Biblioracle: Looking for something weird to read? Our 8 suggestions
Because I want to make sure that the person to whom I'm recommending a book will at least like the book, I often shy away from recommending "weird" books. By...
Home > Reviews
All Stories
Biblioracle: Why a 1-star review convinced me to read the book anyway
When I became aware of the recently released novel, "Big Swiss" by Jen Beagin, I went to Amazon. While I never buy books from Amazon, I often use its database...
Biblioracle: For Black History Month, these books challenge the status quo
As I'm hoping lots of folks know, February is Black History Month. I've written in the past, specifically about poetry, that if you need a month for a special celebration,...
Biblioracle: The forgotten joy of reading books aloud with a loved one
For those of us who are fortunate, our first experience of reading is being read to. I definitely don't remember the first time someone read me a story, but I...
Biblioracle: As HarperCollins workers strike, remembering how editors, designers and publicists bring books to life
There is a romantic notion that a book is the product of a single author's obsessive work, perhaps locked away somewhere — a garret or a basement — sweating the...
Biblioracle: A return to Barnes & Noble, which has embraced its core product: books
Until just this week, the last time I set foot in a Barnes & Noble bookstore was December of 2019. For years, I had used B&N as my main source...
Biblioracle: There’s no good business model for literary magazines like Bookforum, but they still matter
I recently realized that if you want to have success in life you need to have one thing above all others. Is it intelligence? No. Creativity? No. Grit, gumption, stick-to-itiveness?...
Biblioracle: Will artificial intelligence like ChatGPT bring the end for all writers?
When I was a much younger person, there were a couple of popular movies offering warnings about the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence. The first is 1983's "WarGames," in which...
Biblioracle: My New Year’s reading resolutions for 2023
If you want to stick with a New Year's resolution, research suggests adding something good to your life, rather than trying to subtract something you think is bad. Denying yourself...
Biblioracle: Five more of my favorite fiction books of the year
Before getting to the second part of my Biblioracle favorites for fiction for 2022, I want to express some end-of-year gratitude for the people who make this weekly exercise in...