This makes two videos in a row in which I wear a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds shirt and drink Sexy Betty Imperial Stout. No, I'm not a slob drunk; I simply recorded two videos in a row. Amanda Gowin's Radium Girls is all sorts of interesting. It's weird, it's heartfelt, it's wavering, it's beautiful, it's poetic, and it's a bunch of other things I can't think of right now because I'm tired. You should buy this book!
I'm back with another convoluted way to destroy books. Once again I took to Facebook to ask for some suggestions about how best to destroy a book. This time: A goat. I'm with you, I never thought of a goat as much of a destruction machine, but apparently Amanda Gowin does. Watch as some very finicky goats refuse the delicious meal I offer them. Book destroyed: Radium Girls by Amanda Gowin. Buy it!
Kyle Minor's In the Devil's Territory is rural family noir at its best, with lots of back-woods religion overtones, and family dynamics rooted in harsh sexism where women are taught to be subservient to men and men are trained to exploit that subservience. Buy it here. What am I drinking? Schlafly Coffee Stout. Mmmmmmm.
The stories of Fuckload of Shorts by Jedidiah Ayres, which includes the stories that inspired the short film Fuckload of Scotch Tape, are the best kind of short stories. Each one takes an idea that, realistically should make for a horrible, shock-driven story, and instead delivers amazing noir fiction with beautifully rendered characters. Ejaculating a dead man? Yep. Selling corpses to a dog foot plant? Yep. In the hands of a lesser writer, these ideas would amount to nothing more than throwaway snuff fiction. But in the hands of Jedidiah Ayres, these ideas are simply climaxes of and catalysts for truly compelling stories. This video book review examines one of those scenarios in-depth: how exactly, logistically speaking, can one ejaculate a dead man? Yes, there is a whiteboard and drawings included.
I’ve never hidden my love for the work of Brian Evenson. In fact, overly enthusiastic may be a good way to describe my infatuation. His stories are like none other, both in concept and execution. So, know that this review of Windeye, Evenson’s latest story collection, comes to you with a deep history of appreciation. You aren’t getting a first-time reader here. You are getting a fan’s true perspective. With that being said, WHAT A DAMN FINE BOOK!