David Given Schwarm

The Luzhin Defense by Vladimir Nabokov My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is without a doubt one of the all time great novels. An amazing tale of modern living that is so damn timeless it is scary–I have no idea how Nabokov did this–pure magic. The Chess backdrop is gold, but the childhood stuff…

What Work Is by Philip Levine My rating: 4 of 5 stars Absolutely Amazing! I picked this one up for five dollars at the great downtown LA book store, The Last Bookstore. I was buying books with National Book Award Winner stickers–I think I got four including a biography of Nabokov. The poems range from…

Like creating a masterpiece, quitting is an art: you have to decide what to keep within the frame and what to keep out.

Hypnotwist / Scarlet By Starlight by Gilbert Hernández My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another totally bizarre comic from GH. Continuing the trend of LOTS of weird sexual content combined with bizarre psychedelic plots this book delivers some amazing images. Scarlet by Starlight is a narrative tale of planetary exploration, interspecies conflicts, and disturbing human…

Chapter 6 On the table and floor were scattered sheets of paper covered with writing in pencil Excerpt From Nabokov, Vladimir. “The Luzhin Defense.” Vintage Books, 2011-02-16. Apple Books.This material may be protected by copyright. Available in Apple Books