Whether you are a “BookTok” veteran, casual enjoyer of contemporary fiction, or astute literature connoisseur, you have most likely encountered the bad woman trope at some point. Also referred to as the “messy” or “unhinged” woman, this trope has become exponentially popularized in recent years. If you haven’t heard of this trope, let me summarize […]
The One, John MarrsRating: 5 stars.Set in the UK, Marrs’ The One paints a near future where a company called “Match Your DNA” promises to pair you with your genetic soul mate. Those interested send a spit swab over to the company with hopes of being “Matched,” but many find that the price of being […]
On the cusp of adulthood, Baadal and his two friends get into mischief in their Pakistani Town. They egg the house of a suspicious official. They go to the Town cinema (a home where their friend installed a new VCR). They flirt with nearby City girls, who clock their Town-ness in their brown pants. Baadal […]
“Cannabis is the noisiest plant on earth.” This first sentence of the foreword by Joe Dolce in The Science of Weed sets the stage for the topics covered in this landmark book by Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, a professor at Yale University and a director at the Institute of Living in Hartford. Every few years, a […]
The art of book-gifting is easily lost in the haze of frantic last-minute shopping and mass consumption. While books can serve as meaningful, heartfelt gifts, we have all been the theatrically grateful recipient of a book that we have absolutely no intention of reading. In fact, receiving a book that bears no connection to our […]
It starts as not a particularly outlandish night. The sun has escaped behind thick clouds, a few raindrops hit the windows, and the wind moving through the leaves is louder than the cars speeding through the slick streets – just another fleeting summer storm, nothing more, nothing less. Inside Riff Raff, PVD’s only bar-and-bookstore, a […]
Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic. – Oscar Wilde We let our eyes linger on a page. We brush across the strokes of a canvas. We stare out at the sea, an empty plain, the way leaves filter sunlight through the trees — our eyes spend a lifetime processing a wealth […]
Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher: Though I don’t indulge in romance often (except when I need a palette cleanser between heavier books), I couldn’t put down Love Redesigned. Asher’s novel follows Julian Lopez and Dahlia Muñoz, two locals from the small town of Lake Wisteria, who share a complicated past. While their families are close, […]
VICTORIA DALPE: Alone in the woods, some of us find solace. In that solace, some of us find fear – afraid of what lurks in the shadows or what lurks within? Victoria Dalpe is a Rhode Island horror writer. She delves into the complexities of our tortured nature in her book series “Selene Shade: Resurrectionist […]
Stray Love is RI native Stacey Caputi Liakos’ compelling and candid memoir in which she recounts her decade-long relationship with Ray-Ray, a charismatic bad-boy and drug hustler, and wrestles with her realization that life – and the pull of the heart – is not always within her control. In a conversational tone akin to swapping […]