Jason Pettus's Blog, page 24

Book Review: "Braineater Jones" by Steve Kozeniewski

(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.) Braineater Jones By Steve Kozeniewski Red Adept Publishing Reviewed by Jason Pettus Writing a genre thriller...

CCLaP's (finally) on Instagram!

Today's sneak peek of the CCLaP Weekender is brought to you by Austin/New York photographer @katherinesquier. The full photo features comes out this Friday! #katherinesquier #austin #newyork #chicago #cclap #theweekender #portraitphotography

A photo posted by CCLaP (@cclapcenter) on Nov 18, 2015 at 12:05pm PST

For those who don't know, Pilsen artist Jennifer Yu recently came onboard with CCLaP earlier this fall, to serve as our new photography director; and on top of taking over the phot...

The last 2015 issue of the CCLaP Weekender is here!

? It's Friday, which means it's time for the newest issue of the Pushcart-Prize-nominated CCLaP Weekender! This week's issue features a new original piece of fiction by Oliver Serang; a photography feature by Katherine Squier; and a look at the next seven days of literary events happening all across the city. The PDF is completely free to download, using the links below, or can be viewed online in its "flippable" form at Issuu.com (or just use the embedded version above, if your particular d...

TONIGHT! Help CCLaP celebrate the Chicago Book Expo at City Lit Books!

Just wanted to remind everyone that TONIGHT is CCLaP's sneak preview of this weekend's Chicago Book Expo, being held at City Lit Books in the Logan Square neighborhood (2523 N. Kedzie) starting at 6:30 pm. Tonight's reading will feature CCLaP authors Ben Tanzer, Joseph G. Peterson and Jason Fisk, plus four of the contributors to our recent "city all-star" student anthology, as we help raise awareness of the main Expo taking place two days later, this coming Saturday at the Columbia College ca...

Book Review: "Principles of Navigation" by Lynn Sloan

(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.) Principles of Navigation By Lynn Sloan Fomite Reviewed by Jason Pettus Getting the details right of a charact...

Book Review: "The Argonauts," by Maggie Nelson

The Argonauts By Maggie Nelson Graywolf Press Reviewed by Chris Schahfer Maggie Nelson has been having a big couple of years, ever since 2009's Bluets rocketed her into the literary consciousness. I'm new to her, having just picked up Bluets a month ago, but that was one of the most thorough and affecting pieces of creative nonfiction I've yet had the pleasure of reading. So when I heard that the Argonauts was supposed to be another excellent piece, perhaps her best yet, I figured I had to g...

Book Review: "Submission" by Michel Houellebecq

(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.) Submission By Michel Houellebecq Farrar, Straus and Giroux Reviewed by Jason Pettus I have to admit, despit...

CCLaP Rare: "Couples" by John Updike (1968), 1st Edition 1st Printing

(CCLaP is now selling rare and unusual books through the main website, shipped to customers through USPS Priority Mail and with full refunds always guaranteed. To see the latest full list of volumes for sale, please click here). Couples (1968) By John Updike First Edition, First Printing DESCRIPTION: Like so many of the great authors of the Postmodernist era, John Updike by the late 1960s had already established himself through the usual channels of the Mid-Century Modernist age befor...

Say hello to CCLaP's newest book, Leland Cheuk's "The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong!"

It's always exciting when we have a new book to announce around here, and this month's release is even more exciting because of the long germination period this novel has gone through; I'm happy to announce today the general release of Brooklyn author Leland Cheuk's The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong, which we've been tinkering with around here for something like an entire year or more now. As always, the book's synopsis can give you a better idea of its storyline than I can, so let me just...

The CCLaP Weekender for November 13th is here!

It's Friday, which means it's time for the newest issue of the Pushcart-Prize-nominated CCLaP Weekender! This week's issue features a new original piece of fiction by Mark Wagstaff; a photography feature by Josh White; and a look at the next seven days of literary events happening all across the city. The PDF is completely free to download, using the links below, or can be viewed online in its "flippable" form at Issuu.com (or just use the embedded version above, if your particular device i...