Run Spot Run

12/04/2020

Finding yourself is hard. Accepting that person can be even harder. That’s what Vetty Lakes attempts in All the Invisible Things by Orlagh Collins.

The characters are interesting and complex and real, but there was a smidge too much introspection at times. Discover why I gave All the Invisible Things four stars in my full book review at http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/all-the-invisible-things-by-orlagh-collins/

14/01/2020

We’ve got a new book review on OLIVE, AGAIN, Elizabeth Strout’s sequel to her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel OLIVE KITTERIDGE (). While OLIVE, AGAIN does land as a bit of a re-hash of Strout’s most successful book and characters, it’s still a terrific read. A humbling network of inter-connected short stories, each full of small-town charm. Check out http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/olive-again-by-elizabeth-strout/ to read more!

08/01/2020

My review of The Wickerlight by Mary Watson is up on Run Spot Run!⁠
⁠
This fantasy, murder mystery, and romance follows Zara as she desperately seeks answers to her sister’s death and final days and David as he searches for his role in a magical society. It is a story told in layers; find out how and why I gave The Wickerlight 4 stars at⁠ http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/ya/the-wickerlight-by-mary-watson/⁠

21/12/2019

The latest Run Spot Run book review is ready. Find out what thought of Fear of Description by Daniel Poppick – a collection that will make you think.

Here’s are her thoughts http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/fear-of-description-by-daniel-poppick/

What did you think of Daniel Poppick‘s collection?

09/12/2019

We’ve got a new book review on THE PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES (). A horizon-expanding collection of forty masterful stories from a surprisingly under-translated region. Compiled by Italian scholar and fiction writer Jhumpa Lahiri, who also provides some translations of her own. Check out our full review at http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/penguin-book-italian-stories/

18/11/2019

While on spring break during his senior year, Aiden is just looking for a hookup to kill time and soothe wounds from his past, but when he wakes up next to a dead lover, his life changes forever.

Learn why I gave action-packed, young adult novel by Derek Millman 3 stars at Run Spot Run book reviews. http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/ya/swipe-right-for-murder-by-derek-milman/

06/11/2019

We’ve got a new book review on Jenny Slate’s LITTLE WEIRDS, out today from Little, Brown. Presented as a collection of quirky little stories, Slate’s LITTLE WEIRDS builds into a powerful manifesto for wayward adulthood. It’s a beautifully written, introspective search for meaning, and very much recommended. Check out our full review at: http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/little-weirds-by-jenny-slate/

15/10/2019

We’ve got a new book review on Ben Lerner’s THE TOPEKA SCHOOL (). A complicated book that attempts to explore the toxic masculinity of today’s social and political discourse by looking back to middle-America in the late 1990s. An ambitious endeavor, but Lerner ultimately tries to do too much with his novel. Check out http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/the-topeka-school-by-ben-lerner/ to read more!

10/10/2019

The Nobel Prize for Literature has been announced! Due to some internal complications last year’s prize was delayed, but Polish author Olga Tokarczuk has been awarded the 2018 prize and Austrian author Peter Handke has been awarded the 2019 prize. Handke is a controversial pick for his personal politics, and we did not enjoy his recently translated book The Moravian Night — you can read our review here: http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/moravian-night-peter-handke/

09/10/2019

Creepy carnivals, gender-bending teenagers, outsider art: Rarely does a novel tick as many of my boxes as does Curious Toys by Elizabeth Hand. What a delicious little thriller! Read the 4-star review now: http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/curious-toys-by-elizabeth-hand/

02/10/2019

We’ve got a new book review on Chris Ware’s excellent RUSTY BROWN (). This is part one of a two-part masterpiece about Rusty Brown, a superhero-loving, redheaded third grader. This volume dives into the lives of his father, teacher, and a bully from school. We’ve also posted an older review on Ware’s 2012 BUILDING STORIES that you might like as well. Check out http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/rusty-brown-by-chris-ware/ to read more!

24/09/2019

We’ve got a new book review live on Amitav Ghosh’s GUN ISLAND. Fans waiting for a new adventure along the lines of Ghosh’s outstanding Ibis Trilogy may be disappointed; this one aims instead to teach lessons about climate change. Check out http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/gun-island-by-amitav-ghosh/ to read more!

23/09/2019

Run Spot Run's latest young adult book review is up!

Sea Witch Rising is the sequel to Sarah Henning’s fabulous Sea Witch. This time two mermaids seek to become human, and the sea king is irate when Evie, the sea witch, helps them do so. As humans battle on land and sea, the sea king declares a war of his own. Now Evie and mermaid Runa must work together to restore the balance of magic before both worlds are torn apart.

Learn why I gave the novel 4 stars at http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/sea-witch-rising-by-sarah-henning/

23/05/2019

Karen Russell's wonderfully strange stories embrace themes from seemingly-partisan genres. ORANGE WORLD contains monsters and spirits whose presence doesn't overshadow the storytelling in what is Russell's best collection to date. Our review here:

The eight strange stories of Orange World read like a fresh take on arcane magic, a welcome revival of dormant literary divinities.

22/05/2019

In Charlie Jane Anders' imaginative science fiction novel The City in the Middle of the Night, three young women struggle to survive in a crumbling society built on a planet split between light and darkness. Our review here:

Anders, called "this generation's Le Guin," transports readers to the tidally locked world of January, where one half is always day and the other night.

09/04/2019

In UNDER RED SKIES () second child Karoline Kan recounts her late-1980s origin story during China’s one child policy. Her life narrative comprises an informative gut check about the country’s current cultural zeitgeist:

Review of Chinese Millennial Karoline Kan's Memoir "Under Red Skies," about three generations of life, loss and hope in China.

04/04/2019

W. K. Stratton has done a remarkable amount of research in capturing the backstory and the context in which the seminal 1968 cowboy movie THE WILD BUNCH was made and the public acclaim and opprobrium that followed ():

Stratton has captured the story and the context in which Peckinpah's masterpiece was brought to fruition, along with the critical reception that followed.

02/04/2019

Amit Chaudhuri's FRIEND OF MY YOUTH (), full of subtle ideas and bold decisions, upends the traditional homecoming tale and walks a fine line between novel and memoir:

Meta-narrated by a character named Amit Chaudhuri, this short work tracks a begrudging return to Bombay to participate in a handful of literary events.