The Flail Building is scheduled to be torn down in three months. Preservationists are still circulating petitions to save it, because the building is a minor work by a major architect.
Continue reading
Year: 2015
BOOK REVIEW: On the Edges of Vision by Helen McClory
A debut collection that lingers in the curves of your eyes and during the double-blink gazes of late night shadows, Helen McClory has wound tight, unexpected stories in On the Edges of Vision.
Continue reading
Mark Unread
Around one thirty on a Wednesday, @mark_m first wondered if something was wrong with his email account. A quick review of both his inbox and his sent mail folder revealed that not a single one of his outgoing messages had been answered in the past nine days. His response rate for the entire month, he now saw, was one email (“Re: Receipt Number 0047”), which contained one word (“Thanks”) and one exclamation point (“!”).
Continue reading
IF MY BOOK: Julianna Baggott
Welcome to another installment of If My Book, the Monkeybicycle feature in which authors shed light on their recently released books by comparing them to weird things. This week Julianna Baggott writes about her latest novel, Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders, out now from Little, Brown.
Continue reading
Reasons We Left the Homeschoolers’ Girl Scout Troop
Because Mom doesn’t like Cara.
Because Cara wouldn’t let me on the Jellystone trip without “sufficient guardianship.”
Because at first, I was fine with quitting.
Continue reading
BOOK REVIEW: The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
A financial crisis and a government Ponzi scheme have left parts of America in very different stages of collapse in The Heart Goes Last, the latest novel from Margaret Atwood. Out west, things are all right. The northeast has taken a bigger financial hit, and characters Stan and Charmaine have lost their house and are living out of their car and eating stale donuts. Stan keeps the key in the ignition at all times in order to make a quick getaway if the car is assailed by gangs or rapists in the night. The young married couple rightly wishes to escape these circumstances by any means necessary; heading west is out of the question, they believe.
Continue reading
IF MY BOOK: Elise Blackwell
Welcome to another installment of If My Book, the Monkeybicycle feature in which authors shed light on their recently
Continue reading
When Responding to a Craigslist Ad Looking for a Nude Housekeeper
“Looking for an attractive woman to do some light nude cleaning twice a week. Must be between 18 and 25 years of age. Must prove this with ID upon hire. All supplies will be provided. Please reply with a full body photo (preferably in the nude). Compensation will be negotiated.”
Continue reading
BOOK REVIEW: The Way We Weren’t by Jill Talbot
When my wife and I moved to North Carolina from Arkansas, our one-year-old daughter was teething. Our older daughter, four, rode with me, while our screaming younger daughter rode behind us in my wife’s car. I was driving a Ryder truck, pulling my car, and by the time I add up these details, whoever is listening is either laughing (men), or wearing a pained, concerned look (women). Some of the men will apologize for laughing—these are the fathers.
Continue reading