Seven Months of Book Club Books

I had a scan over the old threads, noticed that Angeldust Apoc was chosen a while back. Can we do another short story collection?

Slut Lullabies would be an excellent choice IMO. Those stories are top notch, and some interest has been drummed up by various reviews and the like that have been posted on this site.

Do the discussions for collections usually go down well? I'm still too new here to have been part of one.

I'll put all three of them up for all I care! It's not like we're being overwhelmed by recommendations.

I want to add Jo Ann Beard's new novel - In Zanesville. Her short story collection was one of the few I absolutely loved. I'm looking forward to opening up a spot to fit her novel in my reading queue.

Speaking on collections, we definitely need to do Warmed and Bound: A Velvet Anthology when it drops. Seriously, this collection is going to be nuts. I'm sure it'll be nominated for a Spinetingler. And probably other awards, too.

We rarely have a "good" discussion. lol.

So I'm up for anything.

Matt also nominated that collection that everybody is going to be in. The one with Clev, SGJ, and all the culties. When's that come out?

There's no solid release date yet. But, that said, I'm pretty sure the final round of copy-editing/proof-reading has been completed, so I think we can expect a June/July release. I know that's what they were originally shooting for.

Not only will it have new shorts from Clevenger and SGJ. There's probably going to be an introduction by a pretty fucking awesome writer, which I won't name because it's not confirmed. And there'll also be stories by Blake Butler, Vicent Louis Carrella, Craig Davidson, Paul Tremblay, Kyle Minor, Matt Bell, to name a few.

Oh, also, I got my ARC of the July book, Tobacco-stained Mountain Goat, in the mail a couple of days ago. It's looking like it's a sort of Sci-fi Noir, or, I guess, Cyberpunk, thing. Looks pretty cool. In the back there's an Encyclopedia of Tobacciana that's sort of like footnotes explaining references the narrator makes in the book to films and movie stars and shit like that. There's also a Tobacco-stained Glossary that explains Australian and British colloquialisms, slang terms and made-up post-apocalyptic jargon. Pretty damn cool.

Yeah, Warmed & Bound and Slut Lullabies for sure.

Although, how does one discuss an anthology really? A collection, yeah, because it's all done by the same person. Anthology might be tough though.

That is a good point Brandon. Is there a collective theme to the anthology at all?

You guys are insiders for this one to an extent, do you know much about the other authors' contributions? If so then maybe you or Matt could lead the thread and aim us towards the juicy discussion.

And if Slut Lullabies gets the nod then I would be more than happy to raise my hand for having a go at leading the thread. (Providing you guys want a newb like me doing it) I'm all over that book like a rash right now.

I know that I'm in it and not much beyond that. I don't go to the Velvet that often, so I usually hear everything second or third-hand. I'd imagine the stories are all relatively dark, if I had to guess.

I'm buying them Slut Lullabies regardless, so if it gets included--awesome.

Yeah, anthology might be tricky, but could definitely open up a great discussion. I suppose we would talk a little about each story, or the stand-outs. People could name their favourites and why they liked them. I'm sure everyone will want to talk about the new story that Craig wrote for it. I've read a small excerpt and, not surprisingly, it's brilliant. The damn excerpt stopped just as you were dying for more, too.

Pretty sure there's a loose theme of 'fucked-up relationships'. But, yeah, it's loose. More than anything, it's just a collection of dark fiction, Noir, crime, and the like.

What yours about, Matt?

Mine is about a lady in an old folks' home who is obsessed with her jewelry and appearance even though she's bedridden.

Here's another random enquiry.

Next month's book (We are oblivion) came out today, correct? Do anyone know if Otherworld are going to sell the paperback through Amazon (UK) like they did with Out of Touch, Transubstantiate, and Stranger Will?

Because at the moment there is only a Kindle version (no good to me) and the hardback listed. (which says out of stock)

I know Otherworld ship over here but it's pricey, and it took forever and a day for Out of Touch to get here when I bought from them. Getting the signed copy and the bonus stuff made it worth the wait, but Amazon delivered my copy of Stranger Will the next day, which meant I could read it in time for the book club thread starting up.

Michael Sonbert is a member here right? I have yet to chat to the guy, and haven't read any of his stories. I figure this new book is gonna be a good place to start.

I'm sure it'll be available on Amazon UK in no time.

The reason OOT special edition hardbacks took so long is really the publisher's fault. Long story short, I was sent books to sign way later than I should've been...and then I had to send them back to another part of the country so they could be distributed...and then there was a problem with the bonus content...so yeah...it was a clusterfuck.

I don't think Sonbert will encounter that problem.

Yeah, "Fading Glory", right? I read it in workshop a while back.

Mine, "If You Love Me", is about a guy that is being manipulated to show his love for a girl.

Matt that Tobacco Stained book looks really good doesn't it? Something a little different. I'm looking forward to that one.

I'm looking forward to We are Oblivion too.

And every one of those books named. Shit! How it the book club not more successful when we pick such great books?

(I'll be adding those books to the list sometime today)

Here's what I have so far - we need to put these in order:

August? The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock - July 12th
September? The Samaritan by Fred Venturini
October? You Can Make Him Like You by Ben Tanzer
November? Slut Lullabies by Gina Frangello
December? In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard (released last month)

Warmed and Bound - We can move things around once we have a release date.

The cool thing with Warmed and Bound is that we might be able to get a whole mess of authors to come in and speak about their story. Field questions. Discuss their motivations in writing it. Themes they wanted to explore. Whatever, really.

Likely July-something. Still too many hoops to jump through to make June, I think.

I don't think that's happening. That's not to disparage Logan (site admin), but he wrote the introduction rather than the fella in question.

I've read a handful of the stories, including Tietz's and Brian Evenson's. An eclectic batch, and from what I understand, the whole is not as dark as one might imagine.

Who was the fella in question since he's out now?

Edit: Or just text me if it's not meant for public knowledge.

Bummer. Hopefully he still does a blurb.

Wow - cheers, Matthew (TSMG is my little baby). I hope you enjoy!

Also big thanks to PGoutis01, and to one of my bona fide heroes, Kristopher Young - who hammered this beastie into shape!

Absolutely chuffed to have the novel listed for July. Thanks to all of you for doing so, and if anyone wants to discuss anything in Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat prior to or during the July period, feel free to hit me up.

And I finally joined up here, tho' I've been meaning to for ages... got to find the time to explore the site properly...

Glad you finally joined, Andrez. These boards are full of writers and it's just a great little community that often has very little to do with Chuck. Hopefully you'll stick around, man.

I haven't started on TSMG yet, but I'm pretty excited about it, being a fellow Aussie. It's sounds pretty badass already, so I'm sure it's going to be ripping.

Like I said, stick around. Get involved in some of the discussions.

Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is available through the publishers website, and they use the Radiohead/In Rainbows system: http://www.anothersky.org/in-print/tobacco-stained-mountain-goat-andrez-...

Ta, Matthew - great feedback already and it was nice to finally shift my wayward bum some distance and get on board re: this site! I'll definitely be skirting round here a bit; nice to know a fellow Aussie's lurking in the depths too!

And cheers for the link, Brandon.

You have no idea how psyched we were when Radiohead did that. We've been pushing the concept for years, and when such a huge group attempted it really made life easier for us. Back when the press started in 2005, we needed to explain the concept to pretty much everyone. Now, we can just say 'sort of like Radiohead did it' and people get it. The power of having a huge audience.

IN OTHER NEWS: We've got a pile of copies available to book club members here that we'll ship out on our dime. If you'd like a copy, please PM me your address and we'll send one out. First come first served, though I'd REALLY like to ensure all/ the majority of copies go to active bookclub members that'll participate in the discussion. Therefore, if you know of someone who might be interested, but isn't necessarily reading this thread, consider pm'ing them and letting them know. One final note -- unfortunately, due to the insane cost of international postage, we can only cover shipping for US readers... else, you'll need to cover postage. Sorry!

^ Ta, Chief!

I have some really cool news guys! Gina Frangello who wrote our November book, Slut Lullabies, will be joining in our discussion. Richard put her in touch with me and she's really excited to take part.

After we start the discussion for We Are Oblivion, I am going to start a new thread to get rid of this one. I will put the up and coming Book Club discussions in that thread.

I have some really cool news guys! Gina Frangello who wrote our November book, Slut Lullabies, will be joining in our discussion. Richard put her in touch with me and she's really excited to take part.

That is fucking awesome.

Kudos to you and Richard.

Awesome, Pete. Very cool.

Gina's great. She's here in Chicago too. And she's an editor at The Nervous Breakdown where I do book reviews. WIN-WIN-WIN. I'm sure it'll be a fascinating discussion, and I know I'll be here in some capacity, as a fan and witness, or more.

Great news -Thanks for hooking that up.

BTW, mates, I completely forgot about this - not the most professional visual ditty in the world, but something I strung together as a bit of a teaser for Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, which is coming up as book of the month in July (thanks yet again!).... just in case some distracted individual is vaguely interested...

Oh cool! I'll have to remember to use that video in my first post in the discussion thread when I open it.

Thanks, PGoutis01.

August Sinister Miniatures by Kris Saknussemm
September The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
October The Samaritan by Fred Venturini
November Slut Lullabies by Gina Frangello
December You Can Make Him Like You by Ben Tanzer
January In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

Warmed and Bound - We can move things around once we have a release date.

Again, I will be making a new upcoming discussion thread after we start discussing We Are Oblivion.

But I just want to post these here for feedback.

I shifted things around to fit in Sinister Miniatures by Kris Saknussemm. Kris will be involved with that discussion.

Jeremy Robert Johnson had this to say about it:

"SINISTER MINIATURES is as beautiful as Bizarro gets--a galaxy of black holes rendered in stained glass. Kris Saknussemm's prose mixes intimate, delicate detail and molten intensity, taking you through powerful and mystifying experiences to deliver too-human truths. Twisted, smart, strange, earnest, and awesome--SINISTER MINIATURES reads like the mutant spawn of Bradbury and Vonnegut, born after a particularly nasty night at the S & M club."

I think Warmed and Bound comes out in July, if I recall correctly. Richard can verify that.

So should we shift things around so we can do Warmed and Bound in August and Sinister Ministers in September?

That'd be cool, but again, verify with Richard. Or actually, I'll email Pela. She's in charge.

Hey Pete,

Pela just emailed me back. You can set it for Sept. or later for now. She said she'd email me if there were any changes in their schedule.

July is the release date, so any time after that, like August, would be fine. August would be perfect timing since it'll be a hot topic when it comes out, but these things fade fast.

There is also supposed to be a ThunderDome anthology, it looks really cool, not sure of the release date on that. Michael Monkey Gonzalez is doing that.

This is all looking really cool -seems like more people are getting involved, too.

And Pete, whichever months The Samaritan and The Devil All The Time end up getting moved to, you can still count on me for discussion lead. Really glad to see that they've been pushed down beyond August too because I'm moving in August (out of state from Mass to Florida), so that month is shitty for me -Was going to say something or send you a PM but it looks like it worked itself out. Looks great -lot of great selections on that list.

According to the email she sent, they're waiting on something (which I have to keep quiet about). She said they were "aiming for July," and that's straight from the horses' mouth. I'm taking into consideration that if the book comes out late July, we'd be spending the first part of August getting and reading the thing, which is why I listed September as the date. Playing it safe and all that.

sorry, listen to Pela, she's the boss

I think Thunderdome one is probably later in the year. Mike said to me possible November

I just got confirmation from Ben Tanzer. He's going to be involved also. He's really looking forward to it.

We have some really fun months ahead of us guys!

^ Cool! This should be a good one.

I'm gonna have to hold my hand up in ignorance, I don't know his stuff. What's this guy all about?

Just ordered Sinister Miniatures, The Devil All the Time, The Samaritan and Slut Lullabies. Hopefully, they arrive on time so I can be properly involved in the discussions.

Great book -one of the best I've read in a long time.