Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, by Spencer Quinn (Forge Books, 291 pages)
Spencer Quinn is the pen name for Peter Abrahams, the Cape Cod resident who is the genius behind the “Chet & Bernie” books. They’re a collection of whimsical mysteries narrated by a dog who solves crimes with his human companion. Continue reading “Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge”
10 Miles 2 Neptune, Change (self-released)
This New Hampshire-based fedora-pop duo features singer-songwriters Mike Birch of Derry and Merrimack’s Tammy Jann, who, for the last eight years, have co-run a Nashua-based songwriting group, I’m told, which I take to mean that they’re community-minded, which the state’s music community could always Continue reading “Album Reviews 23/09/21”
The Breakaway, by Jennifer Weiner (Atria, 387 pages)
Not many novels get reviewed by Bicycling magazine, especially not ones by Jennifer Weiner. But the author of books such as Good in Bed and The Guy Not Taken has written what she calls “a love letter to cycling, and to traveling,” Continue reading “Wifedom, by Anna Funder”
Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We (Dead Oceans Records)
Generally speaking, I’m late to the ball with this indie-piano-pop princess, who’s been making albums since 2012. In fact, I wasn’t aware that she’d opened for The Pixies a few years ago, which was what probably prompted Pitchfork Continue reading “Album Reviews 23/09/14”
Wifedom, by Anna Funder (Knopf, 464 pages)
Never meet your heroes, goes the old adage. A corollary should be “Never read the letters written by their wives about them.”
Unfortunately, for fans of George Orwell, nee Eric Blair, in 2005 a series of letters was discovered, written by his Continue reading “Wifedom, by Anna Funder”
Dijahsb, Tasty Raps Vol. 2 [self-released]
This Toronto-based nonbinary rapper has a Polaris Music Prize to their credit, along with a rep for good dramedy, not Skee Lo-level or anything like that, but it’s indeed kind of uplifting hearing of this person’s trials and tribulations and how they’re handling them. Not Continue reading “Album Reviews 23/09/07”
Slow AF Run Club, by Martinus Evans (Avery, 239 pages)
Desir must not get to the library much, because there’s actually no shortage of books in this genre, from 2007’s elegant Strides by Benjamin Cheever (John Cheever’s son) to A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valeria, published in Continue reading “Slow AF Run Club, by Martinus Evans”
Beth Bombara, It All Goes Up (Black Mesa Records)
This Missouri-based singer-songwriter’s trip tacks to a yodely Sarah MacLachlan-by-way-of-Christine McVie angle: really pretty Americana-tinged songs with a mature, astute, well-settled vibe that will surprise you if you’re inquisitive enough to seek her out (with so many choices out there, I’m Continue reading “Album Reviews 23/08/31”
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett (Harper, 309 pages)
The celebrated novelist Ann Patchett says that Thornton Wilder’s Our Town has been a “comfort, guide and inspiration” throughout her life, and that in her new novel, Tom Lake, she’s trying to draw attention to the play and to all Continue reading “Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett”
Mariion Christiian, “Still Water” / “The Weight of Things” (EMG Records)
You’d file this new EP somewhere between Above & Beyond and Tiesto, and yes, it’s that good. Christian is known as a veteran producer who has a way with melodies that “articulate emotions in a way that words simply Continue reading “Album Reviews 23/08/24”
