When people ask me what I do, writing-wise, I don’t usually answer “book reviewer”. All the same, I do write the occasional book review, and this year I even ascended to the giddy heights of a feature article about one of my favourite authors.
Here are some of the book reviews I’ve had published in the last few years, plus that feature article.
In Belletrista
Belletrista is an online magazine dedicated to reviewing and writing about books by women, especially books in translation. You can find out more on its About Us page.
Though all the books are by women, a number of the reviewers are men, and I contribute occasional reviews. There are some great reviews and articles on the site, and I encourage you to check it out.
Feature article:
Be Careful Out There, Be Careful in Here: The Dangerous Worlds of Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
Reviews:
New: Deathless, by Catherynne M Valente
The Topless Tower, by Silvina Ocampo, translated by James Womack
There Once Lived A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales, by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, translated by Keith Gessen and Anna Summers
The Word Book, by Mieko Kanai, translated by Paul McCarthy
Selected Prose and Prose-Poems, by Gabriela Mistral, translated by Stephen Tapscott
Kalpa Imperial, by Angelica Gorodischer, translated by Ursula Le Guin
The Secret History of Moscow, by Ekaterina Sedia
In Landfall Review Online
The Landfall Review Online gives the literary journal Landfall the chance to review the books it doesn’t have space to review in its print issues. I have written one review for them:
The Unsuspecting Huia: a review of Mr Allbones’ Ferrets, by Fiona Farrell
That’s All, Folks (till 2012)
And with this list (which I’ll make into a page on this site, and update it as new reviews comes out), I exit regular blogging mode and enter January weekly blogging mode.
Look out for my “What I Read In 2011” post, in which I complain about how little reading I’ve got done and then admit I’ve actually read more books this year than last year, and for my “What I Listened To In 2011” post, in which I reveal that a new band beginning with W has joined Warpaint in the pantheon.
Merry Xmas if you celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays if you don’t (or even if you do), and a Happy New Year, everyone!
Merry Christmas! I'll take a trip through the reviews once the holidays enter the 'quiet' phase.
Thanks, Titus, and Merry Christmas to you!
The site looks great. One of my favorite mystery writer is a woman by name of Miyuki Miyabe. Maybe you can review her work one day ;)The one that caught my attention the most is The Word Book, by Mieko Kanai, translated by Paul McCarthy…at first, I thought it was Paul McCartney ;pHappy holiday and Merry Christmas Tim 🙂
Thanks, Novia – I did indeed have a good Christmas!I hadn't heard of Miyuki Miyabe, but having looked her up on the invaluable Wikipedia, she sounds like a very interesting writer. I'm going to suggest her to the editor of Belletrista as an author I'd be happy to review for them.I had exactly the same reaction when I saw that translator's name for the first time! Maybe Paul McCartney does do a bit of translation in his spare time … it would be a nice change from being a rock star …