In the past weeks, Booknik mastered some new tricks of literary work, did a comparative study of sacrilege, sniffed at various goods at a flea market, pined for some okroshka cold soup, and went mushroom-hunting in a new York forest. Meanwhile, Booknik Jr. was over his head in a book.

PADS and Other Animals
The Devil Colony, by James Rollins
The Devil Colony is something like a gripping PsychoWiki, when you jump from page to page in short trips, and every hyperlink is accompanied by gunfire and demonic laughter. It looks like a new terrifying word in literature, the Prose with the Attention Deficit Disorder, and the hyperactivity to boot. While reading, one cannot but think that the author, jangling and jittering, printed out the entire Wikipedia, cut it into noodles, and then started writing, while asking his dog, and Indian girl, or a Mormon old man to select a shred of paper at random, containing a word or a single letter. From now on, Booknik’s literary critic Ivan Pervertov is going to write his reviews in the same manner.

…and many other noogie noodles in the Books & Reviews section.

 

Desecration and Punishment
A roaming preacher decided that selling ritual goods in the Temple or, rather, by it, would be the desecration of Lord’s House that turns it into a den of thieves. Therefore, he selected the punishment that could undermine their business, and drove them away using a whip. Booknik’s managing editor Galina Zelenina turned to the topical theme of sacrilege, punishment, or even retribution. In the Jewish tradition only, though.

…and many other topical tops in the Articles & Interviews section.

 

Who Lives at a Flea Market?
There is no better history book than a flea market, no doubt about it, Booknik’s Tel Aviv reporter Alexandra Tikhonova claims. But it smells, you might say to it. Of course, she would answer, and it has the dust of antiquity, peddlers’ cries, and the obligatory aroma of cardamom coffee. You cannot but bargain here. See for yourselves.

…and many other marketing marks in the Events & Reports section.

 

Five Stories about Consistency from Linor Goralik
Photo producer K. and her husband try to decide if they should perform the US on their pregnant cat. “Congratulations, the vet says, you have a boy, a boy, a girl, and a boy.” When home, the inspired photo producer K. paints the box for the future litter blue, blue, pink, and blue.

Fromrussia, with Love
Booknik’s special kibbutz reporter Elisha Zinde reports on from the Promised Land of milk and honey. They do not have kvass, however, he grieves. It is peanuts they actually do not have here for complete happiness, like kvass you crave from the depth of your soul. It might not even be the barrel street variety, poured into Communist communal glasses, like they used to do in our golden childhood, it could be the contemporary plastic bottle type. Nevertheless, it is nowhere to be had, here, no money can buy it.

…and many other impossible images in the Columns & Columns section.

 

Gravity’s Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon. An Excerpt
By the end of summer, Eksmo Publishers will publish Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, translated by Booknik contributors Anastasia Gryzunova and Max Nemtsov. We have chosen an episode for publication that is a more or less self-contained story in the novel, of a Japanese naval officer. Apart from the marked beginning and end, it has some of the themes important for Pynchon, like paranoia, corruption of Tradition, juxtaposition of private madness and cruelty of the bureaucratic system. Much more, however, remains out of the shot.

…and many other raining rainbow in the Stories & Essays section.

 

The New York Crossroads, Conversation No. 12
In a deep New York forest, among hares, squirrels, and even bears, it is especially good to write about books, and the art of reading, Alexander Genis believes. In our conversation, we shall travel from New York crossroads, avenues, and pavements to paths and trails in the woods beyond the George Washington Bridge. Just have seat at a tree stump, and turn your TV on.

…and many other hectic hikes in the Video Blog section.

 

Then They Fly to You!
Biga and Kasa, by Margarita Shchetinskaya and Ilya Donets
There are books that you fall into like diving into grass. Do you remember Alice falling into the Wonderland? It does not matter if you are climbing a tree when falling, or striking acquaintances with unusual creatures that dwell there after the Moon had gotten lost in its branches.

…and many other trippy trips at Booknik Jr., also known as Family Booknik, our own web site for kids and their parents.

 

If we live our lives the right way then everything we do can become a work of art. Booknik and Family Booknik are supported by the AVI CHAI Foundation.