On Being Human Redux is an essay series that looks at serial killers, clones, the Culture series, a Beckett play, bunnies in Beatrix Potter and Richard Adams, and adroids. Continue reading On Being Human Redux: Further looks at books and movies that examine the question of humanity
“. . . with modern permutations of American fun, American Fun: Four Centuries of Joyous Revolt offers a history that is about fun and is fun to read. It illuminates the very American tradition of stickin’ it to the man, dancin’ in the street, and havin’ a blast.” Continue reading American Fun, by John Beckman @ NYJB
This week Karl Wolff reviews, “The Compostela Cube,” by Paul Cavilla, in which a relic hunter and an artifact historian team up to find a magical object that will save the world. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: The Compostela Cube, by Paul Cavilla
Over at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, Sloughing Off the Rot received my pick for Best Bizarro Literature Book for 2013. I talk with the author, Reverend Lance Carbuncle, about the book’s inspiration, his work schedule, and blumpkins. Seriously, what’s with those things? Continue reading The Lance Carbuncle Interview
Over at the New York Journal of Books, I reviewed Arik: The Life of Ariel Sharon, where I state that, “Sharon lived a life saturated with controversy. Mr. Landau’s biography paints a comprehensive picture of Ariel Sharon, a man easy to hate, but harder to understand.” Continue reading Arik: The Life of Ariel Sharon, by David Landau @ NYJB
Gunmages, Nazi mind readers, sovereign debt, democracy versus authoritarianism … all that in more in Karl Wolff’s picks for the 2013 Year in Books. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: The Year in Books, My Personal Picks
In my latest installment of the NSFW Files, I discuss The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek, a relentless attack on the human species by the controversial Austrian Nobel Laureate. Continue reading The NSFW Files: The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek
I celebrate Black Friday by reviewing A Giant Cow-tipping by Savages, by John Weir Close, in which Close explores the wild world of mergers and acquisitions in the coke-fueled 80s. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: A Giant Cow-tipping by Savages, by John Weir Close
At the New York Journal of Books I review The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present, by David Runciman, a challenging, confounding, but ultimately rewarding political analysis democracy’s ability to weather crises and occasionally get blindsided by the next crisis. Continue reading The Confidence Trap, by David Runciman @ NYJB
This week Karl Wolff continues his essay series, The NSFW Files, with “Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle,” by Vladimir Nabokov, an erotic tale of incest set in an alternate historical timeline. Continue reading The NSFW Files: Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle, by Vladimir Nabokov
The Driftless Area Review 