reading notes

by Aimee Bender ISBN: 9780385492249 This is a novel about OCD and math. Yes, really. It’s also about growing up, mortality, and risk. And small town eccentrics, the limits of family bonds, and how you should never put a sharp ax in a second grade classroom. Bender can pull all this off because weird stories [...]

by Jack Pendarvis ISBN: 9781596921917 I bought this book because George Saunders said it was funny. Okay, that isn’t the only reason, but it did seal the deal for me. I was in the mood to try a new to me author, and came across this book. It looked interesting — short stories, which I’ve [...]

by Chuck Palahniuk ISBN: 1400032814 Palahniuk is still twisted, gross, and riveting. To be able gross people out and get them to follow you, hooked, asking for more of your story? It’s a gift. And Palahniuk’s gift is that he can create real characters and put them in fantastic, outlandish, disturbing stories, yet you still [...]