Roof Beam Reader
A Writer and His Reading
Category: Contemporary
We the Animals by Justin Torres
Justin Torres’ We the Animals is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novella about a young boy and his two brothers, growing up mixed-race (their father is Puerto Rican and their mother is Caucasian) in New York. Though the book is rather short, at just under 130… Continue Reading “We the Animals by Justin Torres”
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Dear Martin by Nic Stone is a timely and important fictional account of the kinds of news stories we hear all too often in the United States lately. Justyce McAllister is a brilliant young man who is mistaken for a criminal and who witnesses… Continue Reading “Dear Martin by Nic Stone”
5 Mini-Reviews: From Willa Cather to Hillary Clinton
I’ll never catch-up on all the reviews I need to write for books I’ve read in the last 5 or 6 months. That’s that. But, I am going to make an effort to catch-up on the recent and then stay current moving forward. I… Continue Reading “5 Mini-Reviews: From Willa Cather to Hillary Clinton”
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby asks the question: what would you do if you discovered the power to make you a god? Suddenly, the command of life and death, sickness and health, growth and destruction, is in your hands. Do you want it? Will you use it?… Continue Reading “Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk”
X-Men, Astrophysics, and Hate
X-Men Siege (Mutant Empire #1) by Christopher Golden A few weeks ago, I was at Half-Price Books selling a big chunk of my library when, lo and behold, I stumbled across all three books in this Mutant Empire series. I’m absolutely upset with the 1990s… Continue Reading “X-Men, Astrophysics, and Hate”
