Purchase a copy for yourself here! Few nations experienced as much political turmoil as Iran did in the twentieth century. Colonialist interests and corrupt government robbed the country of its main natural resource and profit generator, oil, sparking years of unrest and bloody conflict. For a brief history lesson: after the Second World War, Iran… Continue reading The Immortals of Tehran by Ali Araghi
Category: Recent Reads
Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
Purchase a copy for yourself here! The “cult of the founder” is a widely discussed Silicon Valley phenomenon that has circulated in recent years is an integral part of understanding various missteps made by tech corporations. The “cult of the founder” describes a company culture in which the founder (usually also serving as CEO), is… Continue reading Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Purchase a copy for yourself here! For the title of her fourth novel, Long Bright River, Liz Moore borrowed a phrase from an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem, which describes a race of people who, “Sow the seed, and reap the harvest with enduring toil,Storing yearly little dues of wheat, and wine and oil;Till they perish… Continue reading Long Bright River by Liz Moore
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Purchase a copy for yourself here! Literary criticism in the modern age has been forced to confront the increasing democratization of the art space, as tools like the internet allow greater access to what was previously considered “high art”, reserved for only the most sophisticated intellectuals. As the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow entertainment has… Continue reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Purchase a copy for yourself here! The Female Persuasion is Meg Wolitzer’s eleventh novel, and feels in many ways like a response to the #MeToo movement and the reemergence of feminism in the cultural conversation. The novel focuses on women of different generations coming to terms with the ways that the world works, offering and… Continue reading The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Purchase a copy for yourself here! Marlon James’ 2015 Man Booker Prize-winning novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is virtually impossible to summarize in any meaningful way. The novel is a sprawling epic said amid a time of political chaos in Jamaica during the 1960s and 70s, featuring fifteen narrators, each with unique dialects… Continue reading A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Purchase a copy for yourself here! In this current era of burgeoning global populist movements, it can feel like democracy is threatened under attack like never before. But for the nations torn apart by colonial occupation, radical populist movements and militaristic governments have been the norm for decades. Occupying governments and local freedom fighting groups… Continue reading Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
Purchase a copy for yourself here! Perhaps no geographic area in the United States holds as much cultural cache as the northern California region, Silicon Valley. The Valley has become more than just a place, but a signifier of the big tech movement, where college dropouts who can’t legally drink can become billionaires overnight. On… Continue reading Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Purchase a copy for yourself here! It’s been over a decade since Elizabeth Strout published her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge. In the intervening years, the novel was adapted as an award winning series for HBO starring Frances McDormand. Strout has returned to her eponymous heroine in Olive, Again, a collection of stories about the… Continue reading Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
Purchase a copy for yourself here! A Long Petal of the Sea is the twenty-third novel from Isabel Allende, whose prolific career has spanned across decades and continents. The same can be said of her most recent novel, which begins with the Spanish Civil War, and follows the mass exodus of Spanish citizens fleeing from… Continue reading A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende