RaveThe Seattle Book Review... inventive ... As a fan of science fiction, this quick read is fun ... Yoss builds a new world in Red Dust and refers often to Asimov, detective novels, and creates space ships and creatures, that all took me a few pages to learn. The payoff was well worth it. Good science fiction demonstrates the weaknesses and strengths of humanity ... I really enjoyed Raymond. I also couldn’t guess where the plot was going, it is fresh, unique. Yoss’s humor shines through either because he understands English or because the translator is that talented. The strength of the book is the relationships between Raymond and a couple of key characters, but the action is also clear and gives the book tension. I’m happy to have discovered the world of Yoss and will look for more of his quirky novels.
Derf Backderf
RaveSan Francisco Book ReviewI found it interesting, emotional, and informative. To say that it is moving would be an understatement. To say that it is painstakingly researched and referenced would also be an understatement ... The book analyzes what is known about why the guard killed the students and seriously injured nine others, but it does not fill holes with rumors. Backderf uses conversations that he has had, in addition to all the primary and secondary sources available ... The story of what happened that day is complicated, but it is served well in this book.
Colin Jost
PositiveThe Manhattan Book ReviewAn ode to Colin Jost’s A Very Punchable Face: Why would I read this book, isn’t he young for a memoir? It’s well written and quite funny. He has led an interesting life ... But is the book actually funny? It is! He’s got great observations about himself which reminded me of people I know and myself. Some of his SNL stories are hilarious and he’s got oddball footnotes on most pages that are also funny. It’s a smart book, too, and is very much like his Weekend Update newscast ... All in all, I really enjoyed A Very Punchable Face and recommend it to SNL fans.
