Tag Archives: CCLaP

CCLaP Fridays: The Blue Kind, by Kathryn Born

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Today’s book review: “The Blue Kind,” a dystopian drug novel by Chicago-area author Kathryn Born, and put out by academic imprint Switchgrass. I assert that “More novelists writing in science fiction should take these kinds of chances.”

On Being Human: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976, Nicholas Roeg)

Today at CCLaP: In my last essay for On Being Human, I look at ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth,’ Nicholas Roeg’s 1976 sci-fi art-house masterpiece.

CCLaP Fridays Wednesday: The Year in Books 2012: Karl Wolff’s Picks

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It’s day three of CCLaP’s “Year in Books 2012″ report! Today, staff writer Karl Wolff takes a look at his favorite reads in 2012, broken down by specific category.

CCLaP Fridays: Squinting Over Water: Stories, by Mary Kennedy Eastham

Squinting Over WaterThis week I review Mary Kennedy Eastham‘s short story collection, Squinting Over Water, where characters have to come to terms with loss.

CCLaP Fridays Bonus: The Kickstarter Letters, by David David Katzman (not a review)

 

This is not a review, but more about lending a helping hand to a CCLaP Kickstarter project called The Kickstarter Letters, by David David Katzman.  Here is what CCLaP founder Jason Pettus has to say about the Kickstarter Letters:

What is The Kickstarter Letters?
I funded the entire print run of my second novel, A Greater Monster, through a Kickstarter project.* As a reward, I wrote each of my 128 contributors a stream-of-consciousness email or handwritten letter. This book is a signed & numbered handmade, hardback collection of 52 of those letters.

With only 4 days left and within $75 of reaching their goal, I would strongly encourage people to contribute to this Kickstarter campaign.  There are options in all price ranges.  If you’re looking for an Xmas/holiday present for an artistic friend or relative, this might be what you’re looking for.

NB: Since I work as a staff writer/editor for CCLaP, I have a real stake in this succeeding.  Hence, my utter lack of objective bias in this post.  But faithful readers of this blog also know of my commitment to give shout-outs to artists and writers out there worth getting extra exposure.

Podcast Dreadful, Episode 9 of 12

Today on the CCLaP Podcast, it’s episode 9 of A Podcast Dreadful, the center’s 12-part serial-fiction audiobook anthology taking place every Monday this autumn. Today’s episode includes: “Steamhouse,” part 9 of 12, by Davis Schneiderman; “The Pool,” part 5 of 8, by Jim Ruland; “The Gothickers,” part 9 of 12, by Keith McCleary and Sophia G. Starmack; “The Preacher Man,” part 6 of 6, by Jason Fisk; “Cure,” part 1 of 4, by Ben Tanzer; and “Dr. Lazarus Faust and the Anarchist Masquerade,” part 9 of 12, by Karl Wolff.

CCLaP Fridays: The Passage of Power, by Robert Caro

This week I review “The Passage of Power,” Robert Caro’s 4th volume in his epic biography of Lyndon Johnson.

Podcast Dreadful episode 4: Live at Quimby’s Bookstore (actually a recording)

(As always, click on the above image, scroll down and download the appropriate format.)

Today on the CCLaP Podcast, it’s episode 4 of A Podcast Dreadful, the center’s 12-part serial-fiction audiobook anthology taking place every Monday this autumn. Today’s episode was recorded live this last Friday, September 21st, at Quimby’s Bookstore in Wicker Park, and includes:

“Steamhouse,” part 4 of 12, by Davis Schneiderman: In which we finally see a terrifying example of The System, the augmented-reality machine stolen from foreign interests that is holding together the suburban Chicago post-apocalyptic society where our story takes place;

“The Gothickers,” part 4 of 12, by Keith McCleary and Sophia G. Starmack: In which a harp lesson is endured, a laboratory is defiled, and our Victorian detective siblings learn more about their new case;

“The Preacher Man,” part 1 of 6, by Jason Fisk: In which we are introduced to the small-town crooked minister and the violent man-child who stand at the center of this dark story;

“Dr. Lazarus Faust and the Anarchist Masquerade,” part 4 of 12, by Karl Wolff: In which our famed alchemist and libertine enlists the aid of a Romany friend in his investigation of the murder of a Viennese aristocrat;

and “Bad Penny,” part 4 of 12, by Jacob S. Knabb: In which a young woman does some private snooping into an unsolved murder in early 20th-century rural West Virginia that has captivated her small town.

CCLaP Fridays Wednesday: Podcast Dreadful

Every autumn, CCLaP is proud to present another themed anthology featuring the short work of a variety of writers across the US; but this year the center is trying something special, releasing this compilation as a free 12-part serialized audiobook through its popular podcast, every Monday in September, October and November. Entitled “CCLaP’s Podcast Dreadful,” the series has been designed in the fashion of an old Victorian “penny dreadful” publication, including cliffhangers at the end of each chapter and a dark, weird tone throughout. Hosted by Christopher Sullivan and featuring brand-new pieces by Kate Cullan, Jason Fisk, Kevin Haworth, Jacob Knabb, Keith McCleary and Sophia G. Starmack, John Reed, Jason Riley, Jim Ruland, Davis Schneiderman, Ben Tanzer and Karl Wolff, as well as new music by Ken Kase written specifically for this project, it is sure to be just the right ticket for a cold, scary autumn night.

My “podcast dreadful” is called “Dr. Lazarus Faust and the Anarchist Masquerade.”

CCLaP Fridays: Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski

The new Akashic anthology Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski has something for everyone, a delicious sampling of tastes, styles, and stories.