AltWeeklies Wire
Darin Strauss's Third Novel Gets Under Readers' Skinsnew
Strauss cleverly constructing a story that burns and festers, leaving you slightly traumatized and utterly invested in the moment.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
06-27-2008 |
Fiction
Edward Docx Could Take a Load Off, Chillaxnew
Pravda (or Self Help, as it is known in the UK) was long-listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, and I suppose it's understandable -- it's certainly not the sort of book I like reading, but it's enjoyable enough once you get past its wordy temper tantrums.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
03-27-2008 |
Fiction
Joseph Ferris' Novel Doesn't Live Up to the Hypenew
Make no mistake, Then We Came to the End is not without its merits -- but that's also part of its undoing.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
03-20-2008 |
Fiction
How to Write Memoir (Really)new
Not much in the way of a front-to-cover book, Natalie Goldberg's Old Friend from Far Away is an engaging, practical means to an end.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
02-14-2008 |
Nonfiction
'The Delivery Man': Balls-out Scarynew

Joe McGinniss Jr.'s characters live in the epitome of a moral morass—Las Vegas—but these twentysomething desert rats are searching for a way out. Their efforts make for a fast-paced read, full of scares, gross-outs, and waste.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
02-01-2008 |
Fiction
Increase Your Vocabulary While You Poopnew
A quintessential bathroom reader, Anu Garg (creator of the A.Word.A.Day email newsletter at wordsmith.org) reports on the travels, tribulations, and histories of more than 300 words, which makes for a semi-interesting squat, but you'll never be taking this book out on the town.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
11-08-2007 |
Nonfiction