This little kitchen party couldn’t have happened at a better time. I am looking for some good books to take with me on vacation, so I will be eagerly reading everyone’s suggestions.
One of my favourite reads this year was Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman. I’m also extremely fond of Eric Puchner’s short story collection, Music Through the Floor. I’ve been giving Julie Bruck’s Monkey Ranch to poet-friends, though I will be picking up Katherena Vermette’s North End Love Songs for sure.
As for literary events, well, isn’t there something wonderfully karmic about Alice Munro winning the Nobel after David Gilmour’s comments about there being no female writers worth teaching?
Music Through The Floor is such a great collection! Excellent recommendation, Michelle. Sorry to chime in here so late, the bass had me trapped in rehearsals all day playing big band Sinatra arrangements for a gig tomorrow night. Anyhooo! I mentioned Sam Lipsythe's "The Fun Parts" as a year's favorite (and Nikki Vogel agrees!), definitely worth checking out.
I'm reading a beautiful little novel now called "Abbott Awaits" that's made up of little flash pieces. If you're a parent of young kids, it might be the answer to the question, What's it like to be a parent.
Today I read a story in this months issue of One Story (one of my favorite journals, a subscription would make an excellent Christmas gift to yourself or someone you know) about a criminal mastermind ala Dr Evil who's suffering from Alzheimers.
Another one of my favorite collections I read this year was Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock. It's a few years old now, but wow. Really genius, plus the guy was 50 when he wrote his first story while working at a paper mill. Now he teaches at a big university somewhere.
As for my wish list, I'd really like to read Pasha Malla's latest novel.
