Molly

Strange as this Weather Has Been
by Ann Pancake
A thoughtful, evocative novel set in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia and based on interviews with people who live with the devastating consequences of mountain-top removal strip mining. This is a story of a family's undoing; a meditation on our relationship to place and how we are shaped so deeply by where we come from; a diatribe on nature, what we gain from it and how we take away more. Superb. Highly recommended.

Neck Deep & Other Predicaments
by Ander Monson
Yes, another book by Ander Monson. This book of essays is my pick for Best of 2007! In my opinion, Ander is simply one of the most exciting and inventive writers writing right now. A master of tone and form, he creates wonders with language and will make you want to write.

Waterbaby
by Cris Mazza
Cris Mazza has written one of the most unique novels that I've read in a long time. Tam—evicted, epileptic and aimless—heads to Maine to sort out her family's history, but this is no ordinary genealogy project. This is an intense, personal and completely absorbing story.

We Think the World of You
by J.R. Ackerley
This under-appreciated and understated classic is darkly funny and beautifully constructed. The story of Frank and his petty thief lover Johnny centers around Johnny's uncommonly intelligent dog, Evie, for whom Johnny must find a caretaker when he lands in jail. Frank's good intentions are pitted against those of Johnny's dullard wife and simpleton parents as Evie comes to represent everything we want but shouldn't necessarily have.

Other Electricities: Stories
by Ander Monson
What a Beauty!
Unlike most experimental fiction, which can often be impenetrable, these creatively interwoven stories about the isolated lives of people in small-town Michigan are made intimate, accessible and hypnotic by Monson's songlike prose.