Friends, summer is but a distant memory. Autumn has come and gone, far too soon. Winter is here. With the extra darkness, hope you got some good reading done. I did, or tried to, anyhow. Here are, for your personal perusal, the selections I enjoyed this season.
The Dark Half by Stephen King — Somehow hadn’t read this one before. Pairs very well with Misery, Thinner, and On Writing. Dark stuff, in a good way.
Violent Candy by Tex Gresham — Fantastic collection of short stories. If ya like ‘em darker, this is the one for you. Spoke with Tex early in the fall and wrote a little about the collection, which you can read here.
Gloria Patri by Austin Ross — Great stuff here, dealing with themes that sadly very topical, and likely to be for some time. Looking forward to whatever Austin comes up with next.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs — Spent some time with this tome over the late summer and early fall. The more things change, the more they stay the same…
The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt — Enjoyed this one, even though at times it came off a tad too twee for me. But when it hit, it hit where it counts.
Consumption & Other Vices by Tyler Dempsey — A wild, dark little noir novella. Read it over the course of one evening, but left many questions unanswered. Worth a few rereads, I imagine.
Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes — Great rock n roll bio here. I’m not familiar with Zanes music career, but his writing is excellent. Been meaning to read this since it came out in 2016, glad I finally got around to it.
The Sandman: Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 by Neil Gaiman — Really enjoyed the “Doll’s House” run. Creepy, layered, wild ride. The “Dream Country” stories were dope as hell, too, esp. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Loving this series.
Essex County by Jeff Lemire — My pal Jacob recommended I read this and boy, he was right! Fantastic stuff here, especially if you’re a hockey fan.
Selected Stories by Troy James Weaver — Great little collection of short-stories. I’ve read some of Weaver’s stuff online before, really good stuff. Will have to check out his other collections.
Stoner by John Williams — I’m not sure who was pumping this book online, but I’ve seen it come up more than once since the New York Review of Books put out their edition. I’m glad I looked it up. Subtle, mesmerizing prose throughout. Highly recommend.
The High Window by Raymond Chandler — God, Chandler’s just the best, you guys. Enjoying my reread of his Philip Marlowe classics much more than I’d expected. Will try to stretch the final three over the new year.
Breeze looked at me very steadily. Then he sighed. Then he picked the glass up and tasted it and sighed again and shook his head sideways with a half smile; the way a man does when you give him a drink and he needs it very badly and it is just right and the first swallow is like a peek into a cleaner, sunnier, brighter world.
The Saga of the Swamp Thing: Vol. 4 by Alan Moore — Dang, Swamp Thing rules! This volume includes the fantastic stories “A Parliament of Trees” and “Ghost Dance,” top-notch storytelling in any format. There’s also plenty of John Constantine, which is interesting while also reading Sandman somewhat concurrently. As well, there’s plenty plenty of DC world building/merging/ending that is, frankly, a little above my head, but features appearances from scads of Golden Age characters, which is kinda neat. Not sure where volumes 5 and 6 will take Swamp Thing, but very keen to find out.
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart — Finally dug into Mary Stewart’s Merlin saga. My mom had these books around our house during my childhood, and I vaguely recall trying to read them, given my early affinity for Merlin, King Arthur, etc. But they were over my head, at the time. I’m glad I decided to try again. Fun stuff, so far.
Got a couple bucks burning a hole in your Christmas stocking? Order yourself or someone you love (or loathe?) a copy of Where the Pavement Turns to Sand from one of the following fine establishments…
McNally Robinson Booksellers (located in Winnipeg & Saskatoon, ships Canada wide)
Bookshop.org (ships within US)
Malarkey Books (direct from the source, ships within US)
Now, I’m not big on popularity contests. Who is? But readers of the Uniter were kind enough to call me their “Favourite Local Writer” in this year’s Uniter 30 poll. It was nice chatting with Patrick Kearney for a short profile for the issue. Always nice to think that people out there are actually reading the words you type out on the screen.
Also, a couple weeks back now, my old buddy Greg and I connected to talk about Where the Pavement Turns to Sand for the New Books Network podcast. You can check that out, if you dig it.
Now, without further ado, please check out Jason Isbell sitting in with Dinosaur Jr. to play “Cortez the Killer”. Happy holidays, friends.