Jason Pettus's Blog, page 54

Don't forget about the CCLaP Master Class! ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT TO ENROLL!

UPDATE: ONLY FOUR DAYS LEFT TO ENROLL! Just wanted to remind everyone about CCLaP's coming "Master Class" ten-week writing workshop, designed specifically for those working on a novel and with the promise of likely finishing that novel once the workshop is over, with the next session being held between this coming mid-March and mid-May. Just US$10 per session, for a grand total enrollment fee of $100; and we're conducting the workshop online, which means that international students are welcom...

Book Review: "Every Boy Should Have a Man" by Preston L. Allen

(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.)



Every Boy Should Have a Man
By Preston L. Allen
Akashic Books
Reviewed by Travis Fortney

I think the best way to de...

Book Review: "A Simplified Map of the Real World" by Stevan Allred

(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.)



A Simplified Map of the Real World
By Stevan Allred
Forest Avenue Press
Reviewed by Madeleine Maccar

What a joy it...

Book Review: "Not for Everyday Use" by Elizabeth Nunez

(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.)



Not for Everyday Use
By Elizabeth Nunez
Akashic Books
Reviewed by Madeleine Maccar

Writing about the death of a par...

The NSFW Files: "The Ages of Lulu," by Almudena Grandes

(Once a month through 2013, CCLaP staff writer Karl Wolff investigates literature of a more carnal kind with The NSFW Files. Despite being erotic, is there literary value to be found? For all the essays in this series, please click here.)



The Ages of Lulu
by Almudena Grandes
Review by Karl Wolff

Personal History: It would be untrue to say I don't choose books by their covers. Case in point, The Ages of Lulu, by Almudena Grandes. With its luscious black and white photograph by Craig Morey and a B...

CCLaP Photo Feature: Lindsey Fast

This week's photographer feature at CCLaP highlights the work of local artist Lindsey Fast. You can click here for the free 20-page PDF download, or view an online "flippable" version over at Issuu.com (or just use the above embedded version if you're seeing it). For all our past features, please visit [cclapcenter.com/features]; or to let us know of your own work, just drop us a line at [cclapcenter at gmail.com].

My Kind of Town: "The Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson" by Joseph Jefferson

Part of living in Chicago, or any major city, is escaping the hustle and bustle as often as you can. Which is the reason that CCLaP's founder Jason Pettus and I--as Jason has written about before--have made a hobby of traveling into the suburbs for library book sales. Ostensibly, Jason is building a fledgling business selling rare and collectible books, and I am trying to build my collection, but the joy of these trips is the small breaks they afford from the cramped swarm of city life. Those...

Book Review: "Basal Ganglia" by Matthew Revert

(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.)



Basal Ganglia
By Matthew Revert
Lazy Fascist Press
Reviewed by Madeleine Maccar

Sometimes, a quick read highlights...

CCLaP's newest book is here!

Happy day! After half a year of dedicated work on this, I'm thrilled to announce that CCLaP's latest book is now ready for your downloading and/or purchasing pleasure, an incredibly charming story collection about failed punk rock bands called Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas, Vol. 1, by Austinite Fernando A. Flores. Of course, it's not these bands' failures that are the main focus, but rather the joy that they tried in the first place, as is clear when you read the book's synopsi...

And say hello to CCLaP's April release, Scott Abraham's "Turtle and Dam!"

Today of course is mostly dedicated to the release of CCLaP's newest book, the story collection Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas, Vol. 1 by Fernando A. Flores; but we have another important announcement to make today too, which is that our next book after that, a really charming novel set in contemporary China called Turtle and Dam by Scott Abrahams, is now ready for pre-order at its own dedicated page, and that we're just now starting to send out advance reading copies to any rev...