Naughty OR Nice...This is What You're Getting for Xmas

Books.  You're getting books.

In no particular order, these are some of the nicest reads this year and they are suitable as either stocking stuffers or the main event.  Literary Joy:  Tao of Humiliation by Lee Upton...don't take my word for it, this book is winning every short fiction collection award out there, notable for both its pleasurable prose and breathtaking originality.  Poems that Made Me Smile:  The Liberal Media Made Me Do It, edited by Robbi Nester and it includes a couple of poems by my fave Barbara Crooker. These are poems that are based on news stories and so have amazing content as well as graceful phrases.  For Anyone Who Would  Like to Know What it Was Like When the Founding Fathers Roamed the Earth:  The Original American Spies by Paul Misencik, Sr. notable for it's smooth narrative and seamless inclusion of dates and facts making you think you're reading an action adventure story and not, you know, history.  Father/Daughter Conflict:  Fighter Pilot's Daughter by Mary Lawlor, a memoir notable for successfully setting a personal tale within the larger historic context of the Cold War and the 60s.  Things That Go Bump In The Night:  Broadway Vampire by Uke Jackson.  Notable for being the most intelligent vampire book out there which probably signals the end of the genre, so get in on it now and get this one.  Industrial History:  Rigger by Larry James Neff.  Notable for its humor and its meticulous remembered detail.  This is the book that kids will be reading in school a hundred years from now when they learn about what it was like to "go to work".  Horror Stories:  Last Call by Paul Heller.  Notable for its brutal honesty.  It's a journal of an only son taking care of his mother who has Alzheimers.  A #1 Bestseller on Kindle.  Murder Mystery:  Dead Karma by....okay, I wrote this one.  Sex, lies and yoga in Mexico.  It's smart, sexy and fun.  If you don't like it I'll buy you a cuppa joe when I see you.  Happy Shopping!