Jesse Lobbs

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On the Shelf: Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Aug 11, 2024 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“Anita De Monte Laughs Last,” by Xochitl Gonzalez, Flatiron Books, 2024, $28.99. Who do we remember and why? And what kind of power do we grant an artist’s memory by the practice of remembering and celebrating them? These are the questions Xochitl (pronounced “soh-cheel”) Gonzales poses in her second novel. Anita de Monte is a powerhouse. She is a Latina, born in Cuba and raised, partly, in the United States, Anita is an artist engaged in the blood and earth of her upbringing.
On the Shelf: Open Wide

Jul 7, 2024 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“Open Wide: A Cookbook for Friends,” by benny blanco with Jess Damuck, Harper Collins, 2024, $35.00. We live in a golden age of cookbooks. Thanks to TikTok and YouTube, home cooks in particular are able to get in on the game and bring their own personal flair to recipes old and new. Some cookbooks are better than others and they are increasingly unique. “Open Wide” is no exception. benny blanco is a record producer, musician, and actor.
On the Shelf: 'LEG'

Apr 6, 2024 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“LEG: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It,” by Greg Marshall, Harry N. Abrams, 2023, $28.00. Watch out, David Sedaris, there’s a new humorist in town. No, but seriously Greg Marshall is a very funny and moving memoirist in his own right. In my own reading background, Sedaris was the first author I thought of, maybe along with R. Eric Thomas. I read it quickly and immediately ordered a copy.
On the Shelf: 'Truffle Hound'

Feb 11, 2024 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“Truffle Hound: On the Trail of the World’s Most Seductive Fungus with Dreamers, Schemers, and Some Extraordinary Dogs,” by Rowan Jacobsen, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023, $18.99. I was not raised on haute cuisine. The food that nourished me was either the time-tested and territorial staples of southern cooking or the Hamburger Helper-casserole varieties. There was little in between. Mushrooms showed up in the form of cream of mushroom soup, but that was it.
On the Shelf: 'Roaming'

Jan 6, 2024 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“Roaming,” by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, Drawn & Quarterly, 2023, $34.95. There’s a period in our lives where we really don’t know what’s going on. We are lazily drifting from one experience to the next, trying to figure out where we are going to fit in and how well our past, including our relationships, is going to fit into our future.
On the Shelf: 'Traitor of Redwinter'

Dec 9, 2023 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“Traitor of Redwinter,” by Ed McDonald, Tor Books, 2023, $29.99. If I had been writing regularly here when the first Redwinter Chronicles book was published, I would have raved about “Daughter of Redwinter.” But I wasn’t. I can, however, heap praise upon Ed McDonald’s “Traitor of Redwinter.” This loosely Scottish-inspired fantasy novel is one of the better fantasies I’ve read in a while.
On the Shelf: "Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career"

Nov 10, 2023 | emporiagazette.com | Kristi Coulter |MCD Books |Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career,” by Kristi Coulter, MCD Books, 2023, $29.00. The grass is always greener. I don’t know what smug (probably better off than me) individual said that, but it’s trotted out most regularly regarding our jobs. My job might be satisfactory or terrible, but there is always the fear that any next step could be much worse. In corporate America, that’s a given.
On the Shelf: 'In the Lives of Puppets'

Oct 7, 2023 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“In the Lives of Puppets” by TJ Klune, Tor, 2023, $24.99. TJ Klune, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author, is back with another winner. “In the Lives of Puppets,” a work loosely inspired by “The Adventures of Pinnochio,” we are introduced to a different sort of robot dystopia. Victor is a real human boy in a world dominated by machines. His android father raises Victor in the woods, far away from the robot overlords who want to exterminate all human life.
On the Shelf: 'The Glow'

Sep 9, 2023 | emporiagazette.com | Jesse Lobbs |Jessie Gaynor

By Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“The Glow” by Jessie Gaynor, Random House, 2023, $27.00. Public Relations Jane is doing her best. Her best is just not good enough and, believe her, she is well aware. “PR Jane” may be a breezy wannabe girlboss, but Actual Jane can’t drum up much of any feeling other than dread. Actual Millenial Jane Dorner is devastated after a breakup, a relationship with the chance to be the one.
On the Shelf: 'The Good Enough Job'

Aug 5, 2023 | emporiagazette.com | Simone Stolzoff |Jesse Lobbs

Reviewed by Jesse Lobbs“The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work” by Simone Stolzoff, Portfolio Penguin, 2023, $28.00. The coronavirus pandemic challenged many of our assumptions about work. Across the country, Americans (and our employers) are starting to reimagine jobs, careers, and the future of work. In “The Good Enough Job,” Simone Stolzoff imagines a world where work is not the center of our lives. We shift from asking others “what do you do” to “what do you most enjoy”.