Mishka Shubaly’s “Beat the Devil” and Amazon Singles
Mishka Shubaly seems to do a bunch of diverse shit. I’d heard him on a podcast a few times before hearing about his whole relationship with Amazon.com as a popular…
Lorrie Moore’s Birds of America
Lorrie Moore is good at writing short stories. This surprises no one, I assume. I had read one or two of her stories in anthologies, but never took the time…
Another Straight White Guy Writer-type in New York featuring Cocaine, or Bright Lights, Big City
Jay McInerney’s 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City has a lot stacked against it. It’s not only a very “New York” story, it’s about a sensitive and artistic yet somehow…
A Wizard of Earthsea, and why books for young people don’t have to be shit
After a few lukewarm readings of her short stories, I hadn't really bothered with Le Guin for a few years, but I'm trying to rectify that. The Lathe of Heaven…