
In our afternoon reading: an interview with T Kira Madden, why book reviews matter, and more.

In our afternoon reading: an interview with T Kira Madden, why book reviews matter, and more.

Darius Jones sits alone on stage minutes before tonight’s show at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie, calmly detonating blasts from his alto saxophone, two-to-three second streaks booming across the theater and fading to a moment’s silence just in time for the next one. They’re foghorn loud, piercing, but they seem like more than mere warm up exercises. Perhaps he’s testing the structural integrity of the joint and/or mapping the room’s acoustics—gauging the capabilities of tonight’s worksite and the best ways to utilize them.

Is it still snowy outside your door? Despite slightly non-polar weather the last few days, the snowdrifts remain high and the puddles are murky. Also, we have some literary recommendations for you this month: a wide range of books, from a deep dive into a Nobel laureate’s work to an unexpected work of autofiction.

In our morning reading: a deep dive on “From Hell,” a preview of Grace Krilanovich’s next book, and more.

In our weekend reading: thoughts on books by Roberto Bolaño and Cory Doctorow, the rise of fanfiction, and more.
Sunday Stories will resume next weekend.

In our morning reading: revisiting the comic book “Miss Ruki,” chatting with The Hated, and more.

In our afternoon reading: an interview with A.S. Hamrah, pondering two dystopian novels, and more.

The guiding principle of Six Ridiculous Questions is that life is filled with ridiculousness. And questions. That only by giving in to these truths may we hope to slip the surly bonds of reality and attain the higher consciousness we all crave. (Eh, not really, but it sounded good there for a minute.) It’s just. Who knows? The ridiculousness and question bits, I guess. Why six? Assonance, baby, assonance.