Blog Update January 2026
On this cold, windy, and otherwise miserable day, it’s time for a blog update. Continue reading Blog Update January 2026
Tag: non-fiction
Espresso Shots: A Silent Treatment: a memoir, by Jeannie Vanasco
A Silent Treatment is a fascinating literary object. It is both a highly-charged personal memoir. It is also an interesting exploration on the mechanics of how a memoir is written. Continue reading Espresso Shots: A Silent Treatment: a memoir, by Jeannie Vanasco
Espresso Shots: We Should All Be Birds: A Memoir, by Brian Buckbee with Carol Ann Fitzgerald
Pain becomes a transformative agent in We Should All Be Birds. Continue reading Espresso Shots: We Should All Be Birds: A Memoir, by Brian Buckbee with Carol Ann Fitzgerald
Espresso Shots: Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange, by Katie Goh
Koh has written an engaging personal history of a mundane supermarket staple. Continue reading Espresso Shots: Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange, by Katie Goh
The Franklin Stove: an Uninitended American Revolution, by Joyce E. Chaplin @ NYJB
The Franklin Stove “offers a multifaceted history of Franklin’s invention. Equal parts biography, design history, and environmental history, the book proves its worth by being highly relevant to today’s climate crisis.” Continue reading The Franklin Stove: an Uninitended American Revolution, by Joyce E. Chaplin @ NYJB
Espresso Shots: Hypochondria, by Will Rees
Hypochondria by Will Rees is his attempt to chronicle his condition and an exploration of the phenomenon known as hypochondria. Continue reading Espresso Shots: Hypochondria, by Will Rees
CRITICAL APPRAISALS: RADICAL VOICES: CASCELLA, ROBERTSON, BROSSARD
Avant Desire is an anthology of fiction and non-fiction by and about Nicole Brossard. Brossard is an out lesbian, political radical, and creator of various literary experiments. Continue reading CRITICAL APPRAISALS: RADICAL VOICES: CASCELLA, ROBERTSON, BROSSARD
Critic’s Notebook: Casanova, a ballet by Kenneth Tindall
Micro-review of Midjourney: “It produces art like Thomas Kinkade on Ambien.” Continue reading Critic’s Notebook: Casanova, a ballet by Kenneth Tindall
Commonplace Book: George Orwell on Patriotism and Nationalism
“Nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception.” Continue reading Commonplace Book: George Orwell on Patriotism and Nationalism
History Fridays: Russia at War, 1941 – 1945: A History, by Alexander Werth
Russia at War by Alexander Werth is a heart-rending epic about the Great Patriotic War, a chronicle of a tragic cataclysm. Continue reading History Fridays: Russia at War, 1941 – 1945: A History, by Alexander Werth
The Driftless Area Review 