West with the Night
I hadn't heard of Beryl Markham until a few weeks ago, when her name showed up in an article in conjunction with Hemingway, who was apparently a fan. Her memoir,…
Blackout, Sarah Hepola, and Addiction Memoir
Sarah Hepola’s memoir Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget is probably the best memoir I read in 2016. It’s not only exceptionally well-written, it’s brutally self-honest and open…
If Chins Could Kill -Bruce Campbell
Don’t worry people, I’m still reading lit fic. But sometimes you just need to sit down and hear Bruce Campbell tell a bunch of stories about the ridiculous shit he’s…
Just Kids, Patti Smith
Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids is touching and well-written. The account of her life with the visual artist Robert Mapplethorpe is a glimpse into a very isolated and very culturally…
Mishka Shubaly’s “Beat the Devil” and Amazon Singles
Mishka Shubaly seems to do a bunch of diverse shit. I’d heard him on a podcast a few times before hearing about his whole relationship with Amazon.com as a popular…
bone -Yrsa Daley-Ward
My fiancee found this particular collection on Amazon, and recommended it highly. I’ve been reading a lot more contemporary poetry in the last few years, but it’s still very much…
Tina Fey’s Bossypants
Tina Fey’s wonderful show 30 Rock is one of my favorite TV comedies of all time, and her work on Weekend Update is also a favorite. Since her writing chops…
Tobias Wolff’s “This Boy’s Life” and Why I Was Wrong About Memoir
Tobias Wolff’s book is one of those literary memoirs that helped define the genre. His recollections of a troubled boyhood often reflect poorly on the child he was, but are…
Best Of 2015
Best Novel: “Grendel”. Gardner’s seminal work is beautiful and semantically dense. Honorable mention: ”Infinite Jest” Best Short Story collection: “Jesus’ Son”. Denis Johnson’s best work, in my opinion. Honorable…
The Case Studies of Oliver Sacks: Hallucinations and The Mind’s Eye
I read these two books after being completely taken in by Sacks’ wonderful memoir, On the Move. The thing I found most compelling in that memoir was his naturalistic…