You Don't Care

Having completed Singleton's sprawling WORK SHIRTS, which earned its twisty references to The Three Stooges, Flann O'Brien's AT SWIM TWO BIRDS, and BEING AND NOTHINGNESS, I turn my bloodshot eyes to THE DEATH AND LIFE OF GREAT AMERICAN CITIES by Jane Jacobs. Somehow I was put in the mood for a thick, chunky book with lots of big ideas. So far it seems fiery! And that's just the introduction. Meanwhile, Tom Franklin can't find enough nice things to say about AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND by Brock Clarke. He's racing through it and enjoying every moment. This has been one in a series of slabs of meaningless filler - no reflection on the high quality of the books mentioned.