Poor People by William T. Vollmann

Why are you poor? That was the simple yet groundbreaking question William T. Vollmann asked in cities and villages around the globe. The result of Vollmann’s fearless inquiry is a view of poverty unlike any previously offered.

Read full story

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Gilead is the fictional autobiography of John Ames, an elderly congregationalist pastor in the small, secluded town of Gilead, Iowa who knows that he is dying of a heart condition. At the beginning of the book, it is 1957, and Ames explains that he is writing an account of his life for his seven-year-old son, who will have few memories of him.

Read full story

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

Nine Stories is a collection of short stories by American fiction writer J. D. Salinger released in May 1953.

Read full story

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein explores the effects of Milton Friedman’s neoliberal fantasies on the modern political and economic landscapes.

Read full story

Habit Change And Refusing To Break The Chain

Herein I explain what I’m currently doing to try to remake my life.

Read full story

The Undiscovered Self by C.G. Jung

Jung delves into the dilemma of the individual in mass society.

Read full story

Discussion Of Anti-Social Safety Net Rhetoric On Facebook

Herein I reproduce the salient parts of a conversation I recently participated in on Facebook about the anti-social safety net rhetoric so common on social networking sites.

Read full story

Hydraulic Fracking Discussion On Facebook

Herein I post an extended response to the claims made in a Facebook discussion thread by a man who deals with the waste water created by the hydraulic fracking process.

Read full story

We Ought To Freeze Them Out

Herein a Metafilter commenter explains what ought to be done with liars.

Read full story

My Friend D Dreams Of Me

Herein I describe a disturbing dream a friend recently had about me.

Read full story

Mad Men: S1 E1, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Herein a response to the first episode of the first season of AMC’s Mad Men.

Read full story

Am I A Redundant Human Being? by Mela Hartwig

Luise Schmidt is an ordinary secretary with a burning question: am I a redundant human being?

Read full story

Weekly Motion Picture: Jun 4-10, 2012

Herein my friend R— gets hardcore on the air drums.

Read full story

Today: Feb 23, 2012

Herein a record of an epic beard-growing contest.

Read full story