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Open Letters Review

Open Letters Review

An Arts & Literature Review

Open Letters Review

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July 25, 2018

The Wonderful Mr. Willughby by Tim Birkhead

July 25, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
The Wonderful Mr. Willughby by Tim Birkhead

Birkhead has done all the traditional biographer's legwork that so few have bothered to do before him.

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July 25, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir, Science/Technology, Animals & Nature
Tim Birkhead, Bloomsbury, ornithology, birds, biography, Historia Plantarum, History of Fishes, Steve Donoghue
July 21, 2018

Penguins on Parade: The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta!

July 21, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
Penguins on Parade: The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta!

The first novel ever published in California and the first written by a Native American.

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July 21, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads
John Rollin Ridge, Penguin Classics, Stevereads, Native American, superheroes, Steve Donoghue
July 19, 2018

House Crossing: Poems By Laurie L. Patton

July 19, 2018/ Isaac Randel
House Crossing: Poems By Laurie L. Patton

House Crossing, like the two volumes that preceded it, establishes its own rules and sticks to them.

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July 19, 2018/ Isaac Randel/
Poetry
House Crossing, Laurie L. Patton, Isaac Randel, poetry
July 17, 2018

The Promise of the Grand Canyon by John F. Ross

July 17, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
The Promise of the Grand Canyon by John F. Ross

This books stands out from other accounts of Powell’s expeditions by emphasizing the ecological ramifications of his discoveries.

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July 17, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
History, Science/Technology, Animals & Nature
John F. Ross, Grand Canyon, American West, exploration, American History, Viking Press, environmental movement, American frontier, geography, earth science, John Wesley Powell, Wallace Stegner, Donald Worster, Edward Dolnick, Colorado River, Penguin Random House, Steve Donoghue, History
July 16, 2018

Back to the New Yorker in the Penny Press!

July 16, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
Back to the New Yorker in the Penny Press!

My return issue of the New Yorker arrived just the other day; I fixed myself a sandwich, and then settled in to a reading experience I hadn't had in years.

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July 16, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads
Stevereads, In the Penny Press, New Yorker, magazines, Jeffrey Toobin, Adrian Chen, Paul Denino, YouTube, William Finnegan, Ariel Levy, Ottessa Moshfegh, Lauren Groff, Anthony Lane, Steve Donoghue
July 15, 2018

World War II at Sea: A Global History by Craig Symonds

July 15, 2018/ Mark Richardson
World War II at Sea: A Global History by Craig Symonds

This maritime history of WWII combines a monumental amount of detailed scholarship and compelling storytelling from the first page to the last.

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July 15, 2018/ Mark Richardson/
History
Craig Symonds, Oxford University Press, WWII, Navy, maritime history, Mark Richardson, History
July 14, 2018

First in Line by Kate Andersen Brower

July 14, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
First in Line by Kate Andersen Brower

An engaging run-down of what is in many ways the least-enviable job in America.

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July 14, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
History, Politics & Economics
Kate Andersen Brower, Harper Collins, American Presidents, politics, Donald Trump, Steve Donoghue
July 10, 2018

Christianity in the Twentieth Century: A World History by Brian Stanley

July 10, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
Christianity in the Twentieth Century: A World History by Brian Stanley

Stanley's arguments are based on wide-ranging research, and his prose is clear.

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July 10, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
History, Religion
Brian Stanley, Paul Johnson, Dairmand MacCulloch, Christianity, religion, Princeton University Press, Steve Donoghue
July 08, 2018

The Oxford Companion to the Brontës by Christine Alexander & Margaret Smith

July 08, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
The Oxford Companion to the Brontës by Christine Alexander & Margaret Smith

An extensive and attractively designed anniversary compendium of information about the Brontës.

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July 08, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir
Christine Alexander, Margaret Smith, Claire Harman, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Branwell Brontë, biography, Steve Donoghue
July 07, 2018

Laughing Shall I Die by Tom Shippey

July 07, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
Laughing Shall I Die by Tom Shippey

The author uncovers the fierce death-cult intensity that enabled these roving bands of sea-warriors to terrorize vast swaths of Europe.

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July 07, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
History
Tom Shippey, Reaktion Books, Vikings, Norse, Steve Donoghue
July 06, 2018

Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts

July 06, 2018/ Sabrina Rourke
Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts

A romantic thriller featuring the ripped-from-the-headlines issue of gun violence alongside trauma recovery, romance, and family drama.

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July 06, 2018/ Sabrina Rourke/
Fiction-Romance, Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
Shelter in Place, Nora Roberts, St. Martin's Press, Sabrina Rourke, thrillers, writers, MacMillan Publishers
July 05, 2018

The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young

July 05, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young

The simplest truth she relates is one known to farmers for thousands of years: the happier animals are, the healthier they are.

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July 05, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Animals & Nature
Rosamund Young, animals, farming, Penguin Random House, Steve Donoghue
July 04, 2018

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

July 04, 2018/ Michael Feeney
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

With Brief Cases, Butcher brings together his second collection of short stories, following 2010’s Side Jobs. 

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July 04, 2018/ Michael Feeney/
Fiction-Paranormal, Anthologies/Short Stories, Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Brief Cases, Jim Butcher, Ace Books, urban fantasy, detective fiction, paranormal fiction, The Dresden Files, Michael Feeney, Harry Dresden, short stories, Penguin Random House
July 03, 2018

OK, Mr. Field by Katharine Kilalea

July 03, 2018/ Eric Karl Anderson
OK, Mr. Field by Katharine Kilalea

A deeply meditative novel whose curious tone teases out tantalizing questions about how we position ourselves in the world.

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July 03, 2018/ Eric Karl Anderson/
Fiction-Debut, Fiction-General, Literary Fiction
Katharine Kilalea, Faber and Faber, Tim Duggan Books, Eric Karl Anderson, literary fiction, debut novels, poetry, Penguin Random House
July 02, 2018

Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively

July 02, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively

The literary equivalent of listening to your most literate friend collect her thoughts about the most unassuming of her life's passions.

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July 02, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir
Penelope Lively, Viking Press, memoir, gardening, nature, Steve Donoghue
July 01, 2018

The Outsider by Stephen King

July 01, 2018/ Michael Feeney
The Outsider by Stephen King

The Outsider is a solid combination of police procedural, thriller, and horror.

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July 01, 2018/ Michael Feeney/
Fiction-Paranormal, Fiction-Horror, Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
Stephen King, Scribner, Simon & Schuster, thrillers, horror, supernatural, Michael Feeney, Bill Hodges trilogy, End of Watch, police procedural, mystery fiction
June 30, 2018

Gremlins (Novelization) by George Gipe

June 30, 2018/ Tyler Wolter
Gremlins (Novelization) by George Gipe

This novelization of the 1984 blockbuster was written before the movie hit the theaters, or even before the script was completely finished.

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June 30, 2018/ Tyler Wolter/
Backlist, Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Film & Theatre; Adaptations
Gremlins, novelization, George Gipe, Tyler Wolter, movies, backlist
June 26, 2018

A New Sequel to Homer!

June 26, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
A New Sequel to Homer!

One of the latest entries in the redoubtable Loeb Classical Library series,

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June 26, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Classic Literature, Stevereads
Loeb Classical Library, Posthomerica, Homer, Stevereads, Steve Donoghue, translations
June 25, 2018

Tropic of Squalor: Poems By Mary Karr

June 25, 2018/ Isaac Randel
Tropic of Squalor: Poems By Mary Karr

A new volume of poetry from the author of The Liar’s Club and Lit.

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June 25, 2018/ Isaac Randel/
Poetry
Tropic of Squalor: Poems, Mary Karr, Harper Collins, Isaac Randel, poetry
June 23, 2018

A Blood Thing by James Hankins

June 23, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
A Blood Thing by James Hankins

A meticulously plotted thriller from the ever reliable James Hankins.

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June 23, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Crime & Thrillers, Fiction-Mystery/Suspense
James Hankins, Thomas & Mercer, crime fiction, Amazon Publishing, thrillers, mystery fiction, Steve Donoghue
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Editors:

Steve Donoghue
Sam Sacks
Britta Böhler
____________________

Eric Karl Anderson
Olive Fellows
Jack Hanson
Jennifer Helinek
Justin Hickey
Hannah Joyner
Zach Rabiroff
Jessica Tvordi

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