Why Literary Fiction Matters (?)

I recently participated in a discussion on a Goodreads forum re: ‘the future of reading’, or where literature is headed, yadda yadda. It was prompted by an article that appeared, Continue reading →

Get Thee To Taiwan

I’m really missing Taiwan right now. There’s a chance this could be because I’m currently looking out a window at a completely snow-smothered landscape and a thermometer reading -24 celsius, but I Continue reading →

Everything You’ve Ever Known – Brought to You by Shiny

If you really stop to think about the world (which most people tend not to do on a regular basis), you might realize that the way every single place on Continue reading →

Bringing Iran To The West: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi was born in Rasht, Iran in 1969 and grew up in Tehran. She witnessed first hand the events of the 1979 Revolution and the war with Iraq (1980 Continue reading →

Fuck Culture; Study Philosophy

(For the purposes of this post I mean ‘culture’ to refer to a people’s traditions and everyday activities, not ‘culture’ in the sense of the Arts). I’m sick of the Continue reading →

Indie Lit. Fic. Review – ‘Robin’s Blue’ by Pam Alster

DNF Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk I tried – just couldn’t do it. As most people are probably aware, women dominate the literary market – the estimates I always see Continue reading →

My Odyssey Through The Iliad (and The Odyssey) – Pt. II

Part I For all its reputation as ‘the greatest adventure story ever written,’ The Odyssey is lacking one very expected and vital component: adventure.  I don’t quite understand how it Continue reading →

Understanding ‘Evil’

A lot has already been said about the horrible shooting spree that happened last week in Newtown, CT, but one thing I’ve found interesting so far is that what is Continue reading →

Chisinau: Lasting Impressions

So – the second major literary-research trip of my life is done and dusted, though of course, at a month, it was much shorter than my first one (3 1/2 Continue reading →

Indie Lit. Fic. Review – ‘A Storm Hits Valparaiso’ by David Gaughran

4 out of 5 stars Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca Overall, this is a very entertaining, smooth flowing, ambitious and eminently readable work of historical fiction. Gaughran takes us inside the Continue reading →

Awash in a World of Whimsy

‘Common’ Culture vs. ‘High’ Culture Through the Ages and How the Internet May Actually Be Shifting the Balance This is going to be another post begun with a vague idea Continue reading →

Indie Lit. Fic. Review – ‘Thrift’ by Phil Church

Along with occasionally posting reviews here and there of whatever books entice me to do so, I’m also going to be occasionally reviewing literary fiction written by independent authors. Why Continue reading →