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Recent Reviews:
The Footloose American by Brian Kevin (received through the Blogging for Books program)
4 stars
Brian Kevin was at a crossroads in his own life and in
search of the same elusive enlightenment that Hunter S. Thompson found during
his trek across South America. Thompson’s
reporting from South America, while not as well read as his gonzo style
journalism, proved to be a turning point in his view of America and the
American life. Kevin endeavored to
discover what exactly Thompson encountered in South America that made such an
impression. Starting in Columbia and
making his way through Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, Kevin
documents the people, politics and geography.
The history of each country is interspersed with enjoyable interactions
with both locals and foreign expats. I appreciated
all aspects of this book, but I think the author exceled at describing his
encounters with these people and how their lives intersect with the current
social climate of the continent. Even
though I am not a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson’s work, that did not detract from my enjoyment of
Kevin’s travelogue of his own adventures in South America. I received this book from the Blogging for
Books program in exchange for an honest review.
The O. Henry Prize
Stories 2014 edited by Laura Furman (received through NetGalley)
3 stars
In recent years, I have become a fan of short story
collections and try to read them from time to time. I have discovered, though, that I may not be
a fan of the short story anthology because I had a really hard time getting through
this one. There were a couple of stories
that I really enjoyed; Valentine by
Tessa Hadley and Nemecia by Kirstin
Valdez Quade are particular favorites, but there were quite a few that I just
couldn’t sink into. I think that if I
had maybe read one story a week rather than trying to read them all at once, it
could have made a difference. Overall,
my reaction to this anthology may be biased by my preference to read a
collection of stories by the same author with an overarching theme or tone. I received this book from NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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