The Second Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards

Last year I started a new tradition of looking back over my year in reading and assigning arbitrary awards. You can check out last year's opening post here. (Again, this idea is blatantly ripped-off from FictionFan who is currently presenting her 2019 awards so you should go check those out too!) The categories, the shortlists,…

Book Review: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk (Riverhead Books, 2019) I received an Advance Readers' Copy of this book. It is now available for sale in North America. It's hard to know how to classify a book like this. It's not a mystery though there is a mystery at the…

Book Review: Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa

Death is Hard Work - Khaled Khalifa (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) When Bolbol's father dies his final request is to be buried with his sister in their hometown. The town is located a couple of hours drive away from where Bolbol lives (and where his father died). No big deal, right? Except what if…

What I Read – January 2019

Read: Article 353 - Tanguy Viel (translated by William Rodarmor) (Other Press, 2019) Great Stories - Arthur Conan Doyle (John Murray, 1959) Mr. Palomar - Italo Calvino (translated by William Weaver) (Harvest Book, 1985) Educated - Tara Westover (Harper Collins, 2018) In Our Mad and Furious City - Guy Gunaratne (MCD x FSG Originals, 2018) Radiant Shimmering Light…

Book Review: Article 353 by Tanguy Viel

Article 353 - Tanguy Viel (Other Press, 2019) I received an Advance Readers Copy of this novel. It is set for release on March 12, 2019 One of the great things about reading books from other languages and cultures is that voice and topic can vary so broadly. I wasn't familiar with Tanguy Viel's work…

What I Read – February 2018

2018 has obviously not been a great year for book reviews thus far but I am sneaking in lots of reading time. Here's what I read in February and the quickest reviews I can manage at this moment: The Hut Builder - Laurence Fearnley (Penguin Books, 2010 New Zealand novel. I likely would have abandoned this…

Book Review: Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 by Naoki Higashida

  This collection of short essays (plus an interview and a short story) follows Higashida's previous book translated into English, The Reason I Jump. I haven't read Higashida before and while The Reason I Jump may provide some helpful context and personal history, I don't think it's necessary to have read it first. It also…