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The Longest Chapter

The Longest Chapter

Literary fiction, poetry, first editions, classics…

  • 54 Books, 54 Favorites
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Category: First Editions

A milkman and slow horses: Mick Herron’s brilliant British intelligence series

July 3, 2020August 7, 2020 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 3 Comments

“The Catch" is a perfect introduction to Mick Herron’s Slough House series about disgraced British spies. It’s a fast-paced novella and the reason I picked up “Slow Horses." Here’s what to love about these two books.

Two summer books not to be overlooked

August 15, 2019 ~ The Longest Chapter

So many summer books, so little time. You'll be sorry, though, if you missed these two.

Why “Black Boy” still matters

February 27, 2018May 11, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter

Published in 1945, Richard Wright's classic childhood autobiography vividly reveals what it was like growing up black and poor in the Jim Crow South long before the Civil Rights Movement. It’s an unsentimental but moving and distressing travel back in time that should not be missed.

A bookshop closes

January 26, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 3 Comments

Much of my book collecting mania got spent at Acorn Bookshop that’s now going out of business. Here are a few of the treasures I found, in this tribute.

Great books go a step further

March 29, 2017 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 7 Comments

What's the difference between a good book and a great one? Jonathan Safran Foer answers in an introduction to "The Fixer" by Bernard Malamud.

Which one Faulkner novel should you read?

September 20, 2016August 7, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 4 Comments

William Faulkner wrote 19 novels. Among them -- and the one everyone typically selects when they decide, for the first time, to read a Faulkner book -- is "The Sound and the Fury." But that may not be the best choice.

A bibliomaniac’s burden

September 1, 2016 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 3 Comments

I became determined in my need to find the right reading copy of Pat Barker's World War I novel, "Regeneration." Here's what happened that afternoon.

My love for old, tattered books

January 27, 2016 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 13 Comments

Here's a recommendation to read (if you haven't already) John le Carré's classic espionage novel "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" -- and why I read an old, beat-up 1964 copy.

Bookfair loot

November 19, 2015 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 1 Comment

One day every year in November, I fill a shopping cart with used books at a book fair in Dayton, Ohio. Here are a few of this year's treasures.

The last night of summer

August 31, 2015 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 2 Comments

In this 1963 novel, written by one of the most widely read storytellers of the 20th century, people do crazy things when the last night of summer arrives.

“It’s a terribly powerful story”

August 13, 2015 ~ The Longest Chapter

People often ask how and where I find the books and stories I read. Here's an instance where I found "one of those stories that stays with you forever."

James Salter’s Ohio connection

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 5 Comments

Several years ago, I had a memorable conversation at Barnes & Noble that revealed a little known fact about novelist and short story writer James Salter. Here's the story, as well as a remembrance of this exceptional author who died last week.

A legal thriller I couldn’t put down

June 13, 2015June 16, 2015 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 2 Comments

Consider a trial lawyer who's an ex-con artist and a Russian mob boss on trial for murder who forces him into service via a bomb tucked into his coat, and you've got the beginning of Steve Cavanagh's debut legal thriller. It's filled with surprises and high entertainment.

Welcome new year, now here are old books

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 ~ The Longest Chapter

Here are three novels, two of them crime mysteries, published in 1993, 2009 and 1930. It's a way of welcoming the new year by remembering that the past in literature shall not be forgotten.

Anticipating September’s new novels

August 29, 2014August 29, 2014 ~ The Longest Chapter

Fall is the time readers can expect to see big-name authors release new novels. Here's a handful to look forward to this coming month.

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All Sides Weekend Books

I’ll be on air discussing book recommendations Friday, April 23, at 11 a.m. You can stream the show online, sign up for the podcast, or listen from the archives at the NPR member station WOSU 89.7 FM.

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