Actor/screenwriter’s short-fiction debut shows plenty of literary potential

Readers paying attention to literary discourse these days will no doubt have heard that men don’t read fiction, and that short fiction doesn’t sell.

With his literary debut, Hollywood actor, screenwriter and director Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down, The Righteous Gemstones, Tropic Thunder and more) defies both those tired tropes, releasing a collection of short stories that grapples with the concept of masculinity in the 21st century.

Much like the characters he typically portrays on screen — from Kenny Powers to Jesse Gemstone — McBride’s focus in these stories are men who use bravura and toxic masculinity to hide their true, fragile, insecure selves, often doubling down rather than take an opportunity to open up and be vulnerable.

For the most part, McBride succeeds in applying his distinct brand of humour to the form of short fiction, while the collection as a whole is highly entertaining literary endeavour, which includes nods to sci-fi (RoboCare™), horror (The Book Burner) and noir (Fun Run). At times McBride’s writing can get stuck in what Lincoln Michel, author of Metallic Realms and the popular Counter Craft Substack newsletter, calls “TV brain prose,” wherein the author’s writing tries to recreate what a viewer would see if the story were a TV show, not a novel or short story.

Disgraced ad exec’s retreat from the spotlight satisfies

As Connecticut writer Courtney Maum’s entertaining new novel Alan Opts Out begins, the main male character, Alan Anderson, is planning his next pitch to win over a lucrative new client. Alan hopes to land a national contract with US Dairy by coming up with a campaign that will convince more people to get back to regularly drinking milk.

Alan’s plan is to have a typical and successful dairy farmer speak on behalf of the ad agency, Orris + Anderson, when they meet with US Dairy. His team has selected Tucker Brannigan from 50 candidates to be their RLDF (Real Life Dairy Farmer).

Alan goes to Greenacres, Tucker’s Wisconsin farm, to get to know him before their session in New York with their would-be client. Tucker shows Alan what a typical day is like but expresses concern about how nervous he’ll be. Alan tells him not to worry: “‘I’ll prompt you with questions, you just need to answer. And show up in overalls?’”

Alan is confident. He has had great success since he and Kenneth Orris formed O + A 17 years ago. He is happily married to Vivian and has two daughters, Bailey, 15, and Sunny, 12. He thinks he’ll win this latest client and then he’ll buy a swimming pool for Vivian.

Character revisits life’s memories, both good and bad, on the eve of his death

Bestselling author Matt Haig returns to the world of his blockbuster novel The Midnight Library in his newest title, The Midnight Train, billed as a companion to the 2020 hit. Less a sequel and more a sister, The Midnight Train is a tender reminder to live life to the fullest.

Once again exploring what happens when we die — and, more profoundly, what happens when we truly live — The Midnight Train takes on the concept of life flashing before your eyes when you die. Science confirms it: our brains show strong electrical activity for a few moments after our hearts stop beating, and survivors claim to relive memories. So when Wilbur Budd dies of a heart attack, it registers as a small surprise that he has the opportunity to replay his memories one by one.

At one minute after midnight on the eve of his death, Wilbur experiences a fleeting sense of calm and harmoniousness. Then a train arrives in his subconsciousness bearing a figure from Wilbur’s past, a kind bookstore owner named Mrs. Bagdale, who volunteers to serve as his spirit guide as he travels through his life to the train’s final destination: eternity.

There only four rules Wilbur must follow: don’t meddle, don’t try to get your past self’s attention, get back on the train when it arrives and never be there when your past self falls asleep.

Scottish sleuth Steel set to hang up her badge in MacBride’s latest whodunit

Acting Detective Inspector Roberta Steel — she of the wild hair, crude and sarcastic mouth, bender of rules — is resigned to her retirement after 30 years with Police Scotland, and thinks she’ll be able to go out with a bang when she gets a call to a decomposing body found in a wheelie bin.

With eight weeks left on the job, clearing a murder case is a fine way to strut her stuff and tweak the noses of superior officers who can’t wait to see the back of her.

But as readers of tartan noir know, no murder case is simple. Steel faces a violent protest, far-right populist politicians, a byelection, drugs, a desperate former colleague begging for help, interfering spooks and an explosion that lands her in hospital in this third novel starring Steel, who first appeared as the permanent supporting character in MacBride’s popular Logan McRae series and went on to be the main character in Now We are Dead and And the Corpse Wore Tartan.

McRae is a peripheral presence here, and Steel must rely on what she calls her irregulars, four serving cops who do her favours. The main one, DC Stewart Quirrel — known as Tufty or the Wee Loon — has been a sidekick since the McRae books and whose strange ideas, hobbies and oddball speech, make you want to slap him. Yet he is honest, hard working and makes a perfect foil for Steel. Together they deliver comic relief against the bleak world they face daily.

5 books to read this fall, from Marlon James to Joe Biden

NEW YORK (AP) — Book lovers this fall can look forward to a wealth of fiction, biographies, memoirs, poetry collections and topical nonfiction. Here are five upcoming works you'll likely be hearing about.

“The Disappearers,” Marlon James

Marlon James’ fantasy series “Dark Star” was a showcase for his extraordinary and boundless imagination. In “The Disappearers,” he returns to his native Jamaica and to the murderous reality of his Booker Prize-winning “A Brief History of Seven Killings.” The new novel, longlisted for the Booker, is framed around the horrifying beating in 1988 of eight gay men who had been rehearsing for a play. James weaves together humor, popular culture, compassion and some very hard experience. “I refuse to believe there is any lesson to be learned from suffering an atrocity,” James writes, “other than always be on guard for the ways people turn on you.” (Sept. 1)

“American Scoundrel,” Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark

Fall books: Fiction takes the spotlight in bookstores during the midterm season

NEW YORK (AP) — Midterm election news will fill the headlines this fall, but, among book buyers, fiction will likely have top billing.

Former President Joe Biden’s “Promise Me, America” stands out not just as a White House memoir — presidential memoirs are events unto themselves — but as a rare high-profile political book over the next few months. Nonfiction sales have slumped in recent years and political books haven’t approached the peaks of President Donald Trump's first term.

“The energy in political books seems to be subdued. I think folks are just ranted out,” says Kristen McLean, an analyst and vice president for client insights at Circana, which tracks retail book sales.

“I think the (news) cycle is moving a bit too quickly for a lot of the very specific political books to catch on,” says Shannon DeVito, Barnes & Noble's senior director of books.

What's Up: Party at the Ballpark, Wienerfest, Mocktail Week, Bonsai, Head to the library, MCO’s Concert on the Veranda

Party at the ballparkBlue Cross Park, 1 Portage Ave. EFriday, 4-9:45 p.m.; Saturday, 3-9 p.m.Tickets $76-$600 at goldeyes.comBlue Cross Park will be alive with the sound of contemporary country music and throwback hip-hop tracks this weekend.

The third annual Country Rising and Tacos and Tequila festivals take place on the field of the local ballpark this Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Country Rising lineup includes country-rap headliner BigXThaPlug, as well as Kalsey Kulyk, Corey Kent, Dylan Monroe and Redferrin. Ticketholders can also test their mettle with a mechanical bull ride and hay bale toss.

Saturday’s Tacos and Tequila Festival is headlined by Atlanta rapper T.I., with performances by Fat Joe, Too $hort, Petey Pablo, Frankie J and Murphy Lee. Vendors will be serving tacos and tequila-based cocktails. Catch the lucha libre wrestling show and chihuahua beauty contest between sets.

Anita Rau Badami puts questions about home into new book, ‘Asha in Her Garden’

TORONTO - Anita Rau Badami poured herself into her latest novel: her worries, her passions, even her love of gardening, passed on through generations. 

Badami's first book in 15 years, "Asha in Her Garden" teems with aspects of the celebrated author's life, reshaped into fiction. 

As in her previous books, Badami started with a character. In this case, it was Asha, an ambitious matriarch who has taken charge of her life in response to a childhood in which she had no control. 

But more than a character, the writing process began with a conundrum.

Jason Arday’s death sparks UK debate over academic rigor, racism after media ‘frenzy’

LONDON (AP) — In 2012, a smiling Jason Arday was photographed by the British press carrying the Olympic flame in the torch relay preceding the London Games. He was back in the news in 2023 when Cambridge University hailed him as the youngest Black professor in the institution’s history.

Three years later, after weeks of news stories presenting evidence that he was a plagiarist and fabulist, Arday, 41, was found dead on Friday at his apartment in south London.

His death quickly led to a blame game. Cambridge has been criticized for elevating Arday in a rush to promote diversity, despite red flags about his qualifications, and the news media has been targeted for driving him to despair when his credentials and life story began to unravel under intense scrutiny.

Universities are being criticized over ‘due diligence’

‘Heated Rivalry’ author Rachel Reid gives $300,000 to keep Nova Scotia libraries open

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia author whose romance books inspired the wildly popular "Heated Rivalry" TV series has donated $300,000 to financially challenged libraries in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.

Rachel Reid issued a statement Monday saying libraries provide one of the most important services available. She also said supporting them should be a government priority.

“I credit my local library for being a huge part of the reason I’m a published author today,” Reid's statement said. “As essential community cornerstones, libraries provide free resources, information, assistance and safe spaces to their residents.”

The bestselling author said the Nova Scotia government should ensure these branches remain open for their communities.

Rise of social media reflects rise of self-promotion — to the detriment of genuine storytelling

A conversation is overheard between two people; one congratulates the other on their success, evident through countless posts on LinkedIn, but the other confesses the prolific aggrandizement is due to slumping success.

A young man on an airplane spends three hours poring over selfies taken on a vacation, zooming in on his biceps and using AI to retouch photos before posting on Instagram.

Anonymous and cowardly trolls on Reddit attempt to end another person’s career.

All this “storytelling” was observed in one day by this reviewer.

Human cost of AI bubble outweighs tech’s potential

Despite the title of his new book, Cory Doctorow isn’t against artificial intelligence (AI). At least, not exactly — although, admittedly, the “Before It’s Too Late” of the book’s subtitle sounds ominous.

A self-described AI critic, Doctorow is against the scammy story tech companies are selling investors and bosses: that AI can replace workers, cut costs and keep tech companies growing forever.

Doctorow introduces the idea of “centaurs” and “reverse centaurs” to expose power relationships between people and AI. In automation theory, a centaur is a person who is helped by a machine. A reverse centaur is a person who is forced to help a machine. The difference, Doctorow argues, is whether the person gets to choose when, where and how to use the tool.

He wants readers to stop being dazzled by AI and start asking who uses it, from it and gets used by it.

On the night table: Laura Meuckon

Laura MeuckonExecutive director, Plume Winnipeg

I’m reading Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary with my 12-year-old son. You know what? It’s really good, it’s fun. It’s a quick, easy read, and we’re just ripping through it. We read together — it’s a fun thing to do every night before bed.

I’m also reading some Winnipeg Book Festival titles right now — currently it’s Bill Gaston’s Spying on America. It’s his non-fiction book about him and his adult sons driving through the U.S. in the COVID era, and it’s quite interesting. I’m excited to see him at the Winnipeg Book Festival — he has made me challenge some of my beliefs about the red and blue divisions in the U.S., and how there’s some unique crossovers. I think it’s important to show those crossovers to people so conversations can start about heavier topics.

Aunt’s hidden, mysterious life unlocks a moving meditation on humanity and family

Valérie Perrin is not a household name on this side of the pond, but in France her novels have garnered multiple awards. In Tata, Perrin’s fourth novel but the second translated to English, a simple but intriguing premise unfolds into a complex, multi-faceted story, one that seemingly incorporates the lessons of not only her three prior novels but also her several produced screenplays.

Scene 1: Paris, an upscale apartment in the autumn of 2010. Agnes, a celebrated film director, is publicly lauded but privately still reeling from her divorce three years ago. The phone rings. On the other end is a provincial police officer from Gueugnon, who regretfully informs her that her aunt, Colette Septembre, was found dead in her home that morning.

But Agnes reacts with confusion, not grief — Aunt Colette died three years ago.

It’s a great set-up for a thriller, although this isn’t one.