Posted on by

Two Centuries After His Death, Why is Lord Byron Still Seductive?

“…the poet is mostly recalled in the context of the Byronic hero: a dark, brooding, sexy rebel, derived partly from Byron’s celebrity persona and also from his works, such as his autobiographical masterpiece, “Don Juan”. In England the bicentenary has been marked by new books and events. But many are also taking place abroad, in the countries that hosted his self-imposed exile. In Italy, where he wrote some of his greatest works, including “Don Juan”, he is claimed as something of a national poet. The Keats-Shelley House, at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome, is holding a year-long festival of readings, exhibitions and performances. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on by

‘State of Paradise’ by Laura van den Berg

With exquisite prose, smart lines on every page, a building sense of growing strangeness tinged with dread, and surprises all the way to the end, State of Paradise might be van den Berg’s best novel so far — and that’s saying a lot. A narrative that constantly feels like its dancing on the border between fiction and nonfiction despite all the weirdness it contains, this book is at once an adventure and a treat, a deep study of Florida’s psychogeography and a creepy story about ghosts, missing people, cults, and technology. Don’t miss it. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on by

‘Highway Thirteen’ by Fiona McFarlane

McFarlane is a master at just about everything: dialogue, setting, comic timing. One of her best stories, “Podcast,” is a spot-on send-up of a true-crime podcast, with its giddy silliness and flashes of compassion for the victims (McFarlane has said that these stories were partially inspired by a podcast she followed during the pandemic). But her biggest accomplishment is creating an empathic bond with people whose lives are touched by unexplainable violence. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on by

‘Bad Monkey’ Premieres August 14th on Apple TV+

Based on Carl Hiaasen’s New York Times bestselling novel and enduring cult favorite, “Bad Monkey” tells the story of Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn), who has been bounced from the Miami Police Department and is now a health inspector in the Keys. But after stumbling upon a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes that if he can prove murder, he’ll be back in. He just needs to get past a trove of Floridian oddballs and one bad monkey. Watch trailer

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)