In Common Things by Jefferson Singer The poet shines a light on life’s quiet moments that usually pass unnoticed and unremembered. Glimpsing the title of In Common Things brought to mind Pablo Neruda’s Odes to Common Things, except the “things” about which Neruda sings his odes are commonplace objects, such as a salt shaker, household furniture, items of food, a bar of soap, or a pair of scissors. Whereas in In Common Things, Jefferson Singer sings praises to everyday event

Good News, a novel by Edward Abbey This book was painful to read, and this book review even more painful to write. Spare yourself the agony of reading this post-apocalyptic fantasy with pointless dialog within a meandering and lackadaisical plot that goes nowhere. Most books have meaningful conclusions, but this book just ends. And hardly soon enough. The bad news about “Good News” is that you’ll find Abbey’s classic polemics on only 16 pages of this 242-page novel. The rest

The Native American Southwest in the Middle Ages by Frederick S. Paxton Human history is not the full record of the human past, but only of what has been written about the human past (and what has been written about what has been written about that past, and ad infinitum). Where there are no historians, there is no history. As a college professor of history, Paxton “…wondered why the people who had lived [in the American Southwest] had no place in American history.” When I

photo by Mark Mathew Braunstein Call me materialistic insofar as I prefer to own the books that I have read. Unfortunately, I am often left with books that I had hoped to read but never read and never will read. So around once every 15 years, I venture to the used bookstores to unburden myself of my orphaned books. Many years ago, while living for five years in Manhattan, I made several cab trips with armfuls of my unwanted books to Strand Bookstore, NYC’s largest used book

Playing Possum by Susana Monsó Animals and Death both are fascinating subjects, so this book that explores how animals perceive and conceive of Death holds great promise. The author poses the question whether animals might grasp the abstruse notion of the inevitability of their own deaths in the way that humans are thought to be aware. Sadly, the author’s speculative answers often proved elusive or disappointing. This is hardcore hardnosed academic philosophy written by a phi

“Should We Go Extinct?" by Todd May The title is a question that the book never definitively answers. As the author gyrates back and forth between yes and no and maybe and maybe not, he leaves it to you to decide for yourself. I marvel at the brilliance of his mind and the eloquence of his prose, which captivated my interest all the way to the concluding chapter. I had anticipated that a chapter titled, “Conclusion,” would provide a conclusive answer. Alas, that chapter was

Madness by Jim Mason www.JimMason.info/madness A PORTRAIT of the AUTHOR as a YOUNG FARMER Allured by its provocative title, “Madness,” and by its cover depicting Munch’s iconic “Scream,” I could not resist poking my nose into this book. Yet such a title and cover will likely repulse as many readers as it might attract. That might be the author’s intention. Because this book is not for the faint of heart. Mostly a memoir, “Madness” recounts Jim Mason’s harrowing childhood ex

Meathooked by Marta Zaraska Meathooked “is an investigation into why humans love eating meat.” (page 6) The author, Marta Zaraska, calls those reasons “hooks.” (page 7) Hence the neologism of the book’s catchy title. Meathooked stands as one of most insightful books about vegetarianism that I’ve read in fifty years, since 1975 when I read Animal Liberation the very first month it was published. Given the book’s title, anybody of the vegetarian or vegan persuasion might seem

“Age Like a Yogi” by Victoria Moran Enumerated as 75 years, three-quarters of a century is a nice roundish number that makes reaching the age of 75 a milestone. For an author, publishing your roundish-numbered 15th book shortly before reaching your 75th birthday marks a further milestone. Both landmarks describe Victoria Moran’s Age Like a Yogi, published in a year with another rounded-off number, 2025. The twin subjects of Age Like a Yogi are the sister sciences of yoga an

Protest Kitchen by Carol Adams and Virginia Messina This book’s writing is visionary, as expected, but this book’s formatting is short-sighted. You can expect rave reviews to be contributed by family, friends, and fans of the authors, while bad reviews of books on the vegan diet and lifestyle might be lambasted by slaughterhouse workers with axes to grind and by butchers with bones to pick. So the truth is more likely to be found in a mixed review. Maybe such as this. As

The Schopenhauer Cure, an historical novel by Irvin Yalom Exquisitely written with every word perfectly chosen, the book starts out stellar. Its contemplations about death upon main character Julius' diagnosis of cancer are beautiful (death is beautiful!), the university lecture hall scene is classic, the initial characterizations of Julius and Philip are striking. Then, within alternating chapters, Yalom introduces a biography of Schopenhauer that kept me spellbound, a cre

“The Only Empty Place,” poetry by Richard Lehnert Poetry’s curt shorthand sometimes presents deep beauty or other times expresses profound truths that often evade capture in verbose prose. The poems in The Only Empty Place aim to express truth, not beauty. If poetry can express truths about life, Richard Lehnert believes it must also examine death. Truths about death lurk as subtexts even within his poems about life. To cite just one example, in “Drywall,” in which he seeks t

Hold the Apocalypse & You Only Go Extinct Once, both by Bob Lorentson Humor! Literature! Philosophy! Psychology! The fine arts! The natural sciences! These two books explore all of these. While Bob Lorentson is a Humorist, he writes not just to make us laugh, but also to make us think. So add to his résumé, Satirist, because his two books are best summarized as social satire. He is a stand-up comedian posing as a sit-down scientist. Social satire is often associated with poli

The Plague by Albert Camus, translated by Laura Marris This new American translation shines light where the older British translation cast only shadows. As a wayward 22-year-old, I drowned my sorrows by puzzling over philosophy. With an entire lifetime still mine to squander, at that age I figured I deserved to come up for some fresh air and to instead read something light and fluffy and cheery, some romance novel maybe, or because I need some help something in the realm of

Birder on Berry Lane by Robert Tougias You’ll find here a naturalist’s keen eye merged with a poet’s golden pen and a philosopher’s soulful wisdom. At first glance, “Birder on Berry Lane” may appear to be merely a How-To book, but it is equally a Why-To book. It presents both the how and why to look for birds. More than just a backyard field guide, it is also equal parts a naturalist’s memoir and in some parts a reverie about life. This book will spark wonderment in the n

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Meditations translated 1862 by George Long prefaced, poeticized & edited 2024 by MMB my PREFACE: This translation in 1862 by George Long is included in the Harvard Classics. Many translations have been published in the past 160 years, including six just during the 21st century, and one as recently as 2024. Of the many older translations in the public domain that can be downloaded for free from the internet, George Long’s is the most readable. Bu

The Trouble with Being Born by E.M. Cioran This very second has vanished forever, lost in the anonymous mass of the irrevocable. Everything is unique -- and insignificant. (p.38) We dread the future only when we are not sure we can kill ourselves. (p.77) A book is a postponed suicide. (p.99) When I torment myself too much for not working, I tell myself that I might just as well be dead and that then I would be working still less. (p.115) In order to conquer panic or s

Dialogues and Letters translated 1997 by C.D.N. Costa edited & republished 2004 in a Penguin Classics short paperback: The Shortness of Life selected & edited 2024 by MMB · Life ceases for us just when we are getting ready for it. · It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. · We are not given a short life, instead we make it short. · Life is long if you know how to use it. · A small part of a Lifetime is really

The Fool's Progress by Edward Abbey0 A master storyteller, eloquent writer, and profound thinker, that’s Abbey all in one Great American Novel. I love Edward Abbey. The writings, not the man. I think everyone would like a Van Gogh painting hanging in their living room, but few would welcome the paint-spattered Vincent himself sitting in their living room. (Living room? As Abbey observes in “The Fool’s Progress,” Living rooms are cluttered with only Dead objects.) I might fe

The Brave Cowboy by Edward Abbey Could be embossed upon its front cover, “Now that you’ve seen the movie, read the book!” Much to my disbelief, I am berating a book by my favorite 20th-century American author. As Edward Abbey’s second published novel (another one or two earlier novels remain unpublished, as most first novels should remain), its plot is captivating. Unlike his first published novel, this one garnered some literary recognition, enough to be made into a compelli