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      • Clear Out the Static in Your Attic: A Writer’s Guide for Transforming Artifacts into Art
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A Geography of Reading

"It is by reading novels, stories, and myths that we come to understand the world in which we live." -Orhan Pamuk

Reviews

One of the blessings of having lived on three continents, is that my life is organized in concise geographic snippets. While a world region does not solely define a culture, shared experience and languages do influence the literature of regions, so I’ve organized the book reviews on this site by region (Africa, Arabia, Asia, Eastern or Western Europe, Latin America, South Pacific, and USA & Canada). I look forward to exploring the world with you through books and other media.

I also draw inspiration from other art forms so sometimes write film reviews and art reviews to help me understand how those forms influence my writing.

If you are a humanities nerd like I am, 800 words will not be enough to slake your research thirst. Please check out my Tumblr where I share additional material (quotes, images, and more) about each book and author I review. For example, did you know Faulkner once proposed a literary prize for manuscripts smuggled out from behind the Iron Curtain? The most recent Tumblr posts are available on the sidebar to your right.

Sometimes I only have a few things to say about a book and I read more books than I could write full reviews about (while still having enough writing time to qualify as a novelist). To find out what else I’m reading, check out my author page on Goodreads. And for interim updates on reading and the literary world, follow me on Twitter.

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My Books

Polska, 1994

Polska 1994

Clear Out the Static in Your Attic

Clear Out the Static in Your Attic_cover

Recent Posts

  • The Meaning of Life, Art, and the Sea with Anca Szilágyi and Dorthe Nors
  • Reading All About Love and Rabbits with Bell Hooks and Kate DiCamillo
  • Racing Through Mick Herron’s Slow Horses
  • My Favorite Books of 2021
  • Finding Home in The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

What I’m Reading

Isla's bookshelf: currently-reading

Birds of America
Birds of America
by Lorrie Moore
The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.
The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.
by Jonathan Lethem
The Souls of Black Folk
The Souls of Black Folk
by W.E.B. Du Bois
Bomb: The Author Interviews
Bomb: The Author Interviews
by BOMB Magazine
On Writing
On Writing
by Jorge Luis Borges

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Content copyright Isla McKetta © 2023.