Mark Stevens's Blog, page 26
January 6, 2019
Marc Levy, “The Last of the Stanfields”
Review of The Last of the Stanfields for the New York Journal of Books. Advertisements
January 1, 2019
2018: Top Books
Highlights from reading in 2018. Order is irrelevant. These are form titles I read last year, not necessarily published in 2018. Fiction 1. Mad Boy by Nick Arvin 2. The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker 3. Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart 4. Golden Havana … Continue reading →
December 29, 2018
Dean Wareham, “Black Postcards”
A 2014 article on Stereogum included this great line about Galaxie 500: “One imagines the walls of the Galaxie 500 rehearsal space lined not with bikini girls with machine guns, but with posters of Buckminster Fuller and Trotsky.” Galaxie 500 … Continue reading →
December 26, 2018
Kayla Rae Whitaker, “The Animators”
The Animators rocks along on the strength and depth of the entirely relatable narrator, Sharon Kisses. Yes. Kisses. It’s a great name for a character who has a hard time getting up close and personal with anyone, who keeps her … Continue reading →
December 18, 2018
Doug Glanville, “The Game From Where I Stand”
Doug Glanville’s The Game From Where I Stand offers a winning combination—a likable narrator and a mountain of colorful details about life off the field and inside the game of baseball. Minor leagues. Opening days. Glove selection. Coaches. Stress. Anxiety. … Continue reading →
December 11, 2018
Q & A #72 – David S. Atkinson, “Roses Are Red, Violets are Stealing Loose Change from my Pockets While I Sleep”
Kirkus Reviews called David S. Atkinson’s latest collection of flash fiction, Roses Are Red, Violets are Stealing Loose Change from my Pockets While I Sleep, “unorthodox” and “irreverent.” (You might have figured that out by the title alone, but just in … Continue reading →
December 10, 2018
Patricia Highsmith & “Normal” Darkness
A piece I wrote for Crime Reads (Dec. 10, 2018) on discovering the novels of Patricia Highsmith and learning to dig the darkness. Includes descriptions of three overlooked Highsmith gems. Well, somewhat overlooked. Here. Advertisements
December 7, 2018
Gary Shteyngart, “Lake Success”
By the time Gary Shteyngart is done with Barry Cohen, he has taken him down, all the way down, from his lofty perch of wealth and prestige. Near the end of his cross-country trip on a Greyhound bus, Barry has … Continue reading →
December 1, 2018
Michael Tackett, “The Baseball Whisperer”
The story of the Clarinda A’s is the story of baseball for baseball’s sake. The Baseball Whisperer: A Small Town Coach Who Shaped Big-League Dreams is the story of the man behind the team, Merl Eberly, and some of the … Continue reading →
November 26, 2018
Deeply Strange
“What is the most deeply strange (in a good way) book you’ve ever read?” That was the precise question posed recently on Twitter by writer Nick Arvin (Mad Boy, Articles of War, The Reconstructionist, In the Electric Eden). Nick received … Continue reading →
