Book review: Putin Country, by Anne Garrels (Amazon / Book Depository) "When the meteor hit Chelyabinsk, it blazed across the sky, spewed out its shards, and then sank quietly into a lake. That's what many hoped the breakup of the Soviet Union would be like. It would end with a compliant Russia as benign as the rock... Continue Reading →
Behind-the-Scenes Glimpses into the Mind of David Sedaris
Book review: Theft by Finding, by David Sedaris Book Depository "In order to record your life, you sort of need to live it. Not at your desk, but beyond it. Out in the world where it's so beautiful and complex and painful that sometimes you just need to sit down and write about it." David Sedaris, beloved... Continue Reading →
Appalachia and the American Dream
Book review: Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance (Amazon / Book Depository) Hillbilly Elegy is the memoir of a still-young man looking back at his childhood and his family's migration from impoverished, seemingly hopeless Kentucky to a moderately more hopeful Ohio. But like the old Russian adage that if you try to drink your troubles away,... Continue Reading →