manic pixie dream girl saves/inspires a dim-witted sap, then this will satisfy. Those of us who find that trite will discover themselves reading a bad #romance novel that thinks it‘s literary #fiction

At least it‘s brief...

Full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/27/cherry-blossoms-by-kim-hooper/

Quite simply, one of the best books of the year. A #history told in plain language that deepens & extends not just our knowledge of the past but also of contemporary #politics

#nonfiction

Full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/28/the-field-of-blood-by-joanne-freeman/

I didn‘t expect to enjoy this #YA novel as much as I did but Baguchinsky is able to confront weight stigma while telling a teenage tale in a wonderful way.

Read full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/29/jill-baguchinskys-novel-mammoth/

I reviewed this gem of a #poetry collection over at the Seattle Book Review: https://seattlebookreview.com/product/lord-of-the-butterflies/

#Literary #spokenword poetry of quality is rare & Gibson is a master of the form bring intensity and depth to every piece

An epic #fantasy adventure #novel giving readers five complex women with complex relationships & yet there‘s plenty of action and a unique magic system in this Norse influenced world

Read full review: http://misanthropester.com/2018/12/12/daughters-of-the-storm-by-kim-wilkins/

A meditative, personal essay chapbook that‘s subtle & elegant in its impact

Read full review: https://misanthropester.com/2018/12/14/scraps-ashes-a-review-of-maya-sonenbergs-...

#memoir #nonfiction #literary #grief

Dolkart writes some quality #fantasy—great worldbuilding, a fascinating take on religion, & a unique magic system

I just turned in my review of this superb & fun #scifi novel to City Books—you can read the review I wrote on my own site here: http://misanthropester.com/2018/11/17/stars-uncharted-by-s-k-dunstall/

This is a great collection of easily prepared tapas (although some ingredients may require you to get creative with substitutions)—perfect for a get-together party where everyone picks a fish & brings it, which is how I discovered it #food #recipes #cooking

This novel was originally written & published in monthly installments over a year. Reading in one sitting you feel it‘s resonance but I think reading it as published would create a more ruminative experience. Both revel different aspects to this gem of a novella

Won this via Goodreads, eager to dive in

short stories of intolerable people. this prose is lacking import but at its worst is still on the cusp of literary fiction. Still, one has to ask, why this and not nothing? white male cishet fiction is rudderless & lackluster

As a pacifist, this really hit #poetry

A friend of mine whose also currently DM-ing my second ever campaign lent this to me to read b/c he knows I‘m writing a new #dnd story