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Category Archives: books
I’m in the latest issue of Dissent!
The Spring, 2013 issue of Dissent Magazine is here in all its glory and it contains my book review The Right and Labor in America Politics, Ideology, and Imagination, by Nelson Lichtenstein and Elizabeth Tandy Shermer. (It’s a loosely connected … Continue reading
a distinct bias toward the festive
A Wodehousian gem, found in The New Criterion review of the latest collection of his letters. “Although Mr. Gedge’s statement that the Vicomte de Blissac was never sober had been an exaggeration—for he was frequently sober, sometimes for hours at … Continue reading
Posted in books, British Literature, pop culture
Tagged P.G. Wodehouse, The New Criterion
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Walnut Street Theater’s Ideal Husband Isn’t Ideal, but Worth Seeing
I’m the kind of guy who can’t not have a good time at an Oscar Wilde play. I didn’t give a glowing review to the Walnut Street theater’s production of An Ideal Husband, but I didn’t have a bad time … Continue reading
Posted in books, Philadelphia, pop culture, theater
Tagged An Ideal Husband, Lord Goring, Oscar Wilde, Walnut Street Theater
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In Which I’m Finally Paid To Write About P.G. Wodehouse
Well, its finally happened. I’ve been reading P.G. Wodehouse for well over a decade now and I’ve loved his work since I first cracked open The Code of the Woosters. I’ve been proselytizing for his cause for just as long, … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews, books, British Literature, Philadelphia
Tagged George Orwell, P.G. Wodehouse, Philly, The Philadelphia Inquirer
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P.G. Wodehouse in India
I remember hearing, at some point, that P.G. Wodehouse is quite popular in India. So, it being Boxing Day and all, I Googled the appropriate terms and the right sort of article began popping up. First, a slight NPR piece … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews, books, British Literature, history
Tagged Colonialism, India, P.G. Wodehouse, Shashi Tharoor
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Consider the Bee (Or, Actually, Don’t)
I recently stumbled across this wonderful letter to the New York Times, written in the October of 1865, taking a strong line against anti-loitering laws. It’s quite funny and, I think, the correct inclination. Arresting people for hanging out is … Continue reading
Posted in books, British Literature, economic justice, labor, Uncategorized, worker rights
Tagged Charles Dickens, Eugene Wrayburn, loitering, the New York Times, work
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Killing Them Softly Makes Criminality Look Awful
My review of Killing Them Softly, a movie I don’t necessarily recommend you see because its so grim), can be found here. A significant portion of the review got clipped, including all of the below. (Also, read the book it … Continue reading
J.R.R. Tolkien: Worst Professor Ever?
As the release of the first Hobbit film nears, I recall that as a youthful Tolkien enthusiast I often imagined the intellectual joys of attending one of the great man’s lectures at Oxford. Ah, bliss! Or not. According to Kingsley … Continue reading
Posted in books, British Literature, pop culture
Tagged Frodo, Galadriel, J.R.R. Tolkein, Kingsley Amis, Philip Larkin, The Hobbit
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