Book Reviews and Author Interviews for The Red Hook Star-Revue and The Village Star-Revue
Quinn on Books is my monthly column and curated books section, covering fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry through a gay, culturally engaged lens. Acting as both writer and section editor, I select each title and shape the coverage with a focus on local authors and books of local interest.
While Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan remain at the heart of the column, I occasionally highlight books that resonate more broadly—especially those that speak to the shared experience of city living. By reading about urban life in other parts of the world, we discover common ground.
Since 2020, the column has appeared in The Red Hook Star-Revue and The Village Star-Revue, two independent papers rooted in their communities. Alongside reviews, it features interviews, photo essays, and behind-the-scenes looks at the people shaping today’s literary landscape.
Browse the full archive below, or start with a recent favorite.
Featured Article
A closer look at one of New York’s oldest bookstores.
Published by The Village Star-Revue (October 2025)
2025
Review of Portraits in Life and Death, by Peter Hujar
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (January 2025)
Review of Days Without Number, New York City, photographs by Giovanna Silva, with a text by Sasha Frere-Jones
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (February 2025)
Review of Horse Crazy, by Gary Indiana
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (March 2025)
Essay about Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, translated from the Dutch by B.M. Mooyaart
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (May 2024)
Review of Dining Out, by Erik Piepenburg
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (June 2025)
Interview with the author of UFO Symphonic
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (August 2025)
Review of The Bowery, by David Mulkins
Published by The Village Star-Revue (August 2025)
Review of Mornings Without Mii, by Mayumi Inaba, translated from the Japanese, by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (September 2025)
Review of Immigrant Hearts, by Catherine Gigante-Brown
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (October 2025)
2024
Review of Here in Avalon, by Tara Isabella Burton
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (January 2024)
Review of The Premonition, by Banana Yoshimoto; translated from Japanese by Asa Yoneda
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (February 2024)
Review of The Bloodied Nightgown, by Joan Acocella
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (March 2024)
Review of I Heard Her Call My Name, by Lucy Sante
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (June 2024)
Review of For All We Know, by Mike Fiorito
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (July 2024)
Review of Desperately Seeking Something, by Susan Seidelman
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (August 2024)
Review of Static, by Brendan Gillen
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (September 2024)
Review of Tarot for Creativity, by Chelsey Pippin Mizzi
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (October 2024)
Review of Countée Cullen's Harlem Renaissance, by Kevin Brown
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (November 2024)
Review of New York Nico’s Guide to NYC, by Nicolas Heller, with Jason Diamond; photography by Jeremy Cohen
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (December 2024)
2023
Review of Lunch with Lizabeth, by Todd Hughes
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (February 2023)
Review of Forgotten No More: The Restoration of Untermyer Gardens, by the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (March 2023)
Review of War Diary, by Yevgenia Belorusets
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (April 2023)
Interview with bookseller and novelist Emma Straub, author of This Time Tomorrow and owner of Brooklyn bookstore Books Are Magic
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (May 2023)
Review of Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew, by Jeremy Dauber
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (June 2023)
Review of Maud Martha, by Gwendolyn Brooks
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (July 2023)
Review of Kappa, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell and Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (September 2023)
Review of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (October 2023)
Review of I Must Be Dreaming, by Roz Chast
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (November 2023)
2022
Review of The Hotel, by Sophie Calle
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (February 2022)
Review of Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood, by DaMaris B. Hill
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (April 2022)
Review of One Headlight, by Matt Caprioli
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (June 2022)
Review of Be My Baby, by Ronnie Spector, with Vince Waldron
August 2022
Review of My Perfect Life, by Lynda Barry
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (October 2022)
2021
Review of Invisible Ink, by Patrick Modiano
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (January 2021)
Review of Bevelations, by Bevy Smith
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (February 2021)
Review of Falling from Trees, by Michael Fiorito
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (March 2021)
Review of Growing Up Bank Street, by Donna Florio
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (April 2021)
Review of Another Day’s Begun, by Howard Sherman
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (May 2021)
Review of Taking a Long Look, by Vivian Gornick
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (June 2021)
Review of Marvelous Manhattan, by Reggie Nadelson
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (July 2021)
Review of Mona, by Pola Oloixarac
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (August 2021)
Review of A Man Named Doll, by Jonathan Ames
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (September 2021)
Review of Black Star, by Eric Anthony Glover, illustrated by Arielle Jovellanos
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (October 2021)
Review of The Drag Explosion, by Linda Simpson
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (November 2021)
Review of Fierce Love, by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (December 2021)
2020
Review of Horror Stories: A Memoir, by Liz Phair
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (January 2020)
Review of Sleeveless: Fashion, Image, Media, New York 2011-2019, by Natasha Stagg
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (February 2020)
Review of Permanent Record, by Mary H.K. Choi
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (April 2020)
Review of The Dairy Restaurant, by Ben Katchor
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (June 2020)
Review of Swimming in the Dark, by Tomasz Jedrowski
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (July 2020)
Review of Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood, by Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (August 2020)
Review of The Paperback Guy, by Kurt Brokaw
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (September 2020)
Review of The Street, by Ann Petry
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (October 2020)
Review of The Meaning of Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey, with Michaela Angela Davis
Published by The Red Hook Star-Revue (November 2020)
