For me, the best nonfiction does more than inform. It moves and challenges. It’s nuanced and layered, and its cost of entry is self-reflection. You cannot step inside it without accepting that you might leave the experience changed. To date, these are the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. No particular topic, no themes. Some…
Category: Book Reviews
Smoked, Bubbly, and Strange: Horror Books as Cocktails
The bar is upscale. Dimly lit in amber tones. A band plays a haunting tune, their faces hidden in shadow. A few swirls of smoke hang in the air—vanilla and something else you can’t quite place. The smoke can’t be good for the books lining the mahogany shelves, can it? A pale-fingered bartender slides you…
Poetry and Nature as Important Tools to Express Emotion
Sometimes books find you when you need them most. This July, Jarod Anderson’s Something in the Woods Loves You was that book for me. The poetry in its language and message was exactly what I needed. The book is part memoir, part essay, part nature writing. The author, born and raised in Ohio, is struggling…
Introducing Haunted Houses in Writing
I love haunted houses. I love their mystery, their poetry, the way they stand in for how we’re haunted ourselves. One of my favorite moments is when we “meet” the haunted house. Go on, give me mile-long, absurdly detailed descriptions. Use adverbs. Use “too many” adjectives. Tell me exactly what those gutters look like and…