This is kind of a sad entry. I'll be stepping down as books editor/blogger for Enfuse. The "real" work situation just keeps getting crazier, and I'm finding myself with less time for "fun" projects like managing reviewers and writing reviews. Thanks to everyone who checked in on this blog, and thanks to all my wonderful reviewers who contributed their wit and intelligence to this site over the past year.

I want to mention a couple of outstanding books that I didn't have time to review in full. Dan Kennedy's Rock On: An Office Power Ballad is a hysterical memoir of his time in the music industry. This is the first nonfiction book in a long time that had me laughing out loud - Kennedy's style is reminiscent of David Sedaris. His story about the Donnas is particularly funny, as are the lists and lyrics he includes in some of the chapters, such as "Ineffective Names for a Hardcore Death Metal Band." From Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill .

This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record is a debut novel from Susannah Felts. It follows staid, somewhat nerdy photography obsessed 16-year-old Vaughn as she reinvents herself over the summer. She forms a friendship with incandescent bad-girl Sophie - a neglected teen who ends up living with Vaughn and her parents and becomes the subject of most of Vaughn's photos. At the outset, I wasn't sure about this book - the voices of the teenagers didn't always ring true in the first couple of chapters. But, despite the imperfections in tone, I became engrossed in Vaughn and Sophie's story. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this charming novel. From Featherproof.

I'm a lot late announcing our two latest reviews by Anne Stameshkin and Dorrie Munhall. Check them out under "featured" on the Books homepage!

A while back, I agreed to be part of Eric Maisel's blog tour for the paperback publication of The Van Gogh Blues, a book that teaches creative people how to deal with depression and manage the anxieties of the creative process. The following is an interview with Eric about his work:

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There's a new social networking site for authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers. RedRoom, which premiered in December, features blogs from famous (think Amy Tan and Salman Rushdie) and not-so-famous authors, reviews, interviews, and this hilarious video of Neal Pollack's five-year-old son explaining the writer's strike.

Check out the books homepage, where I've added the latest review from the lovely and talented Anne Stameshkin!

Odd. You'd think this would be good news, but somehow the reporter has spun it to make us feel like we really aren't all THAT literate. Damn 18-24 year olds. Read a book already.

Yes, it's been a hectic month and a half, what with NaNoWriMo, NaBloPoMo, and general holiday craziness. I hope to blog more regularly now, particularly since there are so many interesting looking books to spend my Christmas money on. In the meantime, check out Tori's latest review, posted on the Books page.

Please check out our latest book review, a critique of Boxing for Cuba by the extremely talented Dorrie Munhall!

I'm stealing this from Anne's blog. Free Rice is a vocabulary game that is sponsored by the United Nations. For each word you get right, the UN donates 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger. Try it - you'll be addicted and you can sleep soundly tonight knowing that all your Internet game playing today went for a good cause!

I've been remiss about writing about this fall's One Book, One Denver pick, Nick Arvin's Articles of War. This city-wide book event kicked off in early October and includes readings and book discussions through mid November at venues such as the Tattered Cover, the Denver Public Library, and the Auraria Campus. Check out the One Book, One Denver Web site for details on the book and events.