literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "Honeysuckle" by Bar Fridman-Tell. Top Story - July 2026.
I'm not going to lie, I wasn't expecting this book to be so addictive. I read half of it first thing in the morning and spent the rest of the day thinking 'I just want to find out what happens at the end...' whilst also simultaneously not Googling the book because if anyone ruined it for me I would genuinely be out to find them. It's one of those books that I only looked up to reality from because my phone rang. If it didn't ring, I would probably still be sitting there now even though the book is long over. I would just be staring at the wall. Here's why...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Supremacy" by Parmy Olson
I am really embarrassed to say that I have had this book since the paperback came out (that was over a year ago) and again, it got lost in the bottom of piles and then went into a drawer and that's where it stayed until recently. I was literally just rumagging around and found it and it was still in great condition. It's probably a book that is more timely than ever though because it deals with something that we ourselves have had to deal with in our changing world: artificial intelligence. But it's not just about the AI itself, it's about the figures all racing to get to the top of the game. It's about theses pretty awful people, these horrid billionaires who are a ruthlessly evil group of narcissists - each believing that they are the greatest beings in the universe.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The First Day on the Somme" by Martin Middlebrook
There's something about well-researched books that really attracts me to some nonfiction stuff but I have to say, this book seems just completely obsessive. The author takes a look at the horrors of the very first day of the Battle of the Somme. It's a chunky book and so, we can only assume that it's going to be packed with information and story. And as you can imagine we are correct in believing that. There's lots of names in this book and so you probably want to keep track of them somewhere. I would say that if you're not into the Battle of the Somme then you can imagine this book won't be interesting to you - but seriously, who is not interested in that absolute shit show?
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Dickens" by Peter Ackroyd
According to Christopher Hitchens, Peter Ackroyd is one of the best writers of his generation and though I was pretty here and there, if I need any more evidence then this is it. Dickens is one of the most incredible books by Ackroyd that I have ever read. Starting off with a prologue which lets us encounter the death of the author, we are met with a string of events which mixes with his fictions, telling us who he really was and why. If Peter Ackroyd has ever written a great book then after London perhaps, this is it. It is an incredible text I recommend you read if you too, are a Dickens fan.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Rereading Review: "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
I've probably written about this book before and well, here I am reading it again. Why? Well this is another one of the cheap used books I picked up from that book fair I went to (see my review of The London of Dickens for more information on that). One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a book that always struck me as strange. It tells the story of a man in a prison camp in Russia under Stalin. The descriptions are lengthy and graphic and more than often, we get references to violence and mental torture. But the book itself is so short it just feels like if you went back to the beginning, the character pretty much lives this day again and again. I think the shortness of the book therefore is key. It's one day. Repeated into oblivion. The torture is therefore a constant. It never stops.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" by Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski is one of those writers who is growing on me, but this one was a struggle at first. The stories are strange, the writing feels off-putting at times and well, there were moments where I just wanted to give up on the thing. So what did I do? I set the book down and started again a week later, eager to see what I was missing out on. My mental health is not in the best of places even as I write this in May, 2026. I hope that by the time this review is released, it has improved some - I continue to stay hopeful. Reading Bukowski is probably not going to help though, in fact it might make things worse. Here we go...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Background and Context: You guys know how much I love "The Brothers Karamazov" (if you've been around for a number of years, you'll really know). Well, here's another great Dostoevsky classic: Notes from Underground. I've read this book twice in my life but I really feel like I should give it another go. It just seems like I haven't gone deep enough.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The London of Charles Dickens" by London Transport & The Dickens Fellowship
Oh this book was good fun, but let me tell you about where I acquired it to begin with... On the 2nd of May I went to a book fair in Birmingham and well, first of all I met someone else wearing Rocky Horror gear and he owned the stall I spent the most time at. These were books for a few pounds each and some were even down to one pound. You can imagine what happened. I bought very many a book and will be reviewing them here. Consider this the first of many. After leaving I was sure to select an Evelyn Waugh I had picked up (no, Kendall I am not rereading Brideshead Revisited) and yet, this bright pink cover drew me inwards. Charles Dickens and his adventures in London have proven to be interesting to me from possibly my birth and yet, I haven't encountered such a book in my lifetime. It was a very fun read and if you can pick up a copy then I suggest you do as soon as possible. I haven't had that much fun in a long time.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Book of Ebenezer Le Page" by G.B Edwards
I am going to be very honest with you here, I had this book for more than a year before I opened it up. I got it second hand from World of Books (what a great place) and then I left it in the bottom of my drawer, promising myself I'd read it. The issue I had was that whenever I go to a bookshop, or past a bookshop - I must go in and buy a book. The next problem is that Ebenezer Le Page was already at the bottom of my TBR drawer. Eventually it was lost to the bottom of the pile. Cleaning the drawer has proven to be a good idea since it was unearthed during that moment like a lost artefact. And to be honest, it was totally my kind of book. How did I put it off for so long? I can't believe I neglected this classic...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
