Bear's Best of 2015!
As we start to wind down 2015, I've been seeing a lot of best-of lists. You know I need everyone to know what I think. So here are mine. My favorite books published in 2015. I'm ready for you, 2016... come at me, brah! Have you ever read a debut novel by an author and saw in stunning clarity the respect and awards in that author's future? Chigozie Obioma's first novel gave me that vision from the first paragraph. [read more] The greatest and most transformative moments i
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg The most striking thing to me about this book was the quiet Clegg managed to write into the story. A tragedy such as a fatal house fire is something that could be easily written with a dramatic air and an eye towards sensationalization. The fire could easily become the central part of the story. But Clegg pushed past that to a sweet spot of silent anguish and redemption. The fire is a cataclysmic event that gets a small role in a st
