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A little over a year ago, I completed my last “Conversation with the Bookless�� feature, with David Moles. (to all of the others, with folks such as Rachel Swirsky, Nathan Ballingrud, and Kelly Barnhill.)

Now Jay Tomio and BookSpot Central have revived the series, with a slant more toward crime writers. They’ve been posting a hellacious number of these things, so if you want to acquaint yourself with some of the bookless, roaming the literary landscape like zombie ghosts, h

Last night on Facebook, in response to a book I just read (can’t tell you what it is until review is done), I wrote, “I think it’s more than possible that a writer can be gifted with creating an amazing character and then, sadly, in a very real way for the reader undermine and betray that creation.��

Excerpts from the discussion that followed��

Jennifer
Ah. I had a similar experience a while ago. I had to stop reading, because it seemed the protagonist had acted out of character in order for the plot

Feeling like this right now?

Had a bloodshot weekend? Love books? Gonna have a crappy Monday?

������’s on about fictional characters, not understanding books, why you should ignore me as a curmudgeon, and more (gotta click on “more vandermeer�� to get to second page). ������’s an un-intriguing excerpt: “The moral necessity of trying to do the right thing even when it’s meaningless or hopeless–that perhaps it’s even more important then. The importance of love and the imagination in how we

Some of you may remember the Chuck E Cheese tale of horror, involving my stepdaughter Erin. Well, for the first time since Erin was nine (she’s 23 now), I set foot in Chuck E Cheese again…this time with Erin, Ann, son Jason, and Mr. R (Riley, our grandson).

Would it be as horrific an experience as the first time?

We approached cautiously. Note the exhausted employee leaning dejectedly against a column, unable to summon the energy to even go to her car.

Ominous sans serif block letters, reminiscent

You might remember .

It’s back. Yesterday it just sat there idling for awhile, and when I approached in my hoodie, MMA Affliction t-shirt, and surfer pants, it sped off. I don’t know if these two things are related: my approach and its retreat.

Anyway, today I decided to be more circumspect when it appeared. So I drove down our street with my phone nonchalantly angled like I was texting…while I was instead taking photos. ������’s how that turned out��

UPDATE:

I just over at Omnivoracious. Great stuff. As usual, I think Joe Gordon at got there first, but am happy to have discovered Berry in this new US edition.

“What every great noir needs is the right atmosphere, and the sepia tones of Berry’s creation set that mood perfectly. The subtle shifts in those tones, from gray to brown to green work well with panels that contain an amazing amount of texture and detail,

Evil Monkey:

So…you’ve been mouthing off on Facebook about finishing Finch, your new novel. I thought you finished that piece of crap months ago?

Jeff:

Huh? What?

Evil Monkey:

Hey! be alert. I asked you a question.

Jeff:

Jesus Christ, Evil. I was asleep.

Evil Monkey:

Falling into a stupor on the couch watching extreme fighting doesn’t count as “asleep.��

Jeff:

What the hell was the damn question?

Evil Monkey:

Um, here’s a napkin. Wipe that drool from the side of your mouth.

Jeff:

Uh. Get outta my face.

E

Just –among which I must classify the edgy/funny one above, , where he also writes:

“…nothing will ever erode the staggering importance, the extreme malignity and the utter originality of his novel Crash! and its relevance to the world we live in. The featured photograph is my tribute to that masterpiece. The cost of the picture was £2.05 (£1 for the toy car, 85p for the firelighters stuffed in

I invited Geoff Manaugh of the to share his –and I’m glad I did. It’s fascinating stuff, and it begins to get at some of the reasons I love Ballard’s work. Much of how he rewires minds is how he approached the idea of space and architecture.

������’s a short excerpt:

“Among other things, what makes Ballard’s fiction so spatially valuable is that he explores the psychological implications of everyday non-places–like parking lots, high-rise apartment tow

[A couple of unrelated programming notes: Secret Lives orders go out this weekend, and SF Site in which I pick on Elizabeth Hand, Kage Baker, Rachel Swirsky, Meghan McCarron, and Micaela Morrissette.]

Heh. Prototype. Not perfect. Not fly right yet. But…progress. Back to the laboratory. Sometimes I think I might be a little nuts, but when I do , it will be made of cool.