J. Kingston Pierce

Review: The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

November 23, 2009 admin 0

Today in January Magazine’s non-fiction section, senior editor J. Kingston Pierce reviews The Big Burn by Timothy Egan. Says Pierce: Americans, especially those of us living in the West, take our public lands for granted. They’ve always been places to appreciate from afar, or places to escape to and reinvigorate ourselves. But what would’ve happened had those public reserves — those horizon-gobbling wilderness refuges and national forests — not been saved for us to appreciate? […]

Kanon’s Stardust is Pierce’s Pick

September 28, 2009 admin 0

One of the weekly features of January Magazine’s crime-fiction page is “Pierce’s Picks.” Every Monday, J. Kingston Pierce selects a just-published book that goes on to headline January’s crime-fiction section for the next seven days. His selection for this week is Stardust by Joseph Kanon, while for the week of September 21st, he chose The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. If you have not been keeping track of what Pierce has been Picking (just try […]

Books & Politics?

September 4, 2009 admin 1

Now, obviously, January Magazine is not a political forum. Nor — clearly — is our sister publication, the crime fiction blog The Rap Sheet. However Rap Sheet editor J. Kingston Pierce has once again drawn the ire of some of his readers with a clearly political posting. One of the ireful comments asks if political opinion really has a place on a blog dedicated to books. My response — not that anyone asked — is […]

New Today: The Complaints by Ian Rankin

September 3, 2009 admin 0

When he killed off John Rebus, his well-loved detective, in last year’s aptly named Exit Music, some people feared that might be the last we’d hear from Ian Rankin, as well. Not so. New today, The Complaints (Orion), in which we are introduced to Malcolm Fox. Though Fox is stationed not far from Rebus, his mission is a lifetime away. The Complaints is this week’s “Pierce’s Pick” here at January Magazine and, as is his […]

Don’t Adjust the Horizontal

August 24, 2009 admin 2

Today in The Rap Sheet’s spin-off blog, Killer Covers, J. Kingston Pierce chats with Charles Ardai, publisher of Hard Case Crime, an outfit that has been publishing interesting — and well covered — books ever since it debuted five years ago. Though Pierce and Ardai have chatted before, this time out their conversation stems from yet another bit of innovative publishing: one of Hard Case’s newest titles, Russell Atwood’s Losers Live Longer, sports the Robert […]

Non-Fiction: Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition by Alan J. Stein, Paula Becker and the HistoryLink Staff

July 26, 2009 admin 3

Although even many Seattleites seem oblivious to the fact, this summer marks the 100th anniversary of their city’s first world’s fair. It was on June 1, 1909, that the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P) opened its gates and concessions on what is now the campus of the University of Washington, north of downtown. Around 80,000 people trooped through the fair on opening day, and by the time it finally shut down in mid-October of that year, more […]

Happy Birthday, Baby!

May 24, 2009 admin 3

It was three years ago last week that we sent The Rap Sheet out onto the blogosphere on its own steam. And, wow: baby done good! As Rap Sheet editor J. Kingston Pierce noted on Friday: It was in May 2006 that we took a chance and cut The Rap Sheet loose from its great mothership, January Magazine. We’ve been trying to fly on our own ever since, with varying degrees of success. It’s amazing […]

Heads Up for Pierce’s Picks

May 5, 2009 admin 0

One of the weekly features of January Magazine’s crime-fiction page is “Pierce’s Picks.” Every Monday, J. Kingston Pierce selects a just-published book that goes on to headline January’s crime-fiction section for the next seven days. His selection for this week is The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth, while for the week of April 27, he chose Nobody Move by Denis Johnson. If you have not been keeping track of what Pierce has been Picking […]

Thoughts on Books and Tea Parties

April 15, 2009 admin 1

In his usual stylish fashion, J. Kingston Pierce at The Rap Sheet socks it to ‘em with a trenchant post on death, taxes and book covers: I’ve been waiting for months to post this book jacket. And I could hardly have picked a better day than this: April 15, aka Tax Day in the United States. While political right-wingers and FOX News talking heads, upset at President Barack Obama’s campaign to repair the sour U.S. […]