June 2012

"It's not the path that matters—it's what the walker makes of it." In an age obsessed with speed and technology, walking on foot becomes an act of rebellion. A break from a world built for brevity and automation. Le Breton explores this deliberate slowness...

Here's what caught my eye in the paperback section this month. Top pick: Steel by Silvia Avallone (Liana Levi Piccolo)—Tuscany from the working-class side, following two teenage girls with dreams bigger than their shitty circumstances. Last Night at...

Tokyo, 1945. Germany's about to sign the armistice with the Allies, but Japan digs in, convinced of victory. Tokyo's bombed to hell, living alert to alert. Shinsuke Yamanaka, a lantern maker, navigates this burning city. Inoué crafts a story of...

Every morning, Faïza takes the bus to work. Like every Cairo bus, the 678 is packed tight. Men use the crowd as cover—groping, pressing, assaulting. She dresses in layers, wears a headscarf. Doesn't matter. Every day, the same violation. Then...

I'll be honest: this book wasn't what I expected. Saw it floating around blogs when it came out but never paid attention to what it was actually about. The title hooked me eventually. Theroux delivers something completely different from what I'd...

Los Angeles, 1950s. Lewis Archer works as a private detective. Starts with something almost ordinary. Maude Slocum intercepts an anonymous letter to her husband—accuses him of adultery. She wants to know who sent it, and whether there's truth to...

1965, New Pezance Island off New England. Sam and Suzy are twelve. He's at scout camp, she lives with an eccentric family. Both are loners, friendless, labeled as psychologically troubled. They plan an escape together. Anderson crafts his most tender...

American writer Bill Bryson lived in England for twenty-five years. When he moves back to the States, settles in a small New Hampshire town, discovers by accident that one of America's most famous hiking trails runs near his house. The Appalachian...