I would've given Store Front NYC: Photographs of the City's Independent Shops, Past and Present by James Murray and Karla Murray four stars instead of three if not for something that drove me weirdly crazy. In the Introduction, the Murrays say that some of the stores represented here no longer exist... but don't say which those are. Some of them I ( Read more... )

Since this book was published in 2010, I'm sure even more of these decades-old vintage signs and Mom & Pop, non-chain, non-franchise, often family-run stores have been destroyed since, especially since the rate of tearing down old buildings/businesses and gentrifying neighborhoods has only accelerated in the last few years, so I'm especially glad ( Read more... )

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Languageby Gretchen McCulloch ( Read more... )

I started reading The Sinner and the Saint: Dostoevsky and the Gentleman Murderer Who Inspired a Masterpiece by Kevin Birmingham in December but finishing it during current world events has been... interesting ( Read more... )

Lorraine B. Diehl's Subways: The Tracks that Built New York City is an eye-opening read in that it shows the vast transit changes that have occurred in New York City in just the last 120 years. In the late 1800s, the environmental hazards of the foremost means of transit were tons of manure left lying everywhere and roads made perpetually slick by ( Read more... )

I'm still waiting for Saiyuki Reload vol. 7 to arrive in my area, but browsing Grindhouse: The Sleaze-filled Saga of an Exploitation Double Feature by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez made the trip to the bookstore somewhat worthwhile. This is the companion book on the making of the movie. A lot of it didn't sit right with me, you know, the ( Read more... )