Varieties of Artistic Experience: Three Swiss Exhibition Catalogs: Marisol, Helen Frankenthaler, Swiss Art Brut

Hirmer | Deutscher Kuntsverlag | 5 Continents Review by David Starkey It was a hot summer in Switzerland this year, as it was almost everywhere on our beleaguered planet Earth,…

Judd Apatow, Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories and Pictures | Cameron Crowe, The Uncool: A Memoir

Random House | Avid Reader Review by George Yatchisin It would be impossible to write the story of late 20th century-early 21st century pop culture without considering the work of…

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Random House Review by Walter Cummins The title captures the central concern of Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, which addresses with depth and complexity what a community of individuals is willing…

The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore

Liveright Review by Walter Cummins In her latest book, Jill Lepore presents her analysis of how we have reached the creation of the Artificial State where machines set the guidelines…

Endless Endings: The Many Forms of Death and What They Teach Us About Life by Ricard Solé, trans. by Eduardo Aparicio 

Princeton Review by Walter Cummins Endless Endings brings to mind lines from Hotspur’s dying speech in Henry IV, Part 1: “And time, that takes a survey of all the world, …

Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti, trans. by Clèmence Aubert

Espresso French Classics Review by Linda Lappin In 1890, the American writer Lafcadio Hearn stepped off a ship in Yokohama, ready to begin a new life in Japan as a…

Harper Perennial’s 2026 Olive Editions

Harper Perennial Review by David Starkey Olive Editions is an annual series of small-format publications of eight of top science fiction and fantasy titles on Harper Perennial’s list. For mass…

Almost Grown: A New York Memoir by Jesse Malin

Akashic Review by David Starkey As someone who has been listening to rock and roll radio almost as long as he was old enough to switch it on, and who…

Wounded Boarders: Stories by George Singleton

Dzanc Review by David Starkey I knew George Singleton for a couple of years back in the early nineties. We were both untenured instructors at a small state university in…

Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old by Mary Beard

Chicago Review by David Starkey If you thought the Greek and Roman classics were stuffy but serious and timeless guides to the Good, the Beautiful, and the Wise, Mary Beard…