Neighbors and Other Stories
Though the book is new, the stories are classics. Oliver’s prose is crisp and stark as she takes the reader into the realities of Black life under Jim Crow.
S. Hargrave
S. Hargrave is a Canadian writer and the book reviewer at Old Paper & Cats. Hargrave has a love of rare, antiquarian, and classic literature, works in translation, and cats.
The Harlem Book of the Dead
It’s a beautiful testament to the love and care that went into caring for the dead, as well as the images that survivors carried with them after the funeral was done.
Vegas
I think it’s a pretty common experience to have a dark season. I can remember how lost I felt in my mid-twenties, when school was over and everyone started to ask me what was next.
The Art of Asking Your Boss for a Raise
It takes a lot to take tragedy and not only write about it but also to transcend it and attack life with gusto and literature with joie de vivre.
Paris Vagabond
Clébert doesn’t shy away from any part of his experiences, no matter how ugly, but he also paints a portrait of community and belonging among those that traditionally do not belong.
The Restraint of Beasts
Comedic novels aren’t exactly plentiful in my stacks, but I do turn to them, especially in bleak times and on bleak days. A gloomy January thaw is the perfect time to enjoy one and so I dug one out of my read stacks that I have been meaning to review for a while.
Sylvia
Lenoard Michaels’ novel/memoir Sylvia is basically a book about a terrible relationship. Michaels meets and then rapidly marries Sylvia in front of the backdrop of 1960s Manhattan.
A Book for Christmas
Looking for a gift for some late Christmas party or gift exchange? Well, this little edition of Christmas stories from 1909 Nobel Prize Winner Selma Lagerlöf definitely fits the bill.
Secrets in the Snow
I’m emphasizing the ghost stories, because even the crime stories in this collection mostly have a ghostly bent. I happen to prefer this, especially in a holiday collection.
Moominland Midwinter
The book brings the reader the feeling of looking out on that first snowfall, when the world feels sparkling, new, and full of beautiful, cold days to come.