In Security Through Absurdity, Book One: Little Yellow Stickies, author Rachael McIntosh presents a fictionalized account of her harrowing experience working for a defense contractor from 1997 until 2004. The time period was notable for the infamous September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC. “It was a time of technical transition and […]
Native Rhode Islander Heather Rigney puts a fantasy twist on Rhode Island in her debut novel Waking the Merrow There have been surges of popular, old-school monsters lately. Vampires were all the rage thanks to Twilight and zombies became popular due to The Walking Dead, though it should be said that zombies have always been […]
Books to get you through the summer I’m not sure if I’m more amazed that time seems to pass so quickly or if everyone else says the same thing. Maybe the internet takeover has sped up the Earth’s rotation around the sun, but we’re too busy Googling images of otters doing adorable things to notice. […]
I read A Guide for Compassion in Political Power in search of inspiration. I’m not the most political person in the world, but I wasn’t expecting to gain any political knowledge or strategies out of this. Like the back of the book says, politics are more global than just government, and I was hoping to learn […]
Teenagers have always had a sense of invincibility, going on adventures that would make their adult selves squirm. This premise is explored in Scott LeFebvre’s Condemned. In the story, Jason, Jack, Dani and Nathan have the gear to be genuine ghost hunters, and they each have their role: photographer, cameraman, audio and lights. Waiting until […]
Graphic novel released in English Beautiful Darkness, a 2009 graphic novel released in English for the first time this year by Drawn & Quarterly, is a study in contrasts. The book begins as a Disney-esque fairy tale in which the dashing Prince Hector comes to visit the lovely Aurora for tea. Chivalry and romance are […]
On Loving Women is a collection of 10 lesbian coming out stories from artist and animator Diane Obomsawin. Each story is simply titled as in, “Mathilde’s Story” or “Charlotte’s Story,” and told in a very simple set of declarative sentences, such as, “In high school I dated guys because that’s what everybody did,” and, “She […]
Mazzenga creeps readers out with twisted townies, eerie sea creatures, aliens and more in his short story collection, Mad Tales HP Lovecraft has had more of an impact on Rhode Island writers than I realized. It seems like every book or synopsis I read is Lovecraft-esque, tales of macabre with a touch of eccentricity to […]
Pippi Longstocking is a children’s book character every bit as compelling and important as the classic big three girl heroines Dorothy, Wendy and Alice. Though she came almost half a century later, and was originally published in Sweden, the unmannered little girl with the shocking red pigtails and the desire to be a pirate instantly […]
Christmas shopping tends to be a stressful hassle – playing Santa Claus and trying to find just the right gift for a seemingly never-ending list while dealing with the everyday stress of life. For some people, Holiday Spirit cancels out the holiday stressors, making gift buying an enjoyable experience, topped off by seeing the gratitude […]