finding the lit: vol. 1
reviews
Welcome to finding the lit, where I share the fiction I’ve been reading and enjoying on Substack.
My main focus here is trying to take some lesser-known authors and pluck them from obscurity (or at least the ones I haven’t heard of) but, like I said in the Note above, some old and known favorites will be included as well.
I was kind of hesitant to do a series review post like this. I don’t want this to come across as engagement farming or quid pro quo or anything like that. But being a sort of literary prognosticator of Substack (grandiose and egotistical, I know) is like a hobby of mine and I figure if I am going to read and enjoy all this stuff anyway, I might as well turn it into posts, since I post rarely enough as it is.
It also sometimes feels like Substack fiction world is maybe over-stuffed with round-up/review posts like this, and I don’t really want to add to that sort of noise. So I don’t want to make a big deal about it.
If you respect my takes on what is good literature and like my writing, check out the posts in these round-ups and subscribe to these writers. If not, these probably won’t be for you.
I’m not sure exactly how often I’ll do this — probably as long as it takes for me to read enough material to post (hopefully once a week). I think this one is a bit lighter on volume of reviews than what I hope to achieve in coming weeks (due to this intro).
I’m also reading some serial novels on Substack that I have thoughts on — I hope to someday write in-depth, full reviews of those once they are fully posted and I’ve read them all the way through.
Without further ado — here’s vol.1 —
I’ve been a
fan since I’ve joined the platform. Not all his stories are of the same ilk as Gordon Rammlebaun’s Puzzleporium, but the ones that are never fail to get me. He also has some very heartfelt and sentimental work I’ve really enjoyed. You can’t go wrong starting anywhere with their work.What I loved about this piece from
was that it’s about a guy who comes in to redeem a very particular scratch off each trip to the convenience store — but the mystery of who he is and where he gets the scratch-off from is never quite revealed. And it doesn’t matter! The character construction is brilliant, and I liked the prose. Hopefully more to come from Jimmy.Those who know me know I’m all about the meta — the content about the content, the person behind the author and the separation (or lack thereof) between the two and how to blur those lines.
captured that well in this story about deadlines, agents, and the source of inspiration.One of these days I have to try this ‘anti-capitalization’ style many writers of my generation have been doing.
I have another handful of stories I read that I’ll restack and get into finding the lit: vol. 2 sometime over the next week.
With summertime winding down, I think many Substackers will find their readership picking up and writers will have more time to write — at least until the holidays start. I’ll leave you with this poor dad joke based on my cultural ignorance:
And my latest short story for your perusal:
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When I first arrived at Wind Creek Camp in central Vermont, my parents left me alone with my hiking backpack at a picnic table by the drop-off area. I waited for my Uncle Dave and his son, my cousin Jon, to appear in my field of vision so that I could suction onto them. They were the only people I knew who were attending Wind Creek with me that summer, …
Clancy, thanks man! Love how you're always hyping fiction on here and other writers you enjoy. Definitely feeling the community, and you're rightfully near the center of it.
Nice, Clancy, I like this. As you say, there tend to be quite a few round-up type posts around at the moment, but they often seem to be link-dumps without much substance and I don't gel with those, so I appreciate reading *why* you like these authors and their words.