The Review Lab

It's summertime in the city, and we're dropping a special miniature issue of the Review Lab! In this issue, we bring you Pete Nichols' hilarious review of Jacob Ritari's Taroko Gorge and Derek Johnson's look at Gary Laderman's examination of faith in popular culture Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States. Enjoy!

Just in time for the nicer weather, the Spring Issue of the Review Lab is here! In this issue, we bring you five new reviews of books ranging from Jennifer Egan's much-lauded A Visit from the Goon Squad to Jefferson Cowie's exploration of "the last days of the working class," Stayin' Alive. Also, Review Lab editor Daniel Duffy interviewed Chicago publishing impresario J.C. Gabel about the founding of Stop Smiling magazine, their transition into small press book publishing, and their new project, The Chicagoan. Enjoy!

J.C. Gabel
Interview by Daniel Duffy

J.C. Gabel is the founding editor and publisher of Stop Smiling magazine, and now edits and publishes books at Stop Smiling Books. He writes regularly for Wallpaper, Print, Wired, and Bookforum. In this interview, he talks about the early days of Stop Smiling, their transition into small press book publishing, and the coming resurrection of The Chicagoan, an American magazine modeled after the New Yorker and published from June 1926 until April 1935.