On Monday, the 170th anniversary of the birth of benefactor Joseph Pulitzer, the 2017 winners of the Pulitzer Prizes were announced. Established 100 years ago in 1917, winning a Pulitzer Prize still stands as one of the most coveted honors for those in journalism and the arts. While 14 of the 21 Pulitzer categories covered [….]
Gimbling in the Wabe – My Own Wanderings Through M. T. Anderson’s “Symphony for the City of the Dead”
Published on :NOTE: This is written as if it were being told to an acquaintance, say, someone that I saw regularly at the off-leash dog park. It contains some admissions that are potentially embarrassing, and many very indulgent yet salient musings, ones that feel incumbent on me to express, for whatever reason. It is not really a [….]
Gimbling in the Wabe – Clarity
Published on :Today, I plugged new headphones into my iPod and entered nirvana. That may seem somewhat dramatic, but trust me, it’s not. I had been limping along in headphone purgatory for months. One side worked, the other didn’t. I could hear the music, and most of the melody and generally all of the lyrics, so they [….]
Gimbling in the Wabe – Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest
Published on :I suppose it could be portrayed as being somewhat spurious – a pale, doughy woman on the far side of middle age sitting in her living room, tears occasionally spilling down her face, listening to Prince’s “Purple Rain” through the earbuds plugged in to her laptop so she could turn the volume up without disturbing [….]
LitStack Review: ‘Shotgun Lovesongs’ by Nickolas Butler
Published on :Shotgun Lovesongs Nickolas Butler Thomas Dunne Books Release Date: March 11, 2014 ISBN 978-1-250-03981-1 It’s rare when you read a book set in the rural heartland, and the characters feel grounded and real – not quirky or bizarre or bruised or brutal – just an ordinary sort of real. It almost seems that there’s a [….]
LitStack Review: Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
Published on :Some Kind of Fairy Tale Graham Joyce Doubleday/Anchor Publication Date: July 2, 2013 ISBN: 978-0-385-53578-6 Yet another World Fantasy Awards – Best Novel nominee, and yet another wonderful story. Many, many folk tales, fireside stories, elder manuscripts and vestiges of ancient lore tell of the abduction of (usually) fair young maidens by the fey, by [….]
Gimbling in the Wabe – Clarity
Published on :Today, I plugged new headphones into my iPod and entered nirvana. That may seem somewhat dramatic, but trust me, it’s not. I had been limping along in headphone purgatory for months. One side worked, the other didn’t. I could hear the music, and most of the melody and generally all of the lyrics, so they [….]
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Published on :Ordinary Grace William Kent Krueger Atria Books Publication Date: March 26, 2013 ISBN 978-1-4516-4582-8 I have a confession to make. I had ulterior motives when reading William Kent Krueger‘s novel, Ordinary Grace. I felt compelled to read this book, and share it if it bore out being as good as I assumed it would be. [….]
Gimbling in the Wabe – Will and Me
Published on :My kids owe their lives to William Shakespeare. No, really, they do. But let me back up a bit. I’m not sure when I first became aware of William Shakespeare. No doubt I read a play or two in high school – “Romeo and Juliet”, probably, maybe “King Lear” or “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – [….]
LitStack Review: Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay
Published on :Sight Reading Daphne Kalotay Harper Collins First Edition: May 21, 2013 ISBN 978-0-06-224693-6 Sight reading occurs when a musician is asked to perform a piece of music off a written score without ever having seen it before; without rehearsal. Often used as a test for musical acuity, students hope to muddle through without making too [….]