Books written, not-yet-written, read

First, check out this hot link sandwich I got from a rib shack in St. Martinville called "Mr. Francis."



Look at the tie-off on that thing! It was eaten in the service of books-not-yet-written, particularly Gas Station Boudin, the book about south Louisiana informal cuisine that I am writing for the fine people at LSU Press.

Second, and speaking of the fine people at LSU Press and books written, I have a chapter in this book, available this fall!


The Louisiana Field Guide
Understanding Life in the Pelican State

edited by Ryan Orgera edited by Wayne Parent
280 pages / 5.50 x 8.50 inches / 48 halftones, 9 maps
ebook available
Louisiana Studies | Cultural Studies
ADD TO CART | $35.00
Hardcover / 9780807157763 / October 2014

- See more at: http://lsupress.org/books/detail/louisiana-field-guide/

So, that is pretty cool. HARDCOVER, yo. You can whack someone with this one. Plus, It is chock-filled with a bunch of really great people and you should add it to your cart!

Third, here is what I've been reading but (mostly) haven't finished.

Far Tortuga by Peter Matthiessen


This one is slow-going because of the depth of the writing, style, and sea on which the story takes place. In that bend of time while actually reading it, it's like getting telegrams from God relayed by Caribbean turtle fishermen. I guess it is worth the work.



The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz


This is idle bedtime reading on my phone as I fall asleep, but then it blurts onto my own adolescent mirror a D&D playing, girl-obsessed outcast cast among the living in a nowhere place. It's as beautiful as those who say it is, is.





Preacher, Volume 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis


This isn't the volume of this celebrated graphic novel series that I picked up - but I need to start from the beginning, I think. PREACHER is also as good as people make it out to be.





Sweet Tooth, Vol. 1: Out of the Deep Woods by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one I did finish. I'm tempted to say this did everything I wanted a graphic novel to do, but that is disingenuous toward the medium. But it did! I took me briefly and deeply into a place with an efficacy that only big budget movies can do. It's got that eschatological graphic novel sheen to it, the naked fragility and thick human crust that comics portrays so well, and it moves like a fallow wind. Totally will be eating up the rest of this sordid tale. It's gonna be me in the corner with the freaks in the graphic novel section of the library this summer.

View all my reviews. It is what Mr. Francis would want you to do.

Fourth, this little neglected blog passed the 300K-view mark. I love you people! Keep doing what you are doing!