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Open Letters Review

Open Letters Review

An Arts & Literature Review

Open Letters Review

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December 04, 2020

The Best Books of 2020: Debut Fiction!

December 04, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Books of 2020: Debut Fiction!

Many very interesting, challenging, and moving debut novels appeared in 2020.

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December 04, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Debut, Stevereads
Best Books of 2020, Debut Fiction, The Town, Under the Rainbow, Celia Laskey, Boys of Alabama, Genevieve Hudson, Swimming in the Dark, Tomasz Jedrowski, Saltwater, Jessica Andrews, The Beauty of Your Face, Sahar Mustafah, Follow Me to the Ground, Sue Rainsford, Kingdomtide, Rye Curtis, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Kawai Strong Washburn, fiction, debut fiction
December 03, 2020

The Best Books of 2020: Literature in Translation!

December 03, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Books of 2020: Literature in Translation!

The opportunities to go exploring in the world through translated literature were nearly endless in 2020.

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December 03, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads
Best of Lists, Best of 2020, translations
December 02, 2020

The Best Books of 2020: Kids and Young Adult!

December 02, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Books of 2020: Kids and Young Adult!

Reading gems for children and young adults from 2020.

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December 02, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads, Fiction-Young Adult
Best of 2020, Best of Lists, Young Adult Fiction, kidlit, children's books, phil stamper, Jory John, Pete Oswald, Mo O'Hara, Andrew Joyner, Parker Peevyhouse, Miranda Krestovnikoff, Jill Calder, David Nicholls, Lizi Boyd, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Steve Donoghue, stevereads
December 01, 2020

The Best Books of 2020: Reprints!

December 01, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Books of 2020: Reprints!

2020 was a good solid year for reprints.

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December 01, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads
Best of 2020, Best of Lists, Vivian Gornick, William Gaddis, John M. Ford, e. e. cummings, Samuel Johnson, Constance Fenimore Woolson, George Eliot, Spinoza's Ethics, Library of America, JRR Tolkien, Shirley Hazzard, Steve Donoghue, stevereads, Stevereads
November 27, 2020

Villa of Delirium By Adrien Goetz

November 27, 2020/ Benjamin Shull
Villa of Delirium By Adrien Goetz

Not merely a historical novel, this is an epic novel of Greek history.

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November 27, 2020/ Benjamin Shull/
Literary Fiction
Adrien Goetz, New Vessel Press, Greek epic, literary fiction, Benjamin Shull
November 24, 2020

The Gull Next Door by Marianne Taylor

November 24, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
The Gull Next Door by Marianne Taylor

A gull-smitten writer takes on the thankless task of defending the world’s least-liked bird.

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November 24, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Animals & Nature
The Gull Next Door, sea gulls, natural history, herring gulls, Marianne Taylor, birds, Steve Donoghue
November 21, 2020

New Laws of Robotics by Frank Pasquale

November 21, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
New Laws of Robotics by Frank Pasquale

A new book looks at - and attempts to structure - the future of human-machine partnerships.

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November 21, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Science/Technology
Frank Pasquale, New Laws of Robotics, computers, AI, Harvard University Press, Steve Donoghue
November 17, 2020

Anna's Refuge by Kerryn Reid

November 17, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
Anna's Refuge by Kerryn Reid

In this atmospheric romance novel, a wronged young woman and her little child find themselves holed up on the gritty side of Leeds, of all places.

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November 17, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Romance
Kerryn Reid, Anna's Refuge, romance, Steve Donoghue
November 12, 2020

To Hold Up the Sky by Cixin Liu

November 12, 2020/ Michael Feeney
To Hold Up the Sky by Cixin Liu

A powerful short story collection from Chinese science fiction master Cixin Liu.

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November 12, 2020/ Michael Feeney/
Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy
To Hold Up the Sky, Cixin Liu, science fiction, Chinese science fiction, Michael Feeney
November 12, 2020

The Best Presidential Writing, edited by Craig Fehrman

November 12, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Presidential Writing, edited by Craig Fehrman

Presidential historian Craig Fehrman assembles some of the most memorable presidential writings.

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November 12, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Politics & Economics
The Best Presidential Writing, Craig Fehrman, American history, Steve Donoghue, American Presidents
November 09, 2020

It’s a Mystery: “If you don’t know the trouble you’re in, keep Reacher by your side”

November 09, 2020/ Irma Heldman
It’s a Mystery: “If you don’t know the trouble you’re in, keep Reacher by your side”

The Sentinel lands a lot of unexpected punches and keeps you on edge to the very end.

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November 09, 2020/ Irma Heldman/
Fiction-Crime & Thrillers, It's a Mystery
suspense, thrillers, Jack Reacher, Irma Heldman, It's a Mystery, Lee Child, Andrew Child
November 06, 2020

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

November 06, 2020/ Michael Feeney
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

A supernatural revenge drama in which four arrogant hunters pay a heavy price for a long-ago crime.

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November 06, 2020/ Michael Feeney/
Fiction-Horror
The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones, fiction, Michael Feeney, horror
November 06, 2020

IRL by Chris Stedman

November 06, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
IRL by Chris Stedman

Chris Stedman’s fascinating new book addresses one central question: How can we be real online?

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November 06, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Society & Culture, Science/Technology
IRL, Chris Stedman, Internet, Steve Donoghue
November 04, 2020

Time of the Magicians by Wolfram Eilenberger

November 04, 2020/ Kyle Sellers
Time of the Magicians by Wolfram Eilenberger

A new history of the birth of modern philosophy.

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November 04, 2020/ Kyle Sellers/
History, Philosophy
Time of the Magicians, Wolfram Eilenberger, philosophy, history, Kyle Sellers, Wittgenstein, Benjamin, Cassirer, Heidegger
November 02, 2020

Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh

November 02, 2020/ Peggy Kurkowski
Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh

The great Haitian revolutionary’s story is told in a boisterous new biography.

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November 02, 2020/ Peggy Kurkowski/
Biography/Memoir, History
Sudhir Hazareesingh, Toussaint Loverture, Black Spartacus, Haiti, Haitian history, Peggy Kurkowski
October 29, 2020

Magic by Chris Gosden

October 29, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
Magic by Chris Gosden

A sweeping new history of magic in human societies.

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October 29, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Myths & Legends, History
Magic, Chris Gosden, history, Steve Donoghue
October 27, 2020

The Masochist by Katja Perat

October 27, 2020/ Jennifer Helinek
The Masochist by Katja Perat

Jennifer Helinek reviews Katia Perat’s debut novel.

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October 27, 2020/ Jennifer Helinek/
Fiction-Translated, Historical Fiction
The Masochist, Katia Perat, fiction, Jennifer Helinek, Slovenian translation, historical fiction, Katja Perat
October 27, 2020

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers - Horace & Seneca

October 27, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers - Horace & Seneca

New considerations of the modern-day relevance of ancient Roman writers Seneca and Horace.

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October 27, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Classic Literature, Philosophy, Nonfiction Translations
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers, Horace, Seneca, Stephen Harrison, James Romm, classics, Steve Donoghue, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, philosophy
October 23, 2020

Chandrabati's Ramayan

October 23, 2020/ Lakshmi Ajikumar
Chandrabati's Ramayan

Chandrabati’s Ramayan gets an elegant new translation.

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October 23, 2020/ Lakshmi Ajikumar/
Poetry, Fiction-Translated
Chandrabati's Ramayan, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, poetry, Lakshmi Ajikumar, translations, Bengali translation
October 21, 2020

Max Jacob: A Life in Art and Letters by Rosanna Warren

October 21, 2020/ Steve Donoghue
Max Jacob: A Life in Art and Letters by Rosanna Warren

One of the unsung founders of Modernism gets a superb new biography.

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October 21, 2020/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir
Rosanna Warren, Max Jacob, France, Steve Donoghue, biography
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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

Categories:

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