Books

'Unthinkable' Gives Our Brains a Second Thought

Unthinkable is an eminently readable book that includes a wealth of information about how the brain functions.

Books

'Get Shorty' Is the Purest Distillation of Elmore Leonard

The 1995 Hollywood caper Get Shorty, starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito, was billed as Elmore Leonard's revenge on the movie industry, but it has a funny way of showing it.

Film

Allen Ginsberg's Journals Offer Insight into Poetry, Culture, and Politics During the Cold War

Beginning in Cuba in 1965, Ginsberg recorded his experiences behind the Iron Curtain. Iron Curtain Journals: January-May 1965 brings us with him, via his intimate diary.

Books

Behind Every Superhero Is One of These Clowns: 'The League of Regrettable Sidekicks'

Many of Jon Morris's characters in The League of Regrettable Sidekicks are proven to be a reflection of their times not only culturally but in terms of the evolution of the genre, as well.

Jon Morris

Books

Graphic Novel 'The Beatles Yellow Submarine' Is Pure Delight

Bill Morrison's The Beatles Yellow Submarine mixes its psychedelia to fully represent the strange combinations found in George Dunning's 1968 film.

Books

'The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories' Is a Perfect Balance of Classic and Modern

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is not merely another college lit anthology, but a fascinating collection of short stories from all periods and from several authors who all too rarely make it into English translation.

Books

Alyson Hagy's 'Scribe' Is Gloriously Artful, but Something Is Missing

Hagy's new novel, Scribe, a beautiful work clearly rooted in the ethos of the Program Era, seems the very example of a return to the bourgeois novel of art for art's sake.

Books

Short Stories: Parties

Five memorably unique parties presented by Katherine Mansfield, Banaphool (tr. Arunava Sinha), Joshua Ferris, Nina McConigley, and Kirsten Valdez Quade.

Books

David Bowie and Other 'Strange Stars'

Jason Heller's Strange Stars, on David Bowie and sci-fi, is an exciting and loving look at a time when infinite wonder had a role in the pop music marketplace.

Books

'Freak Kingdom': On Hunter S. Thompson's Fight Against Fascism

In Freak Kingdom, Timothy Denevi gives a charmingly sensational account of Hunter S. Thompson's life in order to prove his point that Thompson actually conducted himself as quite a serious anti-fascist.

Books

Graphic Fiction 'Apollo' Reminds Us of the Heights Humanity Can Reach

Revisiting the moon landing via graphic fiction work, Apollo, offers a vital reminder of hope and possibility in these dark and petty times.

Books

'On Her Shoulders': Awareness of Trauma Is Not Enough

In this interview with Director Alexandria Bombach centered on her recent documentary about Nadia Murad, On Her Shoulders, she reflects on how we process another's trauma, and how we might be moved beyond simply awareness.

Film

RuPaul's 'Guru' Tells You All You Need to Know

Self-acceptance -- it's not just for drag queens anymore.

Books

Schrauwen's Future Selves Explore Genre, Gender, and the Comics Form in 'Parallel Lives'

In Parallel Lives, O. Schrauwen literally draws attention to the basic building blocks of comics, science fiction, and our cultural sexual norms.

Books

'The Blurry Years' Captures the Intricacies and Nuances of Adolescent Girls

Eleanor Kriseman gets good mileage out of her protagonist, who runs the gamut of trying experiences and emotions in The Blurry Years.

Books

Oscar Wilde: 'In Praise of Disobedience'

Being humble and peaceable are not virtues, according to Oscar Wilde, as seen in his collection of essays, In Praise of Disobedience, disobedience and rebelliousness against inequality and tyranny are much more valuable to humankind.

Books

When Sexually Frustrated Angry White Men (Mis)Read the Classics

Donna Zuckerberg's Not All Dead White Men is a powerful study of the ways the alt-right distorts the understanding of ancient Greek and Roman literature to serve hateful interests today.

Books

'Confidential Confidential' Analyzes Scandal, Libel, and '50s-era Celebrity Culture

Samantha Barbas' Confidential Confidential brings to mind Fox News, Donald Trump, and the current American cultural-political climate of lies and hysteria.

Books

'Smash!: Green Day, The Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX, + the '90s Punk Explosion'

Ian Winwood's story of how punk rock music came to be so popular in the '90s is sewn together like a patchwork quilt of unlikely rises to fame and the ordinary people whose dedication made it possible.

Books

Pop Ten

Bleached: The Beatles' White Album Effect on the US Alt-rock Explosion of 1988-95

Jackie Chan's 10 Best Films

The Coen Brothers' 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' Is American Myth in Vignette

Say It Loud! 100 Great Protest Songs: Part 1 - Beethoven to Janis Ian

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Mixed Media

Collapse Expand Mixed Media

PM Picks

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Unthinkable is an eminently readable book that includes a wealth of information about how the brain functions.

The 1995 Hollywood caper Get Shorty, starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito, was billed as Elmore Leonard's revenge on the movie industry, but it has a funny way of showing it.

Beginning in Cuba in 1965, Ginsberg recorded his experiences behind the Iron Curtain. Iron Curtain Journals: January-May 1965 brings us with him, via his intimate diary.

Many of Jon Morris's characters in The League of Regrettable Sidekicks are proven to be a reflection of their times not only culturally but in terms of the evolution of the genre, as well.

Geography, Bonnett claims in Beyond the Map, is becoming harder to read.

Bill Morrison's The Beatles Yellow Submarine mixes its psychedelia to fully represent the strange combinations found in George Dunning's 1968 film.

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is not merely another college lit anthology, but a fascinating collection of short stories from all periods and from several authors who all too rarely make it into English translation.

Hagy's new novel, Scribe, a beautiful work clearly rooted in the ethos of the Program Era, seems the very example of a return to the bourgeois novel of art for art's sake.

Five memorably unique parties presented by Katherine Mansfield, Banaphool (tr. Arunava Sinha), Joshua Ferris, Nina McConigley, and Kirsten Valdez Quade.

Jason Heller's Strange Stars, on David Bowie and sci-fi, is an exciting and loving look at a time when infinite wonder had a role in the pop music marketplace.

In Freak Kingdom, Timothy Denevi gives a charmingly sensational account of Hunter S. Thompson's life in order to prove his point that Thompson actually conducted himself as quite a serious anti-fascist.

Revisiting the moon landing via graphic fiction work, Apollo, offers a vital reminder of hope and possibility in these dark and petty times.

In this interview with Director Alexandria Bombach centered on her recent documentary about Nadia Murad, On Her Shoulders, she reflects on how we process another's trauma, and how we might be moved beyond simply awareness.

Self-acceptance -- it's not just for drag queens anymore.

In Parallel Lives, O. Schrauwen literally draws attention to the basic building blocks of comics, science fiction, and our cultural sexual norms.

Eleanor Kriseman gets good mileage out of her protagonist, who runs the gamut of trying experiences and emotions in The Blurry Years.

Being humble and peaceable are not virtues, according to Oscar Wilde, as seen in his collection of essays, In Praise of Disobedience, disobedience and rebelliousness against inequality and tyranny are much more valuable to humankind.

Donna Zuckerberg's Not All Dead White Men is a powerful study of the ways the alt-right distorts the understanding of ancient Greek and Roman literature to serve hateful interests today.

Samantha Barbas' Confidential Confidential brings to mind Fox News, Donald Trump, and the current American cultural-political climate of lies and hysteria.

Ian Winwood's story of how punk rock music came to be so popular in the '90s is sewn together like a patchwork quilt of unlikely rises to fame and the ordinary people whose dedication made it possible.