Category Archives: Fine Press Book Reviews

The Canon of Aphrodisia; published by First Bite Press

Posted on July 23, 2024 by J. Davis

Possibly one of the most delightful surprises I had at this year’s CODEX was meeting Stephanie Kimbro Dolin and learning about her First Bite Press.

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Preludes by T. S. Eliot; published by No Reply Press

Posted on July 27, 2023 by J. Davis

Upon receiving the beautiful edition of T. S. Eliot’s Preludes from No Reply Press, I realized that I have never reviewed my cherished Arion Press of The Wasteland. Mostly because even though I cherish that edition and love the poem, … Continue reading →

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Animal Farm by George Orwell; Published by the Arion Press

Posted on January 2, 2023 by J. Davis

Now, why in the world was I looking for a happy ending to this book? Or even a happy(ish) ending? This is George Orwell of 1984 and I’m reading it in 2022.

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The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Published by the Mad Parrot Press

Posted on April 27, 2022 by J. Davis

I’ve read this personal fave from my youngster days many times and have a hard time resisting new editions, especially handmade private press editions that feature one of my favorite illustrators. As they say, with every re-read of a book … Continue reading →

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Consider the Oyster by M.F.K. Fisher; Published by The Prototype Press

Posted on April 7, 2022 by J. Davis

Well, I swore off oysters a couple of decades ago after a reaction that I attributed to them. It was easy because I was just exploring them after refusing them while I grew up along the Chesapeake Bay and other … Continue reading →

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Eight World’s Wives by Carol Ann Duffy; Published by Fine Press Poetry

Posted on December 8, 2021 by J. Davis

I’ve been a poetry lover as far back as I can remember. At my age, that probably started, I think, with The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. The first “serious” poetry I remember, and by that … Continue reading →

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Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos; published by The Black Sun Press

Posted on October 14, 2021 by J. Davis

I now have three editions of this book even though I don’t enjoy reading it very much. It’s a curious book in that way. The two main characters are just so creepy and despicable but the writing is so good … Continue reading →

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Portrait of a Free Man by Frederick Douglass; Published by Thornwillow Press

Posted on February 27, 2021 by J. Davis

You’d think during a pandemic, with the yoga studios and tea events I normally work closed, while I work and stay at home except for grocery runs and rides up into the unpopulated trails behind my house, that I’d have … Continue reading →

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A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs; published by ERB Books

Posted on January 4, 2021 by J. Davis

Any Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) book is an instant trigger for déjà vu to my adolescent self, whether it is a mention of the author as an influence to a modern author, a sighting of one of his tattered pulp … Continue reading →

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Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham; Published by The Limited Editions Club

Posted on October 19, 2020 by J. Davis

The title of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel has always seemed fraught to me. It seems even more so now. I wondered early on if it might be titillating but then I realized it was written at the end of the … Continue reading →

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