So let me be up front from the start – the reason for this survey was to pick up some reading ideas. Not that I lack for things to read; far from it. But I want to make sure I’m seeing the things that others deem to be the best. In future years, perhaps I’ll [...]
We shared our list of best books with you, now it’s your turn. Fill out the form below to let us know what your five favorite books of 2011 were, we’ll tabulate the results and share them next week, just in time for you to put that Christmas money to work at your nearest indie [...]
On my third Chivas, I stare at the reflection of the door in the mirror. When she strides in, all conversation stops; every eye goes to the door. She tosses her head, red hair cascading below bare shoulders, black knit dress filled to perfection. She takes the stool next to mine. Her husky voice says, [...]
What began as a short story challenge on my blog, Things I’d Rather Be Doing, is now a new ebook anthology, GRIMM TALES. The book collects 17 stories written in response to this challenge: recast a classic fairy tale as a crime fiction story. The results, which are based on tales both familiar and obscure, [...]
Let me start by saying that this is a very subjective list. In the interest of full disclosure, in addition to all of the short fiction I read online and in journals and magazines (and as Grift submissions), I read about 85 books this year. That means there were tens of thousands that I didn’t [...]
Lynn hunched over her desk, a slab of industrial grey metal. With a red pen as her weapon, she slashed her way through yet another student’s “essay” on the causes of the Civil War. Passive voice, run-on sentences, the particularly infuriating text-message language – all manner of sins graced these pages. Lynn didn’t buy the [...]
What a strange little book. When I received a copy of Paul Theroux’s Murder in Mount Holly in the mail, I set it on my to-be-read pile. Why not? At less than 150 digest-sized pages, I knew it would take a couple of hours to knock off. Plus, while I don’t recall ever having read Theroux’s [...]
A recurring theme you’ll find here is the author that I wanted to read, or knew I should read, but for whatever reason I never got around to it. I discover this person and then become the umpteenth champion of their work. Today’s installment: Donald Ray Pollock. Yes, I read the great reviews for his [...]
The plan was simple. We’d play the parts of the three Magi in the living nativity at St. Bart’s. Then we’d steal the week’s donations, while the parishioners partied with birthday cake, homemade cookies, and cider. Like I said, simple. Bernie and I kinda looked the part. Alice not so much, but her mustache helped. [...]
You can just see the gears turning in Michael Connelly’s head: wanting to write about the LAPD’s Deferred Retirement Option Plan (maybe he even read a report like this back in the spring), he realized there was a lot of potential in something called the DROP. His police detective Harry Bosch deals with his return [...]
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