Vanessa Blakeslee writes stories that stay with you. Whether it’s a pop star on the verge of suicide, a drug-addicted doctor struggling with a wife’s death, or the loving mother doing her best to cope with a troubled son she both fears and wants desperately to save, Blakeslee’s first book Train Shots hits the … [Read more…]
The need to immediately share information on social media is a curious subject in our home. It’s the urgency that tickles me, the act of posting on the Internet before thinking through the consequences. With access to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram getting easier with each new mobile gadget on the market, there is no surprise … [Read more…]
If you haven’t read Tobias Wolff’s classic short story, “Bullet In The Brain,” we urge you to do it now. Go ahead, we’ll wait. If you have read it, then you know how completely unforgettable the story is, with vivid characters, a dangerous scenario gone very wrong, and the Bartlebian response that sets the narrative in motion. … [Read more…]
Happy Birthday, Alan Moore. One of the greatest comic book writers ever, his works include the iconic V for Vendetta, the deeply esoteric work Promethea, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Jack The Ripper themed From Hell, Watchmen, Swamp Thing and others. Many of his comics have, much to his great disdain, become big-budget Hollywood films. If you like … [Read more…]
Reading Flavorwire’s “50 Incredibly Tough Books for Extreme Readers” challenged my literary fortitude. I found myself wanting to buy a bunch of new books, then take kickboxing lessons, hit the gym, or maybe dive of a cliff. I applaud the effort to compile a list of fifty tough books. Even putting this list together required its own toughness … [Read more…]