“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo
Behind the Beautiful Forevers has changed the way I look at journalism—changed the very way that I want to tell stories.
“Across the River and Into the Trees” by Ernest Hemingway
This story is really about two relationships in the Colonel’s life: with his 19 year old girlfriend Renata, and with his own past.
“Answers I’ll Accept” edited by Kelly Ann Jacobson
I’m just a fun-loving collection of essays, looking for a reader who enjoys the same.
By the Book
I am the kind of person who likes to do things by the book. At least at first. Tell me the rules, tell me exactly how to do it. Later, I’ll bend or break the rules and make my own way…
“(T)here: Writings on Returnings” edited by Brandi Dawn Henderson
“Nothing seemed quite as important, as terrible, or as beautiful as the country I had just left behind.”
“The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend” by Annabelle Costa
Do you like the idea of The Time Traveler’s Wife as chick lit? Then you’ll love this book.
“The Frangipani Hotel” by Violet Kupersmith
Gabriel Garcia Marquez annoys me. There, I said it. His is the most prominent name in magical realism, and his work had me convinced that I was not a fan of the genre. I inevitably grew weary of what seems like cutesy or convenient inventions put it place to further the narrative or tickle the reader. I want to know if a story is based in the world that I know or if it is fantastical. Go big or go home; don’t settle for ambiguous magical realism, I always thought.
“The Sense of Touch” by Ron Parsons
The Sense of Touch, a collection of short stories by Ron Parsons, examines the lives of Midwesterners—the struggles and compromises, the joy and grief—set against larger-than-life landscapes.
