A Deluge of Damn Good Books

Too many good books sitting on your desk is a good problem to have. A number of excellent reads are being released right around the same time and I’m enjoying the hell out of them. It makes for a lot of work because I need to crank out reviews, but it remains a pleasure. Here are a couple of books I’ll be talking more about in the coming days:

• It’s not a new release, but someone recently brought Mark Ames’ Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion From Reagan’s Workplaces to Clinton’s Columbine and Beyond to my attention. Damn. I’ll have more to say on this one, but it’s an incendiary book that makes a helluva point.
• The clock is ticking down on the release date for Demon Theory. Stephen Graham Jones’ reworking of horror films has been delayed from it’s original drop date due to the complexity of printing, but it will be well-worth the wait.
• Ace Atkins leaves behind his beloved Delta Blues for the Latin rhythms of 1950’s era Florida and Cuba in White Shadow. Based on real events, this novel creates an atmosphere so strong that you think your hands will smell like fine Cuban cigars just from holding the book.
• Another damned cop book is the last thing we need now. But if more cop dramas could be like Marshall Karp’s The Rabbit Factory then maybe the genre wouldn’t be so tired. Humorous and literary, Karp’s version of a cop story is a welcome new addition.

I’m trying to work my way through all these great books and get the reviews written, while also savoring nice moment of having so much good to read. It’s a great problem to have.