In “Hallucinations,” Oliver Sacks once again plays the role of the encyclopedic doctor of neurological phenomena. His signature way of telling strange tales of medicine fit for television hospital dramas hasn’t changed, but his topic has shifted to a small degree. He explores hallucinations and the human brain in his Read More…
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. never wrote an autobiography — his story is in his works, woven into the irony-filled science fiction that he’s known for. He never wrote a singular personal account perhaps because the category would be too constricting and the self-reflection too painful. Right before his sudden death in Read More…
When was the last time you heard an 81-year-old describe someone as “white boy wasted?” Only the master of observational journalism Tom Wolfe would ever be able to work this phrase into the right context. His reputation precedes him; however, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t work hard to continue Read More…
Comic Book Education The creativity of the art on display in the Concourse Exhibition Center was enough to inspire anyone to pick up a pencil and start doodling. When asked how they got their start, many artists revealed that they were self-taught, but a vast majority had some kind of Read More…
From Oct. 5-13, Litquake 2012 shook San Francisco with literary events. “Two Guys from Chicago: Daniel Clowes, Dave Eggers” Despite the formal feel of two red velvet chairs spotlighted on stage, “Two Guys from Chicago: An Evening with Daniel Clowes and Dave Eggers” began casually. The two compiled a humorous Read More…
The story of the New Yorker, the renowned arts and culture magazine, is an interesting one in and of itself, but it helps to start with Rea Irvin. Rea Irvin was the magazine’s art editor at its inception. Transplanted to the Big Apple from foggy San Francisco in 1906, Irvin Read More…
It’s clear in the beginning of Michael Chabon’s newest novel, “Telegraph Avenue,” that Nat Jaffe and Archy Stallings are fucked. In fact, it is the second sentence emitted from Nat’s mouth to his co-owner of Brokeland Records, a fictional, yet realistic, jazz music store in the fold of Berkeley and Read More…
Published in an August issue of The New Yorker, “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” is a postmodern affair that should be taken with a grain of salt. A cheater’s guide to love? The idea is laughable, as is his titular proposition: You’re going to allow the exact antithesis of love Read More…
Last Thursday night, David Sedaris talked pretty all over Berkeley. He started in the Berkeley Art Museum at a fundraiser-turned-cocktail party for the California College of the Arts, where the writer met with Stephen Beal — president of CCA and Sedaris’ former art professor at School of the Art Institute Read More…
In contrast to the standard linear novel, Hari Kunzru’s “Gods Without Men” twitches back and forth between hundreds of years with characters that all relate and complement one another — even if they do not meet. This makes it a thought-provoking novel for the often distracted and difficult-to-impress modern reader. Read More…