Today, I decided to give up on reading Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates. The book is over 700 pages and I’ve hit a wall at page 490. I feel there’s no sense in finishing. Here’s why: Fact or Fiction Blonde tells the story of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Only it doesn’t.…
Review of “Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here, Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism”, by Karima Bennoune. I started reading this book a few years ago and while I find it to be an important and well-researched account of Muslim-led efforts throughout the world to combat Islamic extremism,…
Whenever I visit France or Quebec, I make it a point to visit as many bookstores as I can squeeze into my packed travel itinerary. Compared to the United States, the brick-and-mortar bookselling business is still thriving in France. The French people are not only buying books, they’re selling their books…
I recently read Suite Française, a poignant novel by Irene Némirovsky that would have remained hidden from history were it not for the courageous actions of her daughter, Denise Epstein. In 2004, sixty-two years after Némirovsky’s death in Auschwitz, Suite Française appeared in French libraries for the first time. It…
Kobane Calling, a new graphic novel by Italian cartoonist, Zerocalcare, provides a riveting account of the author’s humanitarian trips into war-torn Syria. Enlightening as well as entertaining, the book is fascinating on many levels and well worth your time and/or money. Originally written in Italian, a French version appeared last…
