Look at the Birdie – Kurt Vonnegut

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What was I doing in High School when everyone else was reading this legend’s books? Trying to get through remedial math and the alternate track classes, as I was a succesful underachiever, plus I didn’t learn how to read until the fifth grade. So I missed these books, and now I’m fucking pissed. A good friend of mine swears by Vonnegut (and I have mad respect for this guy, especially when he swears), and my pal even has the rare Kurt Vonnegut soap on a rope that came with his copy of Breakfast of Champions, the Kindle Edition.

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The Best Book I’ve Read This Year Is Out!

This unlikely tale of Jewish mobsters avoids all the clichés of the genre. The story is thoroughly engaging and masterfully told, and the writing kicks ass in a hard-nosed Budd Schulberg kinda’ way. I’m rooting for this book to get the attention it deserves—and then I’m going to take credit for it. And no, I don’t have crush on Hesh Kestin. I’ve never even met the guy.

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Labor Days: An Anthology of Fiction About Work – Edited by David Gates

jernigan

I waited around for more David Gates fiction, and I’m still waiting, but I recently grabbed Labor Days off the shelf and realized I hadn’t given it a good read. Then I saw there was a Cheever story in the book, I had to remind myself of those days when I told stories in bars, that I didn’t or wouldn’t read Cheever. Now, I’m a changed man, and Cheever is loose in my life, like a uncle I never knew I had who only shows up for Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Maybe it’s living in the suburbs that made me who I am now, evolved with out trying, but the question remains, is it for the better? Work, suburbs, life, living, happiness?

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