Best of the Web 2008

by Steve Almond

book data

18 ratings, 4.33 average rating, 5 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		44%
4		44%
3		11%
2		0%
1		0%

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published

July 18th 2008 by Dzanc Books

details

Paperback, 353 pages

isbn

0979312345 (isbn13: 9780979312342)

description

This print anthology compiles the best fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that online literary journals have to offer in an eclectic collection in the ma

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 39)

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Nov 29, 2008

Tanya rated it:

recommends it for: people who like collected works, anthologies.

Before I even got my hands on this anthology, I was grateful to be included in it. I have been published in a variety of online journals and I appreciate and support the medium, especially for new writers trying to gain grounding and to get their voice out there in the world. So when I found out my story was going to be included in this first ever comprehensive online anthology, I was thrilled. Now that I own it and have read this collection, I am honored to be included in an anthology with s...more

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Sep 13, 2008

Chris rated it:

Read in July, 2008

With growing mainstream acceptance -- and, more important, better writing -- online literature has started to come into its own. Yet how does a curious reader make sense of it? Nathan Leslie had an idea. He's the series editor of "Best of the Web 2008" (Dzanc Books: 340 pp., $18 paper); Steve Almond is this year's guest editor.

Culled from online magazines published between January and October 2007, the selections here represent three distinct categories: fiction, poetry and...more

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Apr 27, 2008

Dzanc rated it:

bookshelves: published

From the LA Times:

'Best of the Web 2008'

The collection of online literature, from series editor Nathan Leslie and guest editor Steve Almond, offers a range of voices rarely found together.

By Chris Daley
July 27, 2008

With growing mainstream acceptance -- and, more important, better writing -- online literature has started to come into its own. Yet how does a curious reader make sense of it? Nathan Leslie had an idea. He's the series editor of "...more From the LA Times:

'Best of the Web 2008'

The collection of online literature, from series editor Nathan Leslie and guest editor Steve Almond, offers a range of voices rarely found together.

By Chris Daley
July 27, 2008

With growing mainstream acceptance -- and, more important, better writing -- online literature has started to come into its own. Yet how does a curious reader make sense of it? Nathan Leslie had an idea. He's the series editor of "Best of the Web 2008" (Dzanc Books: 340 pp., $18 paper); Steve Almond is this year's guest editor.

Culled from online magazines published between January and October 2007, the selections here represent three distinct categories: fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. This mingling and occasional blurring of genres distinguishes "Best of the Web" from any other print collections showcasing online literature.

The anthology offers a "collective" of voices rarely found together: international literary lights Juan José Millás and Okey Ndibe; cultural critic-poet Edward Hirsch and poet David Bottoms; netizens Seth Harwood and Garth Risk Hallberg; and a wide array of other writers, including Myfanwy Collins, Elizabeth Crane and Christina Kallery.

This multiplicity of perspectives -- in terms of race and gender, as well as location and experience -- may be organic to the Web. Let's not overlook the good work of the editors, though. The pieces were chosen by "decision of committee"; as a result, the book is largely free of "aesthetic fetishism." The one unifying thread has to do with format: The selections are generally on the short side, with longer texts divided into sections, for easier screen reading.

"Best of the Web" isn't perfect; the editors include several seemingly random author interviews that come across as awkward and self-congratulatory. For the most part, though, the book is heartily significant, featuring work that is sometimes surprising, sometimes frustrating and sometimes exhilarating -- not unlike the Web itself.(less)

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Jul 25, 2008

Jason Jordan rated it:

Read in August, 2008

Guest edited by Steve Almond and introduced by Series Editor Nathan Leslie, Best of the Web 2008 collects the best prose and poetry published on the Internet from October 2006-07.

What’s great about the book? It’s always pleasant to see Elizabeth Crane in an anthology—this time it’s “Promise” from Failbetter.com. Also, while I typically avoid reading anything with an overly medical nature (it freaks me out, man), Richard Jespers’s “Basketball Is Not a Drug” from Blac...more