Uncategorized – Ring Reads

‘Threads’ Uses Rugs to Step Back in Time

The rug in my dining room was mass produced and bought at a discount store. It’s a purely utilitarian object that I bought and put in my house to keep my dog from slipping on the fake hardwood while he recovered from a sports industry. If the cat barfs on it, fine. If food spillsContinue reading “‘Threads’ Uses Rugs to Step Back in Time”

‘Rednecks’ A Timely Historical Fic but Lacks Nuance

Cover of Taylor Brown's Rednecks, featuring a vista of West Virginia woods and mountains with a hole torn in the middle. Through the hole, we can see the paisley print of a red bandana.

Brown’s heroes are always good, while the villains are always villainous. This lack of nuance is a missed opportunity to tell a story more relevant for our current moment.

The Ordinary Dazzles in ‘Blue Sky’

The cover of Blue Sky Through the Window of a Moving Car, which features the title and author on a backdrop of, well, a blue sky marred only by a few powerlines and a bit of green tree.

Blue Sky is a reminder that there are hundreds of ordinary, magical moments that happen all around us all the time, and instead of being overwhelming like…(gestures vaguely), it’s really kind of remarkable. And it is, it really is.

‘Siege’ Pits Pacifism Against Realities of War

Siege is a good read, a compelling read, but it’s not an easy read. Mohamed’s lyrical prose makes the events beautiful, but intentionally doesn’t blunt them.