Reader and writer for BookPage, Bookreporter, Shelf Awareness & Kirkus Reviews. Also meditator, golfer, Dickinson College & University of Michigan Law School alum. I care about our democracy, too. https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mvgior5lw22p"Life is a period of sadness occasionally interrupted by tragedy." Eric Idle, IDLE IN PROVENCE: A Brief History of Thyme #sundaysentence13 Sep 2026 21:04 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvgior5lw22phttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mvczqz23m226From @bookreporter.bsky.social my review of Rachel Cusk’s novel LIFE OF M: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/life-of-m12 Sep 2026 11:59 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvczqz23m226https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3muoxpqhwls2jFrom @shelf-awareness.com my review of @newyorker.com staff write Nick Paumgarten’s #hockey memoir: THE INTANGIBLES: Friendship, Fatherhood, and the Love of the Game: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=5311#m7251704 Sep 2026 12:29 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3muoxpqhwls2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3muhod4gt5c27In memory of Wendell Berry, who died yesterday, age 92. His gorgeous poem about a long union, “The Country of Marriage”: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-country-of-marriage/01 Sep 2026 14:52 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhod4gt5c27https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mucs3d4nw22h“The half-moon leaned through branches like an ear listening to the earth.” Tom Drury, WEST OF LOVELAND #sundaysentence30 Aug 2026 16:16 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mucs3d4nw22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mtw6nbvrvc2lThese deaths were completely preventable and they were the doing of the Trump administration and its reckless health policies. [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Aug 2026 15:56 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtw6nbvrvc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mt7wa77hik2k“The western sky lay deep and dark with magenta light and against that light they could see tornadoes, lots of them, ghost ribbons descending pale from on high and striving to touch the earth. Tom Drury WEST OF LOVELAND #sundaysentence16 Aug 2026 19:27 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt7wa77hik2khttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mt4pfpwhdc2fTéa Obreht’s novel SUNRISE almost certainly will be on my list of Favorites of 2026. I explain why in my review for @bookreporter.bsky.social: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/sunrise-by-tea-obreht. @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social15 Aug 2026 12:47 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4pfpwhdc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3msql4cixrk2kWhat a nice surprise it was to get this butterfly photograph as I started off on my walk this morning. . .10 Aug 2026 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3msql4cixrk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3msnmlokv6s2n“She was an astonishment floating from one end of the porch to the other in a dress so yellow his beleaguered brain smelled lemons when he saw it.” Téa Obreht, SUNRISE. #sundaysentence09 Aug 2026 12:47 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3msnmlokv6s2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3msiog6i4us2jFrom @shelf-awareness.com my review of Sarah Perry’s memoir, DEATH OF AN ORDINARY MAN: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2026-08-07/review:_death_of_an_ordinary_man.html07 Aug 2026 13:36 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3msiog6i4us2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3msaynwdhd22uFrom @readbookpage.bsky.social my review of former Google employee Claire Stapleton’s DON’T BE EVIL: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech: https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/dont-be-evil-claire-stapleton-book-review/04 Aug 2026 12:18 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3msaynwdhd22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3ms7obpuvqk2yFrom @readbookpage.bsky.social my review of Paul Yoon’s novel, ETNA: https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/etna-paul-yoon-book-review/03 Aug 2026 23:40 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms7obpuvqk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mryatnvnns2bFrom @bookreporter.bsky.social my review of Matthew Quick’s memoir, DAD, LOVE, ME: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/dad-love-me-a-memoir @avidreaderpress.bsky.social01 Aug 2026 00:51 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mryatnvnns2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mruitmcfvc2yFrom @shelf-awareness.com my starred review of Lydia Millett’s FAIR ONES: A Double Novel: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2026-07-30/starred_review:_fair_ones:_a_double_novel.html30 Jul 2026 13:03 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mruitmcfvc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mrn25khyes25Hernan Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel TRUST. Here’s my review of his latest novel, PLY: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2026-07-27/review:_ply.html27 Jul 2026 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrn25khyes25https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mqv4wcgijc2eFrom @bookreporter.bsky.social my review of Daniel Mason’s charming comic novel, COUNTRY PEOPLE: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/country-people18 Jul 2026 01:37 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqv4wcgijc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mpvl2efois2q“It’s all so sordid, and yet so normal, that for a few minutes you grapple with the realization that we’ve made ugliness into our way of life and spread it everywhere.” Lydia Millett, FAIR ONES #sundaysentence05 Jul 2026 12:25 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpvl2efois2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mptmyc5vlc23💯 [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Jul 2026 17:54 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mptmyc5vlc23https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mpraebq5fs27From @readbookpage.bsky.social my review of @joellawriting.bsky.social‘s novel THE TOP OF THE WORLD: https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/top-of-the-world-ethan-joella-book-review/03 Jul 2026 19:03 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpraebq5fs27https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mpbjr34gu22zFrom @bookreporter.bsky.social my review of RASPUTIN SWIMS THE POTOMAC, Ben Fountain’s sendup of our chaotic, reality show political world: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/rasputin-swims-the-potomac27 Jun 2026 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpbjr34gu22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mp6wfo5rhk2zFrom @shelf-awareness.com my review of Emily Wilson’s CROSSING THE WINE-DARK SEA: Journeys Through Ancient Literature: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2026-06-26/review:_crossing_the_wine-dark_sea:_journeys_through_ancient_literature.html26 Jun 2026 12:17 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp6wfo5rhk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3modq2ajfac2sFrom @shelf-awareness.com my review of Welsh writer Liam Higginson’s terrifying debut novel, THE HILL IN THE DARK GROVE: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2026-06-15/review:_the_hill_in_the_dark_grove.html15 Jun 2026 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3modq2ajfac2shttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mnmlaxh6oc2iFrom @bookreporter.bsky.social my review of CHECKMATE: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/checkmate-genius-lies-ambition-and-the-biggest-scandal-in-chess @grandcentralpub.bsky.social06 Jun 2026 11:44 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnmlaxh6oc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mnk7jsbkmc2kFrom @shelf-awareness.com my review of Lee Kuhnle and Nathan Radke’s valuable study, UNCOVER UP: How to Think Clearly in an Age of Conspiracies: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2026-06-05/review:_uncover_up:_how_to_think_clearly_in_an_age_of_conspiracies.html @ecwpress.bsky.social05 Jun 2026 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnk7jsbkmc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mn5tcywu4s25“The subject hardened into a public posture, like a pigeon- stained statue of a forgotten general.” Ian McEwan, WHAT WE CAN KNOW #sundaysentence31 May 2026 14:59 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn5tcywu4s25https://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mn2z6rnagk2gFrom @bookreporter.bsky.social my review of Tom Coyne’s A COURSE CALLED HOME: Adventures of an Accidental Golf Course Owner: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/a-course-called-home-adventures-of-an-accidental-golf-course-owner @avidreaderpress.bsky.social30 May 2026 12:06 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn2z6rnagk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/harvf.bsky.social/post/3mmu6o5mrts2tFrom @readbookpage.bsky.social my review of @matthaig.bsky.social’s latest novel, THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN: https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/the-midnight-train/27 May 2026 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:khikpqwkphkjcmpvaxmjnfut/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmu6o5mrts2t