A Russian fairy tale vividly brought to life like an intimate historical fiction, Katherine Arden’s first installment of her Winternight Trilogy, The Bear and the Nightingale appeals to a broad swath of readers. More fairy tale than High Fantasy, Arden doesn’t lean on huge feats of world building or sword clanging adventures. Instead, Bear is … More The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
A book review of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Low-key spoilers ahead. In Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi brings the full force and breadth of a high fantasy adventure novel to Africa. High fantasy – typically described as fiction where action takes place in an invented magical world – is … More Fantasy, but Make it Yoruba
In Columbus, Ohio, there’s an area just north of Downtown called the Short North; once a neighborhood-friendly haven for the arts, it has become synonymous with trend-chasing mediocrity and drunk people named Chad. Among other more nuanced issues, the impossibility of finding parking makes the happiness meters of most who go there half-empty before they … More Bad Waffles at Belgian Iron Wafel Company
I read Marisa de los Santos for the first time when I was a young teenager. The book was You Belong To Me and I have distinctly fond memories of it, but authors you liked in your teens don’t always stand up under the cynical gaze of adulthood. … More I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos
The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle had been popping up on the various screens in my life so I decided to give it a listen. It’s relatively short – only about 6 hours of audio – and was an easy, fast-paced read. Serle’s premise is unique and intriguing, a good introduction into romance for those who … More The Dinner Club by Rebecca Serle
The Seven (and a Half) Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is written as part cautionary tale and part whodunit. Upon reflection, I think the book was organized purposefully: confusing and a bit dense at the beginning, it’s hard for the reader to get a grasp on the story, much like it is hard for the first … More The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
While writing the original blog post – New Orleans: City of Vice [& Virtue] – about our trip to New Orleans in January, 2018, I struggled to condense my thoughts and feelings about the Food. So, I didn’t. Here is a post dedicated entirely to New Orleans Food (and beer). As a crossroads of culinary … More Cajun, Creole, and Dat Dog
Elizabeth Kostova is an author of place. When I read The Historian, which I highly recommend to any fan of history, travel, and a dash of the supernatural, I was besotted with Eastern Europe. Her vivid descriptions of the intersection between East and West in places like Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest and her journey into … More The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
I choose beer, almost always, over any other Adult Drink. Taproom culture is a big part of my infatuation with craft beer and the great variety of quality beverage is the other part. After a year of living in Columbus, Ohio, I’m ready to talk about some of my favorite breweries. Columbus Craft Beer Week is … More Columbus Craft
The Madonnas of Leningrad is a two-fold story from the perspective of Marina, a docent at the State Hermitage Museum and survivor of the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. Debra Dean writes compellingly as both young Marina living through a Russian winter in the museum’s basement and as aging Marina, who can’t remember … More The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
The Ohioan 