Book cover of Acid West

Book description

Early on July 16, 1945, Joshua Wheeler's great grandfather awoke to a flash, and then a long rumble: the world's first atomic blast filled the horizon north of his ranch in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Out on the range, the cattle had been bleached white by the fallout.

Acid West, Wheeler's…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Acid West as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Another jealous-worthy book, this collection of essays explores the fallout from atomic testing.

It goes beyond that. 

My favorite essay in the collection is “Living Room.” The piece centers around a television gifted to the writer after the death of a high school classmate he doesn’t remember. From there, it weaves together the philosophical notion of memory with the more tangible, hard-luck details of Werther’s candies, peach sherbert, a red leather sofa.

The title of the book is spot-on, and any fan of Denis Johnson’s prose will love this collection. 

If you love Acid West...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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