January 31, 2021
by jenniferpuryear
If you want to know a person, figure out what aggravates them. For Sean Kinch? “My hips creak when I run, clever mice in our basement have learned how to avoid traps, Balzac wrote too many novels, and I have no memory whatsoever of the summer of 1990. None.” I’m waiting for this book to be written, Sean!! In the meanwhile, I’m so delighted for …
June 6, 2020
by jenniferpuryear
Sean Kinch returns to Bacon today with a top pick for June, but first he answers a few questions about the days of our lives…
May 17, 2020
by jenniferpuryear
I’m almost scared to say this, but I find myself – adjusting. Not feeling quite as volatile. Feeling calmer in the face of what lies ahead. Maybe it helped to eat out at my favorite restaurant, etc, a few nights ago. It helped to walk with a girlfriend, I think, and make plans with another. For the first time in months I feel like I …
April 15, 2020
by jenniferpuryear
Sean Kinch makes a strong case for Hilary Mantel’s new novel, The Mirror and the Light (in his socks, from his back porch, making quarantine look good). He calls his review a “nudge to fence sitters,” and I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!
December 15, 2019
by jenniferpuryear
Book Titles: Lost and Wanted, The Flight Portfolio, Unquiet, Trinity, Inland, The Gay Place
I always pay attention to what Sean Kinch – an extraordinary English teacher, by all reports – is reading. He agreed to share his Top Five Reads of 2019. “I really enjoyed putting this together, finding ways to tout novels I loved,” he told me. “I kept my top five to 2019 releases but couldn’t resist the chance to advocate for a Billy Lee Brammer …
August 13, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Book Title: Penelope Lemon Game On!
Penelope Lemon may not be our next Jane Eyre, swooning over the mysterious Mr. Rochester. She may not be our next Catherine, wildly seeking Heathcliff on the moors. But she’s looking for love on a Christian dating website. When she’s not working at a western-style roadhouse restaurant. She’s got dreams, too, our Penelope! Along with two divorces and a son called “Fart Boy” by other …
January 14, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Book Titles: Forest Dark, Manhattan Beach, Transit, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, The Idiot, Exit West
EE Sean Kinch returns to Bacon today with a delicious fiction roundup featuring his favorite novels published in 2017. Stop in and enjoy this tempting Top Ten! You’ll recognize old friends – and discover new enchantments. From Sean: Twenty-seventeen started slowly on the fiction front, but by mid-year the pace quickened. As the fall heavyweights rolled off presses, I felt like Lucille Ball in the …
June 8, 2017
by jenniferpuryear
Sean Kinch, the Pekka Rinne of reading, is back at Bacon today with a fantastic round-up of summer reads and some powerful encouragement to go big this summer. From Sean: For me, summer is the time to clear the nightstand – and by “nightstand” I mean wherever you collect books you intend to read in the near (if undefined) future. In my house, books tend to accumulate …
December 14, 2016
by jenniferpuryear
Today, one of the most avid and discerning readers I know shares his “Best of” list for 2016. I’m taking notes. From Sean Kinch: I am a devoted reader of “Best of” book lists. Seeing what others consider the cream of the year gives me a chance to learn what I have missed and provides the inspiration to lift a title to the top of …
July 8, 2016
by jenniferpuryear
Today’s Bacon Blast features the faces, voices, and summer reading choices of thirteen terrific Chapter 16 writers. I’ve already chosen three new books from their recommendations and had a hard time stopping there! You won’t want to miss Chapter 16’s new website, just launched, for more great ideas about what to read next. Humanities Tennessee founded Chapter 16 in 2009 to provide comprehensive coverage of literary news and events in …