Kate’s 2¢: “Cypress Grove” by James Sallis

 “Cypress Grove” by James Sallis

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Gregory Gorton did a good job of narrating this book. I enjoyed the narrative arc and intrigue.

A few take-aways:

–Life is what happens while you’re waiting around for other things to happen that never do.

–Instruments should be played, just as lives should be lived.

  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jamessallis.com

James Sallis (born December 21, 1944) is an American crime writer who wrote a series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin set in New Orleans, and the 2005 novel Drive, which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name.

Sallis began writing science fiction for magazines in the late 1960s. Having sold several stories to Damon Knight for his Orbit series of anthologies, and a story to Michael Moorcock by the time he was in his mid-twenties, Sallis was then invited to go to London to help edit New Worlds just as it changed to its large format during its Michael Moorcock-directed New Wave SF phase; Sallis published his first sf story, “Kazoo”, there in 1967 and was co-editor from April 1968 through February 1969. His clearly acknowledged models in the French avant-garde and the gnomic brevity of much of his work limited his appeal in the science fiction world, though he received some critical acclaim for A Few Last Words (collection, 1970).[1] Sallis has been influenced by French New Novelists including Michel Butor and Robbe-Grillet. Camus’ L’Etranger is mentioned in each of Sallis’s novels.[citation needed]

Later short work (uncollected until Time’s Hammers) appeared in the USA through the 1970s and 1980s.

He is the brother of late philosopher John Sallis.

Career and critical reception[edit]

Sallis has worked as a creative writing teacher, respiratory therapist, musician, music teacher, screenwriter, periodical editor, book reviewer, and translator, winning acclaim for his 1993 version of Raymond Queneau’s Saint Glinglin.[citation needed] Trained as a respiratory therapist, Sallis worked in intensive care for both adults and newborns at many hospitals.[when?]

In 2000, he appeared as himself in the UK Channel 4 project Asylum (2000)—a mix of both documentary and fiction, where in the future a group of people are looking back at the twentieth century after a virus has wiped out most of the culture—written and directed by Christopher Petit and Iain Sinclair. Sallis appears alongside Michael Moorcock and Ed Dorn. In 2012, Sallis played a small part as a detective in the film The Detective’s Lover, directed by Travis Mills. Sallis taught writing classes at Otis College in Los Angeles and until September 2015 at Phoenix College in Arizona; he left his job rather than sign a state-mandated loyalty oath that he regards as unconstitutional.[2]

In Literary Hub, Lisa Levy considered his output significant and diverse and ranked him as perhaps alongside Don DeLillo (b. 1936) and Thomas Pynchon (b. 1937).[3]

On noir Sallis argues it is an oppositional form, working not to reinforce American culture but to subvert it: “there is no moral order save which a man creates from himself. Like high art, these stories worked hard  to unfold the lies society tells us and the lies we tell ourselves”.[3]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Cypress Grove DB59090

Sallis, James. Reading time: 7 hours, 11 minutes.

Read by Gregory Gorton.

Mystery and Detective Stories

Psychological Fiction

Turner, ex-Memphis detective and ex-con, retires to the Tennessee countryside seeking a life of solitude. He reluctantly agrees to help the local sheriff solve a set of bizarre ritual murders–a role that introduces him to the locals and exposes him to the unexpected kindness of strangers. Some violence and some strong language. 2003.

Downloaded: April 27, 2025

Download Cypress Grove

Kate’s 2¢: “The Myth Of You And Me” by Leah Stewart

“The Myth Of You And Me” by Leah Stewart

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Staci Snell did a good job of narrating this fictional memoir. The ending is when she wanats to stop telling the story.

A few Take-aways:

–All times exist simultaneously.

–The my th of you and me. You wonder why we were friends.

–Time is meaningless. When something is over, it’s over.

–To her, that pen would look ordinary, like trash.

–A happy ending isn’t really the end. It’s just  a place where you choose to stop telling the story.

–How quickly  a person you’ve liked can go out of your life at the at someone else’s discretion.A history, like a life, is just what one person chooses to remember.

–To go on loving someone means to over and over allow the necessary pain

Snip-its from the WEB:

Leah Stewart is the author of the novels The Myth of You and Me and Body of a Girl. A recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship, she lives in Cincinnati.

Aug 15, 2019 — Master’s in fine arts at the University of Michigan (Learned to make a life writing fiction). Roving writer marries and has two kids (Wrote …

She has taught writing at Vanderbilt University and Sewanee, the University of the South. 

BTW: I do not like snip-its from the web. I much prefer the full information from WIKIPEDIA.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The myth of you & me DB60657

Stewart, Leah. Reading time: 8 hours, 14 minutes.

Read by Staci Snell.

Psychological Fiction

Mississippi. Thirty-year-old Cameron Wilson lives in seclusion as research assistant to elderly historian Oliver Doucet. Cameron ignores a letter from her estranged best friend Sonia–until Doucet dies, leaving a final request that Cameron deliver Sonia a package. Cameron’s quest retraces their complex friendship. Descriptions of sex and strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2005.

Downloaded: July 3, 2025

Download The myth of you & me

Kate’s 2¢: “No Two Persons” by Erica Bauermeister

“No Two Persons” by Erica Bauermeister

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   A different narrator read each of the loosely connected short stories in this collection  The thread throughout the collection was how one author’s book affected each person differently. I enjoyed listening to this book  and the interview with the author and one of the narrators at the end of the book..

A few take-aways:

–Her father preferred children who were respectful.

–After Alice learned to read, she discovered a whole new world.

–The point is what you’ll learn on the way.

–What humans are willing to do and for each other.

–words and books turned into voices.

–She knew what symbols and metaphors were. The things that imagine the unimaginable.

–He loved knowing a store’s worth of stories and matching them to his customers.

–During the interview at the end, Erica says: listening to audible book of your own book is like watching someone kiss your wife.

From the web:

Erica Bauermeister lives in Port Townsend, Washington, with her husband and 238 wild deer. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Scent Keeper, The School of Essential Ingredients, House Lessons: Renovating a Life, Let’s Hear It for the Girls, and her latest, No Two Persons.

50 Years of Island Books

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

No two persons DB114586

Bauermeister Erica

Braden Wright; Cassandra Campbell; Jesse Vilinsky; George Newbern; Stephen Graybill; Gabra Zackman; Barrie Kreinik; Rachel L. Jacobs; Carol Jacobanis; Max Meyers

Psychological Fiction

“Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives. Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download No two persons DB114586