Jason Pettus's Blog, page 17

Book Review: "what if i got down on my knees?" by Tony Rauch

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) what if i got down on my knees? By Tony Rauch Self-published Reviewed by Jason Pettus When CCLaP goes back to...

Book Review: "Cries for Help, Various," by Padgett Powell

Cries for Help, Various By Padgett Powell Catapult Reviewed by Chris Schahfer You might not have heard of Padgett Powell, but I guarantee you've heard of his fans. This book alone features blurbs from heavy hitters such as Richard Ford, Amy Hempell, and even the late Saul Bellow. So if this guy has the support from some seriously big names, how has he not become one himself? You could argue it's because of his experimental tendencies. His 2009 novel the Interrogative Mood is composed entirel...

Book Review: "Flawed Connections" by Gary Beck

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) Flawed Connections By Gary Beck Black Rose Writing Reviewed by Jason Pettus I'll give him this, that author G...

Book Review: "Pagan Kennedy's Living: A Handbook for Maturing Hipsters," by Pagan Kennedy

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) Pagan Kennedy's Living: A Handbook for Maturing Hipsters (The Pagan Kennedy Project) By Pagan Kennedy Santa F...

Book Review: "Train Shots" by Vanessa Blakeslee

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) Train Shots By Vanessa Blakeslee Burrow Press Reviewed by Jason Pettus Regular readers know that I find it di...

Book Review: "Wilkie Collins: A Brief Life" by Peter Ackroyd

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) Wilkie Collins: A Brief Life By Peter Ackroyd Nan A. Talese / Doubleday Penguin Random House Reviewed by Jaso...

Book Review: "Viral," by Emily Mitchell

Viral By Emily Mitchell W.W. Norton Reviewed by Chris Schahfer First things first: if you're the kind of person who believes all great fiction should be timeless, and that the best path to timelessness is removing all references that might tie a text to its time, maybe you shouldn't read Viral. I don't know if people think that way about fiction, because it's such a goofy view I feel like I'm setting up a strawman just by referencing it, but Viral's is very twenty-first century in its concer...

Book Review: "The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs" by Matthew Dicks

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs By Matthew Dicks St. Martin's Press Reviewed by Jason Pettus Although...

"Hurt People" by Cote Smith

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 12 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) Hurt People By Cote Smith FSG Originals Reviewed by Nora Rawn Based partly on his own childhood experience gr...

Book Review: "Empire of Imagination" by Michael Witwer

(CCLaP is dedicated to reviewing as many contemporary books as possible, including self-published volumes; click here to learn how to submit your own book for possible review, although be warned that it needs to have been published within the last 18 months to be considered. For the complete list of all books reviewed here, as well as the next books scheduled to be read, click here.) Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons By Michael Witwer Bloomsbury USA Review...