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Showing posts from December, 2013

2013: A YEAR IN BOOKS

A year of books with research, re-reading, new fiction and nonfiction finding its way into this mixed up, muddled up selection. One way or another, these are the books that made a mark for me in 2013.   Spring RUSS LITTEN – Swear Down; ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE – The Hound of the Baskervilles (Pulp! The Classics edition); TED LEWIS – Jack’s Return Home, Plender, Billy Rags; JOHN McVICAR – By Himself. In Swear Down , Russ Litten’s heartfelt and thoughtful take on the crime story there’s a murder – at least one –   an ambitious cop, unsympathetic bosses and an investigation. Litten created and subverted the classic odd-couple partnership in a single sweeping journey. In May, I reviewed the novel for LITRO Magazine and the close reading revealed layers of storytelling and character that placed Swear Down up there with the best of British fiction. The new collection of classic novels in pulp fiction covers, old style orange-edged paper and tongue in cheek blurb are