For readers, there’s a resilience about grit lit, a natural vigor that makes no excuses. But what is it about this grit that is so appealing to writers?
Why the “grit lit” subgenre is more than just a rhyme
How much do celebrities make from writing memoirs?
They say everyone has a book in them, but apparently not all of those stories are created equal. And the (financial) disparity can be alarming.
‘These Heroic, Happy Dead’ by Luke Mogelson: An honest book review
In Luke Mogelson’s debut collection, “These Heroic, Happy Dead,” we experience the raw, unflinching lives of war veterans through an empathetic lens.
Honoring the Fallen Means Feeling the Pain Again
There are very few days from elementary school that I remember with such clarity. That day was different. That day was September 11th, 2001.
Amazon bookstores: Good or bad for the industry?
Amazon is the worldwide leader in online retail. Is its new move to physical bookstores a good thing?
Why J.D. Salinger would be disappointed with his biopic
There’s a new biopic about J.D. Salinger’s life, and he wouldn’t be pleased about it.
Are physical books making a comeback?
The physical book seemed to be dying. But after years of physical book sales decreasing and ebook sales increasing, have the tides finally turned?
Why do we let numbers speak for literature?
As the world goes digital, our obsession with studying metrics grows, whether it’s actually useful or not. But please, keep the metrics out of literature.
Putting words on paper: A personal writing story
You have a story. It’s been rolling around in your mind for months, maybe years. But there is only one way to put it on paper.
Writing kryptonite: Avoid distractions from writing time
All writers face adversity at some point in the process. What’s difficult, though, is when it’s created by you. What’s your writing kryptonite?
5 overlooked novels you should make time to read
Some books are just too good to be overlooked. And it’s a darn shame when they are. Here are five you should make some time to read.
From life to page to screen: The Glass Castle
How do you best bring a bestselling memoir to the big screen? Assemble an all-star cast including Woody Harrelson, Brie Larson and Naomi Watts.
Examining the collapse of America’s blue-collar middle class
Philipp Meyer made his name known in the literary world with the release of his 2013 epic The Son. But that’s not what I’m here to write about, because there is another book by Meyer that is similarly exceptional: American Rust.
We could all learn from Jim Harrison
Jim Harrison was one of the most gritty, honest writers the literary world has even seen. It was writers like him that most inspired me to write.
14 Best Quotes By Authors About Writing
In this age of increasing technology and constant access to various media channels, it seems there is never a shortage of information at our fingertips. This leads to people being more “social” online (a theory about which I am still skeptical, but that’s for another day). And then, inevitably, the best quotes start flowing. They […]
A day to remember the fallen
When I was a student at the University of Michigan, I was walking across campus and a young woman stopped me. “Please take this,” she said, and then handed me a small slip of paper. “It’s Veterans Day. We want all of our fallen to be remembered.” I looked at the slip. It read: Christopher […]
From page to screen: Philipp Meyer’s “The Son”
Remember that book I proclaimed should be considered a Great American Novel? Philipp Meyer’s The Son? Well, it is now a TV show—premiering this Saturday night on AMC. When it was first announced that they were making the book into a TV show, I was a little hesitant. Firstly, everyone knows the book is always […]
Daniel Magariel’s ‘One of the Boys’: An Honest Book Review
There is a certain degree of mystery in every novel. What’s most impressive is when the plot surfaces, the reader gets a sense of the direction of the story, yet every page is as important as the next and you cannot seem to stop turning them. That’s what it’s like reading Daniel Magariel’s One of the Boys.
Simple advice for aspiring writers
My advice for aspiring writers is simple: Keep at it. That old cliché rings true—practice makes perfect, like with anything in life. Well, maybe not perfect, but the best way to become a better writer is to continue writing. Seems straightforward, right? You’d be surprised how difficult this notion can be for some writers. I […]
Those Irish have a way with words
It’s not all whiskey and beer. The history of Ireland is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It makes you wish you lived there, yet it also makes you count your blessings. Being of Irish descent, this history has always fascinated me. I’ve found that in order to understand something, you need the full picture. You need to […]
