Bates Crawford

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"The Best Short Stories 2021" collection allows readers to explore 20 beautifully-imagined worlds

By Bates Crawford | October 31, 2021

All of these stories are fantastic, and it’s clear why Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the very first guest editor for the collection, selected them. Some entertain questions of love and loss, others grapple with public scandals and shame. A few even recognize the temporary bleakness of ordinary circumstances, and how that can be reshaped by the kindness of strangers. What all of these authors do, though, is distill a human experience to its bare bones.

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Maggie O’Farrell’s “Hamnet” shines a necessary light on Shakespeare's early career

By Bates Crawford | August 19, 2021

Even now, with such a famous individual in the family, Shakespeare’s wife and children remain comparatively tucked away in the fringes of popular culture. Their oversight has become acceptable, with much of Shakespearian education emphasizing his singularity. In the novel, though, O’Farrell shakes things up.

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Elle Cosimano’s ‘Finlay Donovan Is Killing It: A Mystery’ is a perfectly clever summer read

By Bates Crawford | May 31, 2021

If you, like me, are looking to enjoy a season of reading, or perhaps are interested in picking up a few books here and there, I would recommend starting your summer days on this adventure with Finn. 

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Marilynne Robinson's 'Gilead' mines epic emotion out of quiet drudgery

By Bates Crawford | March 29, 2021

When reading, I often felt as though I was part of a conversation not meant for me.

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Mikel Jollett's stirring memoir 'Hollywood Park' redefines family

By Bates Crawford | January 11, 2021

Mikel Jollett’s “Hollywood Park” shows that a family is not only a concept but also an experience, which requires work and communication. 

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The title says it all in Jean Hannah Edelstein's 'This Really Isn't About You'

By Bates Crawford | December 8, 2020

In times of discomfort and sadness, our responses are often a confusing blend of emotion. With great tact and poise, Edelstein explores her personal response to pain by showing that this is life, and it is not simple. 

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Charlotte McConaghy's 'Migrations' is an expansive novel for isolated times

By Bates Crawford | October 29, 2020

While we are all stuck at home, this story of an escape and a search beyond ourselves enables us to travel far and wide. 

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'Sabrina and Corina' thoughtfully captures changing realities and relationships

By Bates Crawford | September 26, 2020

Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s 2019 short story collection and National Book Award finalist, “Sabrina and Corina,” is everything a short story should be. 

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Glennon Doyle's 'Untamed' finds power in the uncomfortable

By Bates Crawford | August 21, 2020

It is reductionist to say that self-help books are too regimented and clinical. Of course, there are books that enforce a “how to” tone or a certain sense of  “this is what you must do,” but many others are less instructive and more descriptive.

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'Waiting for Eden' is a devastating story about loving and letting go

By Bates Crawford | July 25, 2020

There are some books that beg to be finished in one day: they pull you in with heroic characters and moving stories and transport you to a world that is foreign but familiar. Elliot Ackerman’s “Waiting for Eden,” published in 2018, is exactly one of these novels.

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