The Book of Laney

Category: writers

+ books, memoir, nonfiction, writers

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

by Unknown's avatar

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls A deeply moving, unforgettable memoir of a truly hard-scrabble life. What I admire most about this book is that Jeannette Walls never paints her family as victims. Nor does she portray her unbearably narcissistic parents as evil (even though it would certainly be easy to do so–her drunken father, her childlike mother. Oh, how I was … Read More The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

+ books, memoir, nonfiction, parenting, writers

A Life’s Work, by Rachel Cusk

by Unknown's avatar

When my dear friend Kat came to visit on the day after my son’s first birthday, she brought with her several books, one of which was Rachel Cusk’s brilliant, startling book A Life’s Work: On Becoming a Mother. Kat expressed regret that she had not gotten the book to me sooner, but now having read the book, I have to say I think her … Read More A Life’s Work, by Rachel Cusk

+ books, fiction, flash fiction, short stories, short story, writers

Best of the Web 2008 Contents Announced

by Unknown's avatar

Best of the Web 2008 Contents Announced Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web 2008 anthology hits stores next Tuesday and can be ordered online, or pre-ordered at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or by your favorite store today! Ryan Call recently reviewed the collection at NewPages.com, ending his review with: “The book both recognizes a wide range of quality online writing, and gives its readers … Read More Best of the Web 2008 Contents Announced

+ fiction, literary, Pia Ehrhardt, writers, writing books

read Pia Z. Ehrhardt at fivechapters.com

by Unknown's avatar

Pia Z. Ehrhardt is one of my favorite writers and human beings and her excellent story “Closer, Still” is serialized on fivechapters.com this week. Here’s part I. Read it!

+ fiction, flash fiction, literary journal, writers

Happy Fifth Birthday to SmokeLong Quarterly!

by Unknown's avatar

I’ve been under the weather and so I apologize for being a fews days late in saying Happy Birthday to one of my favorite ezines–SmokeLong Quarterly. I am extremely grateful to the editors of SmokeLong for being so supportive of my writing over the years. In particular, I am grateful to Dave Clapper, whose devotion to SmokeLong and flash fiction inspires. So I hope … Read More Happy Fifth Birthday to SmokeLong Quarterly!

+ alexander chee, edinburgh, fiction, literary, novel, storytelling, travel, writers

Edinburgh, by Alexander Chee

by Unknown's avatar

Alexander Chee’s Edinburgh is necessary, is timely, and is downright gorgeous despite it’s sometimes ugly subject matter. This is the story of Fee–how his life ended up the way it did, on a beach, deciding to live instead of die. It is also “a fox story. Of how a fox can be a boy. And so it is also the story of a fire.” … Read More Edinburgh, by Alexander Chee

+ novel, storytelling, writers

"I was gripped by a form of literary bad faith"

by Unknown's avatar

Great interview with Charles Baxter in the latest issue of The Missouri Review in which he discusses his new novel (The Soul Thief) and writing and the writing life. I loved, especially, what he had to say about writing novels vs writing stories–what you learn (or don’t learn) from each: The novel is a very forgiving form. I spent years of my life writing … Read More "I was gripped by a form of literary bad faith"

+ books, fiction, literary, novel, writers

The Understory, by Pamela Erens

by Unknown's avatar

Jack Gorse/Ronan the protagonist of Pamela Erens’s smashing debut novel, The Understory, is a man obsessed: with twins, with vegetation, with books, with his routine, and with a kind-hearted architect named Patrick. He is also searching, it seems, for that other part of himself—the other half of himself. At one point, he hopes he will find that other within Patrick, but really that other … Read More The Understory, by Pamela Erens

+ books, fiction, Matthew M. Quick, novel, writers

The Silver Linings Playbook, by Matthew M. Quick

by Unknown's avatar

You are so going to want to order yourself a copy of The Silver Linings Playbook: A Novel by Matthew M. Quick. The book is not released until September 2nd, but it is already racking up much-deserved praise. Matthew and I have never met in person, but for a few years now have been friends via email. You couldn’t find a more charming and … Read More The Silver Linings Playbook, by Matthew M. Quick

+ books, literary, nonfiction, writers

Famous Builder, by Paul Lisicky

by Unknown's avatar

If I press a book into your hand and beg you to read it, you will know that I am doing so because I love the book and I want to share that love with you. When you examine the beloved book, you will note how many pages I’ve dog eared. The more dog ears, the deeper my love. Paul Lisicky’s gorgeous, tender book … Read More Famous Builder, by Paul Lisicky

+ fiction, flash fiction, literary, literary journal, Myfanwy Collins, short stories, short story, writers

My work in the new issues of: Mississippi Review and Quick Fiction

by Unknown's avatar

I’m thrilled and delighted to announce that I have stories in the latest issues of the Mississippi Review (the movie issue) and Quick Fiction.

+ books, fiction, literary, novel, writers

The Leper Compound, by Paula Nangle

by Unknown's avatar

Paula Nangle’s debut novel, The Leper Compound, is a book I won’t soon forget. I’m tempted to call it a novel-in-stories as each chapter is perfectly self-contained and yet the whole does provide one full narrative. Regardless, it is a brilliant effort. The book starts out with Colleen as a motherless child ill with Malaria and ends with the death of her father and … Read More The Leper Compound, by Paula Nangle

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