book reviews, editorial insight, literary commentary pop culture – Old Musty Books

What the New York Knicks are Reading

August 25, 2015

I love this article from the Wall Street Journal about the books Coach Derrick Fisher and General Manager Phil Jackson have assigned members of the NY Knicks. When Jackson took the job as GM for the NY sports team, I couldn’t wait to see the reading list he would assign. Recognizing the teams were slightly […]

Read the full article →

The Brontë Sister that Taught Us How to be a Badass

August 16, 2015

From the very first mention, How to be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis has been in my book stack. As I’ve mentioned previously, I was an avid reader as a child, but I didn’t meet Jane Eyre or Jo March until I was in my 20s – interestingly, when I was trying to make my […]

Read the full article →

Time for Late Summer Reading

August 7, 2015

This summer, I took time off from reading and writing to do arithmetic. It paid off, as I now have a college degree. This great accomplishment has been a long time coming – a really long time. Now, I’m ready to power read my way through the last weeks of summer and into the fall. […]

Read the full article →

How a Science Fiction Novel Changed the World

July 7, 2015

One of the best memories I have of my father is watching the movie Dune with him. The movie is one of the worst movies EVER, but he absolutely loved it and watched it every time it came on. A few years ago, I read the book for the first time in its entirity. It […]

Read the full article →

How To Kill a Mockingbird Reflects the Real Civil Rights Movement

June 27, 2015

Below is a chapter excerpt of The Enduring Power of To Kill a Mockingbird, Life Books. This book takes a look at the lasting effects of Harper Lee’s book novel, the making of the film and the world Lee lived in, and how the issue of civil rights affected the stories she wrote in To […]

Read the full article →

Zheng Churan: An Insider’s Guide to Better Eating in Chinese Detention Centers

June 26, 2015

This is a interesting article about a new book, published online this week. The woman is a chinese social worker who was held in a Chinese Detention Center for 37 days. Of interest to me is the contemplation of the food/recipes designed by the “inmates”. I’ve heard often times in U.S. prisons, the inmates do […]

Read the full article →

Go Through A Museum Like You Would Go Through A Bookstore

June 23, 2015

I loved this article. It takes a look at how most people go through museums and how unfulfilling it is. I loved the example about how we go through libraries and it really made me think about how I meander through a bookstore and how that matters when it comes to the connection made between […]

Read the full article →

Schlesinger Library Acquires Papers of Susan Griffin and Ruth Rosen

June 22, 2015

I feel like this article belongs here at Old Musty Books because these papers provide a basis for a new documentary She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, about the post-WWII women’s movement. Further, within these papers have snippets of reviews on the books and poems these women wrote over the course of this time period. These […]

Read the full article →

Books To Read Before You Turn 30

June 16, 2015

I typically don’t ascribe to lists like this, but the books on this list are really worth reading, regardless of your age. Read More here: 30 books to read before you turn 30 Some books are best read at a certain age. Even the novels and memoirs you might consider timeless — Toni Morrison’s The […]

Read the full article →

Revisiting Ready Player One

June 8, 2015

I love this article about the “greatest video game novel”. I’ve never read it, but, after reading this, I will be adding it to my book stack. If you are a gamer, I highly suggest maybe you also take a crack at Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. He has a new book coming out […]