year in [re]view

Amazingly, it's been about a month shy of a year since my last post. Between completing half of a master's program, the regular 9 to 5, and hustling to build the most bad ass CV possible in time for PhD application season, I've got a couple of excuses to hopefully justify being AWOL for so long. But first things first: The books. The glorious books...


After plowing through Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars, I kept plugging right along—leaving me now delinquent by ~65 reviews! Now accepting bets to see how long it'll take me to catch up...

Bright Before Us
Katie Arnold-Ratliff


Got myself a signed copy of this little beauty through Powell's Indiespensible program, and once again, my favorite independent bookseller did not disappoint.

overdue book review(s)

You may or may not have noticed that things have been awfully quiet around here at isn't it pretty to think so? Chalk it up to a series of 3am nights churning out a labor of love (...that may have come out wrong). At any rate! I've been reading about as much as ever, just terribly lax with posting reviews. So let's play a round of catch-up, shall we?

No, David!

David Shannon

My boyfriend's mom gave him this for his birthday, so of course I gave it a read. The concept is pretty self-explanatory after a glance at the cover: David does something he's not supposed to; David's mom says, "No!" It's a cute little book with some good laughs to be had, but the best part is the art. Shannon's illustrations have a definite whimsy, but of a sort not typically found in children's books (at least in my experience). And the colors are absolutely fantastic. Highly recommended for anyone with children (your inner child counts).

shameless self promotion

It's a long time overdue, but my baby Leonard has finally made his debut! After much thought and consideration, the working title stayed, and Leonard & the Telescopic Trachea is officially in print.

player 2 has joined the game

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter

Tom Bissell

Full disclosure: I am not—nor have I ever been—a gamer. That being said, I have friends in the industry, so despite the fact that I do not own a console of any kind, video games are incredibly close to my heart. And Tom Bissell delivers the goods. 

death by legume

Welcome back, dear readers (all three of you)! Don't let the lack of recent posts fool you: I've been reading up a storm, just haven't had additional downtime to blog about it. So now, I diligently set fingertips to keyboard to fill you in on the latest books to take their leave of my "to-read" shelf.

Mr. Peanut
Adam Ross

Every so often, a novel comes along that's a complete game changer, surpassing your expectations and taking you to places you'd never have dreamed of (or had at least forgotten existed), and as you turn the final page of the story to find blank space and the back cover on the other side, all you can do is release a breathless, blissful "wow."


This is one of those novels.

used // in well-loved condition

The Late American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books
edited by Jeff Martin & C. Max Magee


A new month, a new review. This was an impulse buy off the "employee recommendations" display at my local Barnes & Noble while killing time before seeing "Thor" in 3D. One look at the cover art, and I couldn't very well not buy it. Throw in the fact that I've been kicking around the idea of doing my thesis on reading as tactile experience and the fetishization of print, and it's fairly obvious that this particular book was tailor-made for me.


Happily, it did not disappoint.

i'm cool. i have tattoos.

A Heap of Broken Thoughts
Sean Pearson


Just shy of two years ago, one of my best and oldest friends informed me that he was looking at self-publishing a collection of short stories, poetry, and miscellaneous odds and ends that he'd written throughout the years and asked if I'd write some copy to put on the back cover. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I happily accepted. But although I'd read most of the book's contents, I hadn't actually read the book itself.

Which, as you might imagine, made things a little complicated.

so many books, vol. 2

Yesterday, I threw down some book recommendations. Today, you get the rest! So sit back, relax, and try to steer clear of your plastic, cos nearly all of these are worth owning.