Author: sbhowell
-
Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Shortcomings is a graphic novel about cranky 30-something Japanese-American man (Ben) whose relationship with an idealistic 30-something Japanese-American woman (Miko) is strained by his constant negativity and his undeniable interest in white women.
-
The Invention of Solitude by Paul Auster
Rating: 4/5, good The back cover of The Invention of Solitude by Paul Auster reads (at least the 2007 Penguin edition of the book first released in 1982): “’One day there is life… and then, suddenly, it happens there is death.’ So begins The Invention of Solitude, Paul Auster’s moving and personal meditation on fatherhood.…
-
“Hybrid Rainbow” by The Pillows English Translation
A nearly sunken seeming deserted island Not marked on any globe, without even a name Yesterday the ship of our hopes drew close, but It didn’t come to greet us. Looking longingly at the sun, we got slightly burned Holding up a prism to the sky, my hands wavered Can you feel? Can you feel…
-
Comparing Howard Sachar and Rashid Khalidi’s Accounts of Ariel Sharon’s 2000 Visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif
From Howard Sachar’s A History of Israel: “Ariel Sharon Takes a Walk Its vortex was Jerusalem, traditionally the most explosive ingredient in the Palestinian-Israeli impasse; and its catalyst was Ariel Sharon, the perennial loose cannon of Israeli politics. A year earlier, following Netanyahu’s electoral defeat, the Likud party had overwhelmingly selected Sharon as its new…
-
As Long as I’m Still Breathing: Becoming a Transgender Orthodox Jew by Avraham Kolenski
As Long as I’m Still Breathing is a 75-page memoir broken up into seven chapters of first-person past-tense prose and free verse poetry. It delves into Avraham’s struggles with depression and how transitioning to male and converting to Judaism helped give him the strength to stay alive. It tells the story of how he converted…
-
The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy
Ella has a bit of sexual philosophy: she says, “you should only sleep with people you’ll always love or people you’ll never love.”
-
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Rating: 4/5, good I first read this book when I was seventeen, as part of summer reading before senior year of high school. It’s a short book, but very dense and philosophical. It was a bit hard to read and I remember not quite getting it, but the idea that religion is human-constructed and shouldn’t…
-
Lost Minds, Wandering Souls 4 by George Adamczyk
Rating: 4/5, good I really enjoyed this book! It’s comprised of four short horror stories with plenty of blood, guts, and chaos. In the first one, “Emma”, a group of “party girls” get terrorized by a haunted virtual assistant. In the second, “A Grave Situation”, an abusive executive is dogged by undead unfortunates he took…