That Moment When You Know You're Doing It Right (the greatest bad review I've ever gotten)

Brainy gender bendation in dystopian sci fi warzone: Kameron Hurley's BRUTAL WOMEN

On the prowl for talented indie authors doing art they'd never get away with in the corporate publishing world? This excellent dystopian sci fi short story collection is recommended for HUNGER GAME fans, free-thinkers and adventurous readers of all persuasions. Well-rendered alien environs and the starkest possible circumstances are fertile ground for an experiment in gender reversal.

Think "Apocalypse Now" if Brando and Sheen are on their periods.

Cool new look for a terrific book: EVIDENCE OF LIFE by Barbara Taylor Sissel

A great book - Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel - gets a brand new look from the publisher. (Looks like they're branding it with her forthcoming release: Safe Keeping.)

My original review of EOL...

Jordan Matter's DANCERS AMONG US = Joyfulness With Pages You Can Turn

Pictures from Jordan Matter's DANCERS AMONG US have popped up all over the place, usually hashtagged #WTF. When normal people talk in a phone booth, they slouch or lean, but in Matter's dance world, people prop themselves high up and get comfy. Baristas change menu boards with perfect arabesques, and girls get carried out of Mardi Gras bars in dramatic poses. When your world gets monotonous, turn to the vision of playful reality that Matter puts before us in this amazing work of art.

Life is Beautiful meets Brigadoon in NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US

Lovely, lovely, lovely writing makes this heartbreaking novel a gorgeous reading experience. A small town in Romania circa 1939 escapes the advancing threat of Nazi malevolence by imagining (or more accurately 're-imagining') the lives of people in the community. Think "Life is Beautiful" meets Brigadoon with a dash of Inglorious Basterds.

Highly recommending and definitely suggesting as a strong book club selection.

HARLEY LOCO: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair, and Post-Punk from the Middle East to the Lower East Side

Endorsed by the author's friend, Elizabeth Gilbert, who says: "Her writing doesn't come out on the page feeling like it's been squeezed from the standard-issue literary toothpaste tube."

That's exactly what I loved about it, but for some readers, the frankly appalling anecdotes about the author's hardscrabble drug adventures will be too much. Gritty and depressing at times, hilarious and free-spirited at others. If you make it through the first 30 pages, you'll probably love it.
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Reviewing HARLEY LOCO: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair, and Post-Punk from the Middle East to the Lower East Side

Endorsed by the author's friend, Elizabeth Gilbert, who says: "Her writing doesn't come out on the page feeling like it's been squeezed from the standard-issue literary toothpaste tube."

That's exactly what I loved about it, but for some readers, the frankly appalling anecdotes about the author's hardscrabble drug adventures will be too much. Gritty and depressing at times, hilarious and free-spirited at others. If you make it through the first 30 pages, you'll probably love it.
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I'm still wild about Benjamin Percy's THE WILDING

This phenomenal novel snarls like a grizzly and sings like a lark. Emotional depth and family conflict in the context of a gut-grippingly horrific father-son-grandfather camping trip in Oregon.

I read and loved The Wildingwhen it came out a few years ago; it really stuck with me. Percy has a new novel coming out in May, and I can't wait to lay eyes on it. It's just not that often that a book so cinematically exciting comes on with the quality of writing and breadth of character development that Percy delivers here.

Anyhoo. Highly recommended.

THE MAPMAKER'S WAR is unlike anything I've read. (In a good way!)

Highly recommending this unusual novel of love and conflict. The voice and style are unlike anything I've ever read - which might be a challenge for many readers, but for me, it's a strength. The universal aspects of war and love ring painfully, beautifully true.

I definitely want to read more of this talented author's work.

THE SECRET LIFE OF OBJECTS book review

Oh, how I loved this beautiful book by Dawn Raffel!

THE SECRET LIFE OF OBJECTS book review

Oh, how I loved this beautiful book by Dawn Raffel!

LADY LIMBO book review

Loved this novel by South African author Consuelo Roland. Check it out!

LADY LIMBO book review

Loved this novel by South African author Consuelo Roland. Check it out!

THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL book review

CARNET DE VOYAGE should be in every backpack

CARNET DE VOYAGE should be in every backpack

CITY OF DARK MAGIC review (photobombed by my dog)

No animals were harmed in the filming of this book review. Highly recommending CITY OF DARK MAGIC, a terrific read if you're in the mood for a mystical, time-traveling, murder-solving frolic in Prague.

CITY OF DARK MAGIC review (photobombed by my dog)

No animals were harmed in the filming of this book review. Highly recommending CITY OF DARK MAGIC, a terrific read if you're in the mood for a mystical, time-traveling, murder-solving frolic in Prague.

HIPPIE BOY: a unique and heart-rending coming of age memoir

Here's my review of HIPPIE BOY: A GIRL'S STORY, a wonderful coming of age memoir by the very talented Ingrid Ricks. Update: Well, as I suspected, the author's follow up is also well worth reading. In FOCUS: a memoir, Ingrid Ricks shares the terrifying journey that begins when she learns that an incurable eye disease is rapidly robbing her of her sight.

HIPPIE BOY book review

Here's my review of HIPPIE BOY: A GIRL'S STORY, a wonderful coming of age memoir by the very talented Ingrid Ricks.