Elisabeth Cook is a book and cultural critic, a fiction writer, and the lead editor of The BookBrowse Review. She has written for Book Riot, Dorkaholics, The Spool, and other publications.
Monthly Book Lists
Our monthly book list for May includes nonfiction from Jesmyn Ward, a speculative novel by Tom Lin following Chinese immigrants in South Dakota who encounter a secret government program, and more.
Reviews
Felix stresses that real, substantial change isn’t instant, nor does it happen without us—without people. But real change is happening, will happen, must happen despite the liberal cynicism and fear that will tell you it isn’t, won’t, can’t.
Interviews
"Exile is such a strange and absurd situation. I think there are going to be things you miss so much. You start to wonder whether or not it really was worth it. And what you're willing to give up to get some of those things back."
Monthly Book Lists
See what April books we're excited about. This month's selection includes an International Booker Prize nominee, a novel that features Monica Lewinsky as a patron saint, and more.
Features
There is a pervasive idea that serious fiction is purely a pursuit of the mind, meaning it is not of the body, of desire, of pleasure, of satisfaction and relief. It is not meant to be therapeutic or healing.
Monthly Book Lists
Check out five books we're looking forward to that are coming out in March, including new releases from Rebecca Solnit and Louise Erdrich.
Reviews
Persona’s title and premise of two women who seem to share some aspects of their identities is evocative of the Bergman film of the same name, but it is also a rich exploration of technological isolation that centers on what one character calls the Default Persona.
Reviews
In which I write about Nina McConigley's debut novel and fall far into comparisons to my own biracial childhood and adolescence in the 1980s and '90s, as well as musings on Asian American literature.
Monthly Book Lists
Our takes on six books forthcoming in February 2026, including novels, short story collections, and nonfiction.
Reviews
While reading Quan Barry’s new novel The Unveiling alongside Tiphanie Yanique's "On Character," I was struck by how it reflects Yanique's expansive approach to realism for authors of color, demonstrating a way to write fiction beyond the limits of the psychological.