Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | Books | AAN.org

Literary Lion On Demandnew

Why did an established literary author decide to go with Lulu.com's print-on-demand self-publishing service for his most recent book? John Edgar Wideman talks about the future of literature, and stories that can fit on a phone screen.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 05-13-2010 | Author Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Briefs: Stories for the Palm of the Mind, John Edgar Wideman

A Retired UC Davis History Professor Turns Detectivenew

The Codex Cardona is a 16th century account (by native scribes) of what life was like in Mexico before and immediately after the arrival of the Europeans. A retired UC Davis history professor turns detective and attempts to solve the mystery of a missing Mexican treasure.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 02-25-2010 | Author Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Arnold J. Bauer, The Search for the Codex Cardona

'Breadline USA' Examines the Reality of Hunger in Americanew

America's No. 1 health problem, the media relentlessly tell us, is obesity. Americans eat too much and we're the fattest people in the world. Except that, according to Sasha Abramsky, many Americans go hungry on a regular basis. And even many of those who aren’t hungry today suffer from what experts have taken to calling "food insecurity."

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 07-23-2009 | Nonfiction

Tags: Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It, food, health, Sasha Abramsky, nonfiction, hunger

'Contagious' is Not a Typical Sci-Fi Novelnew

Scott Sigler has created a fan base with his serial podcasts of sci-fi/horror novels. Now Contagious promises to spread his scary stuff among traditional readers.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 01-15-2009 | Fiction

Tags: horror, science fiction, Contagious, Scott Sigler

'Lady Lazarus' is a Fictional Critique of American Culture Both Great and Smallnew

Lady Lazarus is about more than the cult of (dead) celebrity worship. It's also about the commodification of art, whether that occurs in the high prices charged for a "definitive boxed set," the creation of artists in graduate programs or the anointing of "stars" in the popular press.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 05-30-2008 | Fiction

Tags: Fiction Reviews, Andrew Foster Altschul, Lady Lazarus

Just a Few Questionsnew

If Mark Doty's poems question us until we're certain, Rachel Zucker turns every statement into a question.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 04-11-2008 | Poetry

Tags: Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems, Mark Doty, Poetry Reviews

'The War on Bugs' Explores the Pesticide Agendanew

We've come a long way from arsenic-tainted food (arsenic and lead were popular pesticides for decades), but, as Will Allen rightly points out in his new book, our determination to slaughter pests and increase yields has had some far-reaching consequences on health -- both ours and the planet's.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 04-11-2008 | Nonfiction

Tags: environment, pesticides, DDT, pollutants, The War On Bugs, Will Allen, Nonfiction Reviews

Go, Dog, Gonew

Beowulf meets Bram Stoker. Or perhaps Homer writes an epic about a lycanthropically-challenged Corleone family. Either way, Toby Barlow's novel-in-verse about urban werewolves is busting genre every which way, and in the very best way.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 02-14-2008 | Fiction

Tags: Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow, Fiction Reviews

About our moneynew

How do the richer get richer? By taking money from wage-earners, through tax abatements, incentives, and subsidies.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 01-31-2008 | Nonfiction

Tags: David Cay Johnston, Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill), Nonfiction Reviews

Agree, or Don'tnew

Our book critics pick their best of 2007. Feel free to argue.

Sacramento News & Review | Jonathan Kiefer, Kel Munger and Melinda Welsh | 12-06-2007 | Books

Fall Fournew

Four fall fiction choices outside the usual: Baltimore, or the Steadfast Tin Soldier; Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary; The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue; and 2236. These novels are genre-benders that provide new ways of looking at the world -- as well as good reads.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 10-12-2007 | Fiction

Tags: Fiction Reviews

Tales of Disintegrationnew

David Peace, selected in 1993 as one of Britain's best young novelists by Granta magazine, sets his new novel in the rubble of post-WWII Tokyo. A detective story with a difference, it shows a city that doesn't need crime to destroy it. War is enough.

Sacramento News & Review | Kel Munger | 09-24-2007 | Fiction

Tags: David Peace, Tokyo Year Zero, Fiction Reviews