Vol. 1 Brooklyn
@vol1brooklyn.bsky.social
Thoughts on books and culture, plus original fiction and essays.
"He thumbed through the record collection and said something about the one that was already playing and she nodded and asked him who it was that was playing and he said who and she nodded, as if she had forgotten." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/09/s...
Sunday Stories: “What We Can Do Without”
What We Can Do Withoutby Jake Winn Night came early that day, and not for the first time that week. Owen Smith woke from an inebriated sleep to discover his wallet missing. He checked underneath th…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:11 PM
"He thumbed through the record collection and said something about the one that was already playing and she nodded and asked him who it was that was playing and he said who and she nodded, as if she had forgotten." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/09/s...
In our weekend reading: thoughts on a Denis Johnson film adaptation, an excerpt from John Tottenham's novel, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/08/w...
Weekend Bites: “Train Dreams” on Film, Quan Barry’s Latest, John Tottenham’s Fiction, and More
In our weekend reading: thoughts on a Denis Johnson film adaptation, an excerpt from John Tottenham’s novel, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:01 AM
In our weekend reading: thoughts on a Denis Johnson film adaptation, an excerpt from John Tottenham's novel, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/08/w...
In our morning reading: catching up with Tortoise, notable horror fiction, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/07/m...
Morning Bites: Tortoise Interviewed, Naomi Kanakia on YA, Nadia Bulkin on Horror, and More
In our morning reading: catching up with Tortoise, notable horror fiction, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
In our morning reading: catching up with Tortoise, notable horror fiction, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/07/m...
Afternoon Bites: Ben Okri's Latest, Claire Rousay's Recommendations, Sari Botton Interviewed, and More www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/05/a...
Afternoon Bites: Ben Okri’s Latest, Claire Rousay’s Recommendations, Sari Botton Interviewed, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Ben Okri’s new novel, Claire Rousay on her recommended music, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Afternoon Bites: Ben Okri's Latest, Claire Rousay's Recommendations, Sari Botton Interviewed, and More www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/05/a...
A Taxonomy of the Weird: On “Cathedral of the Drowned” www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/05/a...
A Taxonomy of the Weird: On “Cathedral of the Drowned”
Ever since I first sat down with Nathan Ballingrud’s collection North American Lake Monsters, I’ve been enthusiastic about his work. The stories in that collection and its followup, Wounds, abounde…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:10 PM
A Taxonomy of the Weird: On “Cathedral of the Drowned” www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/05/a...
In our morning reading: an interview with Erin Somers, nonfiction by Thomas Beller, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/04/m...
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/04/m...
Morning Bites: Erin Somers on Writing, World Fantasy Award Winners, Jesi Bender’s Latest, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Erin Somers, nonfiction by Thomas Beller, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:11 PM
In our morning reading: an interview with Erin Somers, nonfiction by Thomas Beller, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/04/m...
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/04/m...
"Ansari Bhai munches. His son takes a bite. In nine hours, all Iftekar has eaten is a bowl of chira. He swallows his saliva. Ruti crumbs coat the headlines." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/02/s...
Sunday Stories: “You Say Roti; I Say Ruti”
You Say Roti; I Say Rutiby Sumaiya Aftab Ahmed for Abdul Latif Joarder Jessore, East Pakistan, 1971 The Pakistani soldiers joke among themselves, and Iftekar cannot trace the indefinite shapes of t…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:03 PM
"Ansari Bhai munches. His son takes a bite. In nine hours, all Iftekar has eaten is a bowl of chira. He swallows his saliva. Ruti crumbs coat the headlines." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/02/s...
Reposted by Vol. 1 Brooklyn
Yes. This gets the novel:
“Enter the Peerless is grade-A Weird fiction, with imagery that follows its own logic and neatly juxtaposes the everyday with the utterly bizarre.”
“Enter the Peerless is grade-A Weird fiction, with imagery that follows its own logic and neatly juxtaposes the everyday with the utterly bizarre.”
We reviewed @bleakhousing.bsky.social's very strange, very good ENTER THE PEERLESS. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/30/n...
Not the Locked-Room Mystery You Were Expecting: On “Enter the Peerless”
Is the idea of a crime taking place in a locked room the most primal version of the mystery novel? As a young reader, I devoured plenty of mystery stories, beginning with the Hardy Boys and Encyclo…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Yes. This gets the novel:
“Enter the Peerless is grade-A Weird fiction, with imagery that follows its own logic and neatly juxtaposes the everyday with the utterly bizarre.”
“Enter the Peerless is grade-A Weird fiction, with imagery that follows its own logic and neatly juxtaposes the everyday with the utterly bizarre.”
In our weekend reading: new work from Lynda Barry, revisiting “Frankenstein,” and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/01/w...
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/01/w...
Weekend Bites: Lynda Barry Returns, Revisiting Grace Jones, Jen Wang’s Comics, and More
In our weekend reading: new work from Lynda Barry, revisiting “Frankenstein,” and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:32 AM
In our weekend reading: new work from Lynda Barry, revisiting “Frankenstein,” and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/01/w...
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/11/01/w...
Afternoon Bites: Colin Dickey Gets Gothic, Anne Sexton and Horror, The Necks' Latest, and More www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/31/a...
Afternoon Bites: Colin Dickey Gets Gothic, Anne Sexton and Horror, The Necks’ Latest, and More
In our afternoon reading: writing from Colin Dickey, thoughts on the latest album from The Necks, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Afternoon Bites: Colin Dickey Gets Gothic, Anne Sexton and Horror, The Necks' Latest, and More www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/31/a...
In our morning reading: Halloween stories, a playlist from Jason Diamond, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/31/m...
Morning Bites: Halloween Stories, Jason Diamond’s Playlist, Ed Simon Nonfiction,
In our morning reading: Halloween stories, a playlist from Jason Diamond, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:24 PM
In our morning reading: Halloween stories, a playlist from Jason Diamond, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/31/m...
We reviewed @bleakhousing.bsky.social's very strange, very good ENTER THE PEERLESS. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/30/n...
Not the Locked-Room Mystery You Were Expecting: On “Enter the Peerless”
Is the idea of a crime taking place in a locked room the most primal version of the mystery novel? As a young reader, I devoured plenty of mystery stories, beginning with the Hardy Boys and Encyclo…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM
We reviewed @bleakhousing.bsky.social's very strange, very good ENTER THE PEERLESS. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/30/n...
Afternoon Bites: Ram V on Comics, Zefyr Lisowski Interviewed, Delaney Nolan's Debut, and More www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/29/a...
Afternoon Bites: Ram V on Comics, Zefyr Lisowski Interviewed, Delaney Nolan’s Debut, and More
In our afternoon reading: Ram V on comics, the return of a pulp detective, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Afternoon Bites: Ram V on Comics, Zefyr Lisowski Interviewed, Delaney Nolan's Debut, and More www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/29/a...
Revisiting "Tom the Dancing Bug" in the 1990s... www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/29/a...
A New Collection Revisits the First Decade of “Tom the Dancing Bug”
Today, we’re pleased to present an excerpt from a new retrospective collection covering the early years of Ruben Bolling’s long-running comic Tom the Dancing Bug, a Kickstarter campaign…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Revisiting "Tom the Dancing Bug" in the 1990s... www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/29/a...
Reposted by Vol. 1 Brooklyn
"...even as I was putting the book together, so much had changed so fast that a lot of the comics that I’d done about reproductive freedom had already shifted. Then, they shifted again." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/27/g...
Graphic Rage: An Interview with Writer and Artist Aubrey Hirsch
Writer and visual artist Aubrey Hirsch knows Clarence Thomas won’t be reading Graphic Rage – and that’s fine. Her new book isn’t meant to convert opponents; it aims to witness, validate, and …
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 27, 2025 at 7:07 PM
"...even as I was putting the book together, so much had changed so fast that a lot of the comics that I’d done about reproductive freedom had already shifted. Then, they shifted again." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/27/g...
"My dad had brought Easy Cheese because if you sprayed it in the water while snorkeling, fish would come out to eat it." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/26/s...
Sunday Stories: “Purple Ink”
Purple Inkby Coco Hull When I was eight years old, my family went on Christmas vacation at Bolongo Bay Resort, a cluster of pastel-colored beachside buildings on the island of St. Thomas. It was gl…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
"My dad had brought Easy Cheese because if you sprayed it in the water while snorkeling, fish would come out to eat it." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/26/s...
In our weekend reading: an interview with Ruyan Meng, nonfiction from Amber Sparks, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/25/w...
Weekend Bites: Ruyan Meng Interviewed, Amber Sparks on Miniatures, Adrian Van Young Fiction, and More
In our weekend reading: an interview with Ruyan Meng, nonfiction from Amber Sparks, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:39 AM
In our weekend reading: an interview with Ruyan Meng, nonfiction from Amber Sparks, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/25/w...
"I regaled her with mystical Arizonan tales of Sedona and Havasupai Falls, and at one point I suggested we both dig through a psychological goodie basket of aphorisms and each pick out one that meant the most to us." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/22/i...
It’s Fun to Think About, Sometimes
I first met Lauren in 2012, while she was a patient at the detox I worked at in Arizona. According to the Mayans, the world was supposed to end then, but her recovery, and our relationship, was jus…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:45 PM
"I regaled her with mystical Arizonan tales of Sedona and Havasupai Falls, and at one point I suggested we both dig through a psychological goodie basket of aphorisms and each pick out one that meant the most to us." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/22/i...
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on novels by Quan Barry and Todd Grimson, public transit reading rooms, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/22/a...
Afternoon Bites: Quan Barry’s Latest, Nigel Kneale’s Fiction, Bill Hillmann’s Playlist, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on novels by Quan Barry and Todd Grimson, public transit reading rooms, and more.
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:29 AM
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on novels by Quan Barry and Todd Grimson, public transit reading rooms, and more. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/22/a...
"I was in a difficult life moment, you could say. Or no, the opposite. Things were going well and I wasn’t used to that; happiness–or rather, contentment; better word–was difficult." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/19/s...
Sunday Stories: “Spider House”
Spider Houseby Crockett DoobI woke up looking at a spider on my ceiling. My first thought was denial: This spider will stay on my ceiling forever. It is content up there. The idea of the spider des…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
"I was in a difficult life moment, you could say. Or no, the opposite. Things were going well and I wasn’t used to that; happiness–or rather, contentment; better word–was difficult." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/19/s...
"You know, while having that childhood dream, I never once thought about the reality of the job and its crazy deadline of producing a new comic strip every single day of the year for ever. It’s probably good that I didn’t." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/p...
Patrick McDonnell on a Life in Comics
At this year’s Harvey Awards, six storied comic book creators were inducted in to the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame: John Byrne, Peter David, Patrick McDonnell, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Barba…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:38 PM
"You know, while having that childhood dream, I never once thought about the reality of the job and its crazy deadline of producing a new comic strip every single day of the year for ever. It’s probably good that I didn’t." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/p...
Reposted by Vol. 1 Brooklyn
Patrick McDonell has been inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame! Read the moving speech he gave on @vol1brooklyn.bsky.social
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/p...
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/p...
Patrick McDonnell on a Life in Comics
At this year’s Harvey Awards, six storied comic book creators were inducted in to the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame: John Byrne, Peter David, Patrick McDonnell, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Barba…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Patrick McDonell has been inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame! Read the moving speech he gave on @vol1brooklyn.bsky.social
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/p...
www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/p...
"...Peter’s ability to delude himself sends him on a journey of desperate efforts to win her—or someone—to love." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/l...
Love Potions for an Obsessive Age: On Mo David’s “Bring Your Lover Back”
He’s Peter, she’s Wendy, but this is no storybook romance. From the first pages of Bring Your Lover Back, the rockiness of this relationship is palpable—even before the reader learns of the small v…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
"...Peter’s ability to delude himself sends him on a journey of desperate efforts to win her—or someone—to love." www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/17/l...
Comics legend Matt Wagner talked all things Dracula. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/16/m...
Matt Wagner on Dracula’s Eternal Appeal
Both Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones have created some of the most unsettling stories in comic book history; Wagner’s work includes the sprawling science fiction/horror hybrid Grendel, while Jon…
www.vol1brooklyn.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Comics legend Matt Wagner talked all things Dracula. www.vol1brooklyn.com/2025/10/16/m...