literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "Of the Farm" by John Updike
There are a number of things that John Updike is known for but writing shorter fiction is normally not one of them. The Rabbit Series is one of America's most famous pieces of literature of the 20th century and the entire aspect of Updike's fiction and the changing notion of what it means to be 'American' is explored in depth and fantastically within. Recently, I have read Updike's book Licks of Love and I was really quite surprised to see that his shorter fiction is just as good as his longer stuff. John Updike is clearly a man of range and has a strange way of making something that does not seem like a story, a complete narrative. This is what I am getting at when I talk about Of the Farm.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Bad Book Reviews. Top Story - May 2022.
When I am not writing on here, I am reading. When I have finished reading, I write a review of what I've read and publish it. I do this for all books I read and I do it for ARCs through Reedsy Discovery and Book Sirens. I then share my reviews through Amazon, BookBub, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads and my own blog at scuffedgranny.com. From my blog, links to these reviews then subsequently get shared to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Geeks
Sometimes Someone's Gots to Die
Many years ago, an amateur graphologist told a business colleague that I was, based on my signature, a serial killer. When she assured the gentleman that she knew the signer of the document and that I was not, in fact, a serial killer, he responded “He may not have killed yet, but I assure you he will.”
By Donald J. Bingle4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Licks of Love" by John Updike
John Updike is someone who initially I was on the fence about reading. I loved the Rabbit Series, but honestly, I could not see myself getting in to much else by him. He was really a passing subject between discussing people in the modern American literary tradition. Not overly interested, but not really shunning him out either. By my 20s, I had read a couple of books by him, here and there, none of them making a huge impact thought I enjoyed them and so, I return to reading John Updike. I return to reading and re-reading any novels that were not in that damn Rabbit Series. We all know that was good - but what about the others? Well, here is Licks of Love if you are interested. And why wouldn't you be if you've been reading your Updike novels? This book has tons of references to his earlier works in it.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
15 Most Disturbing Children's Books You've Ever Seen
Today we will share the 15 Most Disturbing Children’s Books You’ve Ever Seen. We’re all familiar with the classic children’s books that every child learns to love and cherish in their youth. Many of us are also aware of the disturbing undertones that some well-known books have, but we forget about them as we grow older.
By Muhiuddin Alam4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Vinegar Girl" by Anne Tyler
As you all know, I've been binge reading Anne Tyler novels for quite some time now. I'm reading ones I have not read before and I am even going back to ones that I read some years back and re-reading them. I think I need to get more of a scope on her writing and what kind of writer she is before I start calling her the best of something to do with 20th and 21st century literature. I have so far read quite a few of her books and I still have yet to read her newest one, so nobody tell me what happens please and thank you. Vinegar Girl is one of those books in the Hogarth Shakespeare series and to be honest, I'm surprised that I've pretty much read almost all of them. My favourite still is Howard Jacobson's Shylock is My Name. The book Vinegar Girl though, is based on The Taming of the Shrew. A more modern interpretation that probably is not as good as the famed Heath Ledger classic 10 Things I Hate About You - a film from 1999 based on the same play, but is probably somewhere in the ballpark. It has its faults, which are carefully outweighed against Anne Tyler's amazing writing skill.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Elektra" by Jennifer Saint
Jennifer Saint is a really great author who has written some pretty awesome stuff so far. Her book Ariadne was something that I absolutely adored reading because it told us all the story that I think that we were all waiting to hear - the one that told us exactly what happened to the famed Ariadne who had incredible powers, but in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, is side-lined in favour of the warrior who would take on a great beast of phenomenal strength. In this book, called Elektra - she tells a story that is of similar calibre. The three characters are extremely well-known: Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Elektra. The topic of discussion is the fickle, unlawful and often volatile world of men, gods, war and family. The entire story rests upon a curse that links all of these three women together in a chain of horrid events that will change the very face of the earth.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Postcards from the Edge" by Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher's name is often not synonymous with her contribution to literature but honestly, her writing is amazing. I have read her book The Princess Diarist and I have read a number of her other works. Her writing is not only excellent, but its filled with personality, passion and more than often, a certain tone that really lets you enjoy the book. It is not trying to be anything it is not and the book itself ends up becoming a widely read almost modern classic in the sense that it represents a certain age of Hollywood from the inside whilst retaining cultural value. Many of these 'tell-all' books are, as we know, pretty much full of shit - but Carrie Fisher maintains a brilliant, consistent, readable and often very witty writing style that grabs the reader from beginning to the very last page. This time, I read the book Postcards from the Edge which she later transfered into a screenplay that was made into a film starring Meryl Streep (which was also really entertaining).
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Amateur Marriage" by Anne Tyler
As you know, I'm going through a few binge-reads right now. First we had a big thing about Julian Barnes that came from my 16-year-old self knocking me on the head and telling me I could no longer ignore the 'B' modern fiction section of the library as that was where all his books were. I slowly worked through the ones I had not read yet (and re-read some of the ones I had!). Then I started on Louis de Bernieres, which when I had read Captain Corelli's Mandolin I was barely out of high school, and never picked him up again until now. Mainly because someone mentioned Birds Without Wings to me and I decided to get it read. Next came Amos Oz and that was because whilst at university, I remember him passing away and his last book was Judas, I found it insanely good but never really investigated anything else by him. Recently though, I think I've managed to read quite a bit of his works. Finally, there is Anne Tyler and she is probably one of the most wonderful writers out there today. Having read numerous novels by her, I think it is safe to say that modern literature has been in good hands and still is.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
