32. Subconscious, by Matthew Scott. This is a supernatural mystery. Very nice gothic elements reminiscent of an old Hammer horror film, making it moody with a good sense of place. Made me want to write a horror story.

33. Give Over the Heckler and Everyone Gets Hurt, poetry by Jason Tandan. Fairly dry collection that never seems to plumb the depths, emotionally. I think it’s supposed to be funny, but I couldn’t tell. But that might just be me; it’s hard to make me laugh. I don’t mean to be rude—the guy teaches at a writing program so I expect a little more…

34. And What Did You Want? Poems by Jay Arr. Some nice moments, especially when the author writes about his children and family. He appears to have a rich history to draw from. A little weak at times when he relies on clichés.

35. Preacher’s Blues, poems by Benjamin S. Lowenkron. This is a themed collection dealing with “Preacher,” a Louisiana-Bukowski type character. Some really nice moments when Lowenkron pretties up the page with Bayou imagery.

I was interviewed recently, and one of the questions was ‘what have you read lately that really blew you away.’ I had a hard time with that. I haven’t read anything in a while that blew me away. I answered with a nonfiction book, but that’s not fair, really: the book didn’t blow me away; the events it describes did. So I’ve decided to go back to basics. I’ll be reading some older novels for a while, perhaps some Russians. There are a few recent books I’m looking forward to, though. Corey Mesler has a couple novels. Tom Williams has one. As soon as I can afford them…