The Best of Whatever - Nerd of Noir

Seeing as a shit ton of respectable folks have weighed in on the best crime shit of 2010 book-wise already, I figured I'd hip you motherfuckers to some great crime flicks you may have missed in theaters this year. And though this year has been a fairly solid one for American crime movies (Debra Granik's Winter's Bone and Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me spring instantly to mind), the Nerd thought he'd restrict this list to foreign films, of which there were some fucking beauts in 2010.

Prison Pictures:

French director Jacques Audiard (the dude behind the similarly fucking swell crime films The Beat That My Heart Skipped and Read My Lips) gave us the epic prison drama A Prophet, the story of young man's rise to power in a maximum security penitentiary. This shit was intense, smart, exciting and both intimate and grand at the same time. While A Prophet got a bunch of hoidy-toidy awards at Cannes and elsewhere, don't be fooled into thinking that this shit is anything less than nasty, down-and-dirty genre shit at its best.

Less acknowledged but no less agonizingly intense was Daniel Monzon's Spanish prison thriller Cell 211. The story of an innocent prison employee trying to hide his identity from the inmates in the midst of a vicious prison riot, Cell 211 had all the twists, turns and ticking clock plot intensity that pretty much guarantees Hollywood will take a swing at the material sometime soon. That said, if such an adaptation is to go down, it's doubtful the American remake will take the story into the shockingly full-dark extremes that Monzon's film gleefully fucking free falls into.

Krazy-ass Korean Shit:

While your average movie-goer was probably aware of the fine adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a far better subtitled mystery came and went from the theaters without much fanfare: Bong Joon-ho's Mother. This South Korean thriller told the story of a fucking creepily over-protective mother's investigation into a murder her mentally retarded son is suspected of having committed. The mystery plot is nicely executed, but the real reason to watch is the great performances, weird tonal shifts, and fucking nasty things the titular mother is willing to do to keep her son out of jail.

Keeping shit in South Korea, Hong-jin Na's Chaser was an endlessly surprising thriller about a Seoul pimp chasing (how fucking aptly titled!) down the psychopath who is murdering his prostitutes. The violence in this beast hits insanely fucking harsh and the story is both twisty and simple at the same time, with plenty of that signature Korean oddness in tone bleeding through every scene.

Aussie Awesomeness:

Nash Edgerton made a lot of old school noir junkies blissfully thumb their ball bags like it was their job with The Square, a nasty piece of work like we haven't seen since Blood Simple. With its dark sense of humor and agonizingly tense plot, a sick fuck like myself couldn't ask for a better, more blood-spattered time at the movies than this beast. Well, except for maybe...

Animal Kingdom, David Michod's brilliant portrait of a family of criminals and their fall from power. No film in 2010 hit me harder emotionally nor surprised me with its sheer originality than this motherfucker. In nearly fucking every moment of the film, Animal Kingdom manages to both violently upset our expectations and deliver the genre goods at the same time, making for one of the most invigorating experiences one could have at the movies in a very strong year.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Nerd of Noir's shit can be found at his blog, at Spinetingler Magazine, and Crimefactory, where he writes the Crime Sleeper Double Feature. His name is really Pete Dragovich, because if he ever saw "Noir, Nerd O." listed in a phonebook he'd want to drive over and shoot that poor son of a bitch in the face too.

The Best of Whatever—Chris La Tray

I’ve just barely gotten accustomed to writing 2010 on the stacks of checks I send out to pay the bills every other month and here 2011 is staring me in the face like a personal injury lawyer at a 48-car pileup on Highway 93 south. Hell, I think the only thing I sprouted faster than gray hairs and debt this year were books that appeared in stacks on every available flat surface where they could find purchase. I finally had to break down and build a bookshelf here next to my desk just for the TBR queue; I went old school with some cinderblocks and 2x6s (who says you can never be young again, eh?). Add a beer sign and some empty whiskey bottles and it would be just like college all over . . . except I never went to college and I don’t drink whiskey. Often.

It was a banner year for reading, and trying to settle on just ten to report on was a challenge; I ended up with eleven. Some great ones were left off the list, but that’s to be expected. I’m happy to say that I really only had to deal with a couple clunkers and disappointments, which is cool, but that doesn’t make picking favorites any easier. Hell, if reading were easy, everyone would be doing it.

01. Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell. One night of stress and staying alive for a guy who used to be a hitman and is now in the Federal Witness Protection program. Peter Brown, aka Pietro “Bearclaw” Brnwa, has remade himself as a medical doctor passing his residency in one of the worst hospitals in the city who must go into self preservation mode when one of his new patients turns out to be a mob guy who recognizes him from his former life. This one rips right along with great action and amusing (and gross) anecdotes from the medical profession (Bazell also happens to be an MD). This was one of the first great books I read this year, and I think everyone I’ve recommended it to loved it. And it’s got footnotes!

02. Queenpin by Megan Abbott. Any one of Megan’s four brilliant books could have made this list, and I read all of them this year. This one was the first I pulled from the pile, so it gets the nod. After I read it I quickly snapped up everything else. Abbott does a phenomenal job seducing the reader into her deep, dark stories, and I wish I had another half-dozen or so to read. The best of its kind.

03. A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of Fighting by Sam Sheridan. I enjoyed this book as much as I've enjoyed just about any nonfiction book this year. Not only does Sheridan discuss various types of fighting, but addresses the personalities of people who fight, the psychology, and many of the cultural misconceptions. Sheridan is something of an Everyman, it seemed to me, despite the Harvard education. He throws himself into the action without any of they "Hey, look at me, I’m such a fish out of water!" sense that often comes across with writers who actively pursue the discipline they are writing about. A great read, with many interesting insights. It made me realize that maybe not all the guys walking around in those fashion abominations called Affliction and Tapout t-shirts are, by default, utter d-bags. I may not agree with all of Sheridan’s conclusions, but I appreciate the lack of fluff and his approach. His follow-up, The Fighter’s Mind, is in the TBR shelf.

04. The Lost City of Z by David Grann. A book of fascinating real life adventure about Percy Fawcett’s expeditions into the Amazon during the 20s in pursuit of proof of ancient civilizations, and his ultimate, mysterious disappearance. After reading this book a couple things strike me. First, it is mindblowing how much has changed in such a short time; basically over the last 100 years or so. In the late 19th/early 20th centuries, these organizations that existed to expand the borders of the "known world" were totally shooting in the dark (I picture old dudes sitting around in suits and beards, puffing pipes and speculating wildly), because so much remained unknown to them. The difficulties intrepid adventurers faced, and the number of lives lost in pursuit of knowledge, is something that I suspect few people really understand. This story in particular is one that, while it's a fair enough conclusion made as to what probably happened to the three men who disappeared during the apocryphal expedition, we still don't know for sure how it all turned out. It is a mystery for all time, really. I loved it.

05. The Wheelman by Duane Swierczynski. Reading five of this mofo’s books was definitely a highlight of the spring. Few people can make utter bloodletting as fun as Swierczynski can, and I could have happily run with any of his releases. His most recent, Expiration Date, would have been the logical choice for my list, but I went with The Wheelman because it claims the breakneck hole shot on a quasi-trilogy that also includes The Blonde and Severance Package. I can’t think of a better bundle to take on a long plane ride. Blood, guts and awesome. The scene in the garage in this book is an all time classic.

06. Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth. If Rawson forced me to choose a favorite novel of the year, this would probably be it. It takes everything that got me into reading as a youth – action, monsters, heroism – and cranks it all the way up. Even as a graybeard I still love that kind of shit. I suspect Blood Oath would be classified as a thriller, but it’s really just a modern pulp masterpiece. The premise is that since 1867 the President of the United States has had a vampire bound to him by oath, the Blood Oath of the title, to guard against threats from “the other side.” If it sounds hoaky, think again – this shit works. Farnsworth does a masterful job making the concept seem entirely plausible. There are great nods to pop culture and historical events that this vampire, whose name is Nathaniel Cade, has been involved in. Cade is almost a secondary character in the book, which focuses a little more on his new government liaison, a young man named Zach Barrows. The interplay of their relationship, and the nuances of Cade’s relationship with Griffin, the man Zach is replacing, is one of the highlights of the book. The plot of this novel, which promises to be the first in a series, centers around a nefarious scheme involving the real life Dr. Frankenstein and an army made up of walking corpses bolted together from the body parts stolen from fallen soldier in Iraq. This is vampire fiction the way it’s supposed to be written. This one fucking rules.

07. The Wolverine Way by Douglas Chadwick . My #1 choice for nonfiction would be this book. I think if others read it, they may scratch their heads about that distinction, because it might not be so great to a more casual reader. Some of the other NF books on this list are certainly more noteworthy, but this one really struck a chord. Chadwick has made a career traveling the world as a biologist writing for magazines like National Geographic. The Wolverine Way is about his work as a volunteer studying wolverines in Glacier National Park. This is an animal science literally knew next to nothing about, and the information they gathered has been important in our understanding of the ecology of the critter, and how it is one of those keystone species whose success in the wake of climate change can be an important measure as to its severity. I found these revelations, and the details in how they went about their study – as well as Chadwick’s wit and insights – utterly compelling. I was happy to meet the man a couple months ago, and it was a real treat. I loved this book. I’d love to lay eyes on a wolverine in the wild, even if it then proceeded to claw those eyes out of my face and make me eat them.

08. Q Road by Bonnie Jo Campbell. I read American Salvage, Campbell’s latest collection of short stories, and it blew me away. If you haven’t read it yet, get after it. It compelled me to have the local shop order her other two books for me; her first collection called Women and Other Animals (which I’m currently reading) and Q Road, her first novel. Q Road was fantastic. No one I’ve read captures rural life like Bonnie Jo Campbell, who grew up and lives in the very places she writes about. Every character is memorable, every character has a story that will break your heart. Just like real people. This is a beautiful, gripping, fun, sad, and utterly relevant book. Hell, I’m tempted to figure out a way to be in Michigan come July when she has the release party for her next book.

09. The Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow. I was originally going to list Savages for a couple reasons. First of all, it was the first book I ever read on my Nook. Second of all, it’s freakin’ awesome. Since other people have blathered all over it, though, I decided to run with this sucker. I don’t usually like to think of books in terms of movies, but goddamn – this book should be a movie. I love San Diego, I’d love to learn to surf, and I love Winslow’s tight writing style of short chapters and shorter sentences packed with crackling energy. I love a good slice of California fiction, and this is as good as any.

10. Buffalo for the Broken Heart by Dan O’Brien. O'Brien's story/memoir of converting his South Dakota cattle ranch to a bison ranch is a fantastic read. My family switched almost exclusively to eating bison a couple years ago, so he's preaching to the choir here. I found much of it fascinating, and the prose describing the landscape put me there in the midst of the rolling hills, broken land and bonechilling cold. I've been through that part of the country several times, and bleak as it sometimes appears I can't wait to make it back. A must read for people interested in The West who love great storytelling.

11. Pike by Benjamin Whitmer. Look, I can’t gush over this book any more than every other reviewer who has praised it all up and down. It’s truly great, even if it probably isn’t for everyone. That’s part of what makes it so awesome. I’d like to hang with this dude. I figure any guy who can pull a blurb from Ward fucking Churchill has got to be a guy worth rousing rabble with.

So that’s eleven excellent offerings. And I didn’t even talk about some great movies, comics, collections . . . all of it. A whole friggin’ year’s worth, you know? And now it’s about time to tighten the belt, put on the helmet and start all over again. I can’t wait.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chris La Tray is a rocker, a writer, and a wannabe adventurer. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the Missoula Independent, Vintage Guitar magazine, and World Explorer magazine. His short fiction has appeared at Beat to a Pulp and the forthcoming Crimefactory special edition, Kung Fu Factory. It may appear in other places too if he’d just get around to submitting it. He keeps a reasonably regular blog about basically nothing called Stumbling the Walk.

The Best of Whatever---Benjamin Whitmer

First, I should apologize for how abysmally ignorant I am when it comes crime fiction. All I can say is that thanks to Keith Rawson, Brian Lindenmuth and Jedidiah Ayres, amongst others, I’m learning a little something, so next year’s list is gonna be a hell of a lot better. I’m keeping a notebook of all the book recommendations I’ve gotten, and I’m working through it slowly. Eric Beetner, Craig Clevenger, James Sallis, Jonathon Woods, Megan Abbott, Hilary Davidson, Anthony N. Smith, Daniel Woodrell -- I’m so damned behind I get embarrassed to go out in public. And that’s not even counting the new stuff I’ve yet to read by authors I follow, like Stephen Graham Jones and Gary Phillips.

But, anyway, I know folks have been including other stuff besides books in their lists, but the fact is, excepting my family and friends, I don’t really give a shit about anything else. Gun parts, maybe, but I’m betting an ode to my 1911’s new Cylinder & Slide 4.5 pound trigger pull set wouldn’t enthuse much of anybody besides myself.

So, books, in no particular order (and, yeah, I’m sorry, there are eleven of them -- I couldn’t figure out the one to bump):

Blood’s a Rover by James Ellroy. I’ve liked Ellroy for years, but I thought this one was the big one, his great white whale. It may not the most nuanced depiction of government repression, but it’s sure as hell among the most compelling, and the conspiracy-fueled paranoia puts it among the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and William S. Burroughs.

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano. This book killed me. A movement of young poets, The Visceral Realists, hitting hard against the established literature of their day, and what it cost them. The beauty of refusing to compromise, and the breakdown afterward.

The Chieu Hoi Saloon by Michael Harris. Stephen Graham Jones talked recently in an interview about how some writers write to live, write like each book has got to be the one that can save their life. Like Jones, those are the only books I care about, and this is one of them.

A Glass of Water by Jimmy Santiago Baca. I’ve been a fan of Baca’s poetry for years, and this, his first novel, sure as hell didn’t disappoint. Beautiful and brutal.

Twilight by William Gay. My first William Gay, and now I’m stocking up on everything he’s ever written. Jesus, what a book.

A Better Angel by Chris Adrian. There were moments reading this collection of short stories when I wanted to crawl out of my own skin. And now that I know what he knows about us, about human nature and all that shit, I probably should have.

Poachers by Tom Franklin. I came up with the short story “Poachers” by luck of the draw for a Spinetingler Magazine review, and went after the whole collection by way of context. Not knowing that it would leave me crawling around the floor looking for the other half of my brain.

Lethal Injection by Jim Nisbet. A subtle reflection on death in not-so-subtle -- in all the right ways -- garb. Hardcore, politically-charged, experimental crime fiction, yeah, I’d like a lot more of that.

The Chandler Apartments by Owen Hill. A bisexual, Berkeley, book-buying, poet detective on a murder case. It’s just as funny and violent as you’d hope it would be. A wonderful book.

Late Rain, by Lynn Kostoff. This one snuck up on me. It’s impeccably plotted and paced, sure, but just when you think you’ve got it figured out, all the lights come on in one brilliant passage that makes you have to go back and reread the whole damn thing. Which is, of course, even better than the first time around.

The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schultz. Strange, poetic, dreamlike, “a fabric of nightmares and hashish,” with one of the greatest and most scathing allegories for American commercialism ever put to paper. Not for everyone. Not always for me. But, yeah, amazing.

And now, not to get all weepy, but the one thing I’d put at the top of my list that ain’t fiction is finding this crime fiction community. Being introduced to the great crowd of slouching misfits and killers at Crimefactory, Spinetingler, Temporary Knucksline, Do Some Damage, Crimespree Magazine, The Pulp Primer, Hardboiled Wonderland, and all the other websites, focal points, autonomous zones, and internet dives that I’ve been trolling lately, has been a fucking revelation to me.

So, an end-of-year wish for all of you, from my very favorite crime -- or, at least, adventure -- writer:

“Gulp down your tears and hie aloft to the royal-mast with your hearts; for your friends who have gone before are clearing out the seven-storied heavens, and making refugees of long-pampered Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, against your coming. Here ye strike but splintered hearts together-- there, ye shall strike unsplinterable glasses!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Benjamin Whitmer was born in 1972 and raised on back-to-the-land communes and counterculture enclaves ranging from Southern Ohio to Upstate New York. One of his earliest and happiest memories is of standing by the side of a country road with his mother, hitchhiking to parts unknown. Since then, he’s been a factory grunt, a vacuum salesman, a convalescent, a high-school dropout, a semi-truck loader, an activist, a kitchen-table gunsmith, a squatter, a college professor, a dishwasher, a technical writer, and a petty thief.

He’s published fiction and non-fiction in a number of magazines, anthologies, and essay collections. His debut novel is Pike, published by Switchblade (PM Press) He Blogs at Kick Him, Honey

Rawson’s Best of Whatever—the Short Stories

I think the best way to describe the year of 2010 for short fiction is flux.

The flux of new publications such as my dear sweet Crimefactory, Needle Magazine, Title Fights, Pulp Metal Magazine, and the exceptional All Due Respect (If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s a sleeper of a zine, only publishing one story per month, but the stories are top of the line.) I’m sure I’ve forgetting one or two or a dozen, but you can check out Sandra Seamans essential blog, My Little Corner, for updates of new publications coming down the pipe.

The flux of stalwart publications such as Pulp Pusher, Thuglit, and Thrilling Detective sadly coming to a close.

The flux of new short story writers such as Chris Benton, Matthew C. Funk, Graham Bowlin, Chris Deal, Matthew McBride, A.J. Hayes, Nigel Bird, and Ian Ayris making waves (If I’m forgetting anybody you’ll have to forgive me, there are a lot of you mothers out there)

But with all this new stuff coming out—and great new crime fiction coming from tried and true publications such as Plots with Guns, Beat to a Pulp, A Twist of Noir, Thrillers, Killers, ‘n’ Chillers, Flash Fiction Offensive, Spinetingler, Crimespree, and Out of the Gutter—how do you narrow it down to a handful of short stories?

Well, what I’m going to do is fling a great big bunch of links out there of the stuff I dug and let you roll with it. (By the way, folks, I’m not a machine—as popular myth indicates—and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t read every story that comes out. It’s impossible, so if you have your favorites, leave links to ‘em in the comments section of this post)

Before I start this thing, I should mention that I think the best stories of this year have all come out of Crimefactory.

I’m not just tooting our own horn here, but seriously, have you read the Suitcase by Dave White, or How to Jail by Dennis Tafoya, or Thin Mints by Dan O’Shea, or the Old Man by Jonathan Woods, or Five Ways Your Mom was Worse Than You’ll Ever Be by Sophie Littlefield, or Straight Razor by Scott Wolven, or the Darkest of the Debbies by Garnett Elliot, or Sparrows & Crows by John Weagly, or My Brother, the Asshole by Eric Beetner (forthcoming, but originally it won Jason Duke’s red hot writing competition in 2010)….

Okay, I’ll shut up now.

Here’s some of the best stories and short story related stuff I ran across this year and in no particular order

10) Indirection, In Wait by Kieran Shea, Thuglit #37

My favorite Kieran Shea story. Yeah, Irish has pushed a lot of ‘em out into the world, but this one.... vicious, compulsively readable, and one I was lucky enough to read as an early draft.

9) Blood and Bone in Bambooland by Cameron Ashley, Plots with Guns #9

I’m not being nepotistic with this one, Ashley is a fucking artist. I’m not kidding. Yeah, it’s a story about turning a corpse into fertilizer (literally), but damn, Ashley’s ear for dialogue and the natural rhythm of speech is stunning. Great read no matter how you slice it

8) The 600-to-700 challenge, A Twist of Noir

When Christopher Grant wrote me asking what I thought of the 600-to-700 challenge (at the time it was going to be the 500-to-600 challenge) and if I was willing to participate, I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t know how well the experiment would pan out? Getting 2 or 3 writers to be on the same page about anything is a huge pain in the ass, but getting 75 or 80 of them to agree to do something and then getting them all to do it, well, that seemed just about impossible to me. But it’s worked, ATON is half way through (or pretty damn close) and there’s been some pretty strong work coming out of it. If you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure to right HERE.

7) Pulp Press

Yeah, I know it’s a book line, but what Danny Bowman and his crew are turning out are Novellas and they’ve been pretty fun reads. Highlights have been Alan Kelly’s Let Me Die a Woman and Danny Hogan’s brutal revenge tale The Windowlicker Maker. I can’t wait to see what 2011 brings for this excellent independent press.

6) The Great Whydini by David Cranmer, All Due Respect #2

Cranmer is a perfectionist, each word carefully measured and examined and re-examined. To be honest with you, Cranmer is the kind of writer who makes a pulp writing hack like myself a tad bit jealous, because just about every story he puts out into the world can easily make it onto any ‘best of’ list. Great Femme fatale tale, and pure pulp at its finest.

5) The Whole Buffalo by Jedidiah Ayres, Needle Magazine #1

What can I say, I dig civic minded morticians.

4) King by Dave Zeltserman, Beat to a Pulp

Not crime, kind of horror, but really more of a societal examination of what we consider normal behavior and what constitutes happiness. It’s your typical Zeltserman feel good kind of story

3) Cheap Bastard by Hilary Davidson, Spinetingler Magazine

I hate hitman stories. Seriously, the whole convention has had its dick beaten into the dirt. But a hitman going through a mid-life crisis and absolutely hating his chosen career path, this one resonated and left me nodding my head in sympathy.

2) Ghostman on Third by Chad Eagleton, the Drowning Machine

There’s something to be said about quiet stories. The slow burn, the anticipation. This one took third in the Drowning Machine’s second annual Watery Grave Competition, but in my opinion, it should have taken 1^st. I know, I know, Beat on the Brat by Nigel Bird was all kinds of awesome, but this one was so well measured, the dialogue so spot on. Plus, Eagleton’s another one of them ‘perfectionist’ writers. Bastard.

1) The Little Boy Inside by Glenn Gray, Beat to a Pulp and For the Children by Stephen Blackmoore, Needle #2 (tie)

I know, having a tie is a fucking cop out, but deal with it.

Dr. Gray is a freakin’ weird-o, but he’s my kind of weird-o. No, this isn’t crime, it’s just a straight up bizarro tale of a guy throwing up a little boy. Literally throwing him up. Give it a go if you haven’t already.

And with Blackmoore, damn. A teenage girl dead from a seemingly random shooting and all her friends and classmates gather around her snapping pictures and taking videos of her death throes sent chills down my spine. The rest of the story—narrated by a journalist, which for me is another one of those crime fiction conventions that can go the way of hitmen as far as I’m concerned, but it works for this one—is a brilliant investigation into the girl’s death. I liked this one so much that I politely suggested to Weddle that he needed to submit it to some of the ‘best of’ anthologies out there. Great read.

The Best of Whatever—Dave White

Just this year, I really got into the craft beer world. I’ve spent a lot of time Tweeting and Facebooking the new beers I’ve tried and good ol’ Keith asked me to write a list of my top ten favorite beers tried in 2010.

Here goes:

(Honorable mentions: Sam Smith Winter Welcome and Brooklyn Brewery’s Winter Ale.)

10. Anchor Humming: A pale ale Anchor (San Francisco) put out for autumn this year, you could really taste the hops on the back end. There was also a sweetness that came through. A surprise, as I really didn’t know what I was getting when I picked this brand up.

9. Flying Dog Old Scratch Lager: I’ve enjoyed just about everything Flying Dog put out, but this was by far my favorite. Much in the style of Anchor Steam, this lager is smooth and a really good beer to drink when you’re plain thirsty. A crisp flavor, it’s great on a summer afternoon.

8. Captain Lawrence Kaptain’s Kolsch: This beer surprised me. Brewed in Pleasantville, NY and currently only available in growlers or local bars. This is one of the best summer beers I’ve ever hard. It’s not a wheat beer, but instead an immensely drinkable refresher. Bring this to nearly every BBQ you have, because you don’t need to drop sliced lemons or oranges in it to enjoy. You just pour it in a solo cup, close your eyes and drink it down.

7. Dogfish Head My Antonia: A heavy Pilsner. Dogfish Head rarely puts out anything simple, and this is no exception. It has the smooth flavor of a great pilsner, but it drinks heavy. A great beer to treat as a meal. Served in 750 ml bottles, this isn’t something you can drink too many of.

6. McSorely’s Dark: Okay, this is more an experience beer than one that actually tastes good. If you’re ever in New York City, you HAVE to go to McSorely’s. It’s one of the oldest bars in the city. They only serve two things, dark and light ale. The light is a bit bitter, and since most of the beer comes out a bit… warm… the dark is the way to go. The dark is very sweet and has much more flavor. Not to mention you get two mugs with every order.

5. Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout: A seasonal brew, this one’s tough to find. It’s a heavy beer, and at just over 11%, you can really only drink one. But it’s worth it, thick, black, and boozy, this is a different kind of beer. Perfect for a snifter and closer to an after dinner drink than a beer, this is on to savor.

4. Samuel Adams Utopias: A rare beer served in a gold (or is it bronze?) bottle: this is considered the Holy Grail of beer drinking. You drink this beer like it’s whisky, because that’s how it’s made. Take regular beer ingredients and age it in whisky bottles, you have this beer. I got to try it at a beer tasters party and it was every man’s dream. Very syrupy and boozy, this is a great, rare beer. If you get a chance, try it.

3. Stone Pale Ale: One of the best Pale Ales going. Very hoppy, but still smooth, I think this is Stone’s best ale. It’s both floral and citrusy and goes down real easy. This is one of my craft beer gateway drinks.

2. Sierra Nevada Glissade: Their spring beer. It pours orange and tastes like citrus. It lacks the bitter hops of a pale ale. You could drink four or five of this without even batting an eye. The surprise seasonal of the year.

1. Terrapin So Fresh & So Green Green: My brother brought this to our birthday dinner and I’ve been searching for it ever since. A hoppy IPA, this one bursts with flavor. The hops stick out, but there’s a definite strong citrus in it as well. There also seemed to be a hint of caramel too. And the ingredients are organic as well, so you know it’s fresh!

And to top it off, there’s still two weeks left in the year, so who knows what else I’ll discover.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dave White is the Shamus Award nominated author of two Jackson Donne crime novels: WHEN ONE MAN DIES and THE EVIL THAT MEN DO. He teaches 8th Grade and lives in Clifton, New Jersey. He blogs at Do Some Damage and not so much at Dave White’s Writing Blog

The Best of Whatever—Chris Deal

1. Pike by Benjamin Whitmer. This book scared me. There’s no horror here, no monsters or demons or ghosts but man at his worst, or maybe his best. Digging through the evil done to reach catharsis, the writing is a beautiful frame holding a horrible painting. Sharp and to the bone.

2. It Came From Del Rio by Stephen Graham Jones. It was a toss up between Pike and Del Rio for number one. Literally, I flipped a coin. It Came From Del Rio is a surprisingly realistic novel about a rabbit-headed zombie chupacabra herder. Split between the perspectives of a father and a daughter, Del Rio hits on what it is to be a father, how those you love can let you down, and how you can achieve salvation decades after you die. Plus, this book has the best cover of the year, hands down

3. Stay God by Nik Korpon. Loaded with pop culture shout outs and rich, amazing prose, this Baltimore dealer novel proves that Korpon will be a force in the future.

4. Transubstantiate by Richard Thomas. I didn’t expect this book. With eight perspectives on a world after something horrible, but we don’t quite know what.

5. The Soul Consortium by Simon West-Bulford. I lucked out. This doesn’t come out until 2012, but West-Bulford creates the most ambitious debut imaginable here. Science fiction but so much more. This is man at the end, literally.

6. The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay ,. A clever twist on the PI, this Boston noir takes the unreliable narrator to it’s extreme: he’s not just unreliable to us, but to himself. How do you solve a crime when you don’t know if what you saw or experienced is real?

7. Occultation by Laird Barron

8. Grease Stains, Kismet, and Maternal Wisdom by Mel Bosworth. A simple novella about love between two people who refuse to let the world touch them. I hit this in one sitting and can’t wait for my next chance. Surprisingly meta and subversively straight forward.

9. Major Inversions by Gordon Highland. A real surprise, this becomes something you could never expect. There are multiple layers to this simple narrative about a slacker musician who falls into something he couldn’t have seen coming. Power through the initially unlikable protagonist and you’ll find more heart than you’d realize.

10. Complete Poems by John Berryman. Nick Cave himself said Berryman was the best, and who am I to argue? With poetry rich with imagery and struggle, these poems will alter the way you see the world as only the best poets can do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Chris Deal writes from Huntersville, North Carolina. His debut collection of microfiction, Cienfuegos, was published in early 2010 by Brown Paper Publishing. Find him online at www.Chris-Deal.com

The Best of Whatever—Brian Lindenmuth

One of my favorite old school SF/F websites was Fantastic Metropolis (RIP) and they did annual "read & appreciated" lists that were a boon to me at the time (and still are). So when Keith didn't ask me to participate I farted in his general direction and sent one anyway. My top 10 list of 2010 release and crime fiction will appear at Spinetingler at the end of the year.

So here's my varied shit I liked in 2010.

Now is the time to catch a hold of the two modern masters, Lynn Kostoff & Jim Nisbet, and never let go. Lynn Kostoff is the best crime writer you haven't read yet and Jim Nisbet is the craziest. 2010 saw the re-release of Kostoff's A Choice of Nightmares and the release of Late Rain. A Choice of Nightmares is great and his books only get better with Late Rain possibly being his best yet. I only say possibly because his second novel, The Long Fall is an all-time crime favorite of mine, yes it's that good. But hell, Kostoff has never written a bad book and trying to figure out which of his are the best is like trying to pick the best Pixar movie. Someone reprint Long Fall now dammit. 2010 also brought us the start of Overlook's ambitious re-issue project of Nisbet's entire back catalog. That means in addition to the new stuff you've FOUR Nisbet books this year.

I also had the occasion to read another older book that instantly became an all-time book for me, Four Corners of Night by Craig Holden. Holy mother hell what a book. It starts out as a police procedural then turns into a deep character study of two men who are lifelong friends then runs the whole damn thing through the grinder. I was gutted after reading it and encourage you to do so if you haven't yet.

Ree Dolly is Mattie Ross's granddaughter and it's only fitting that we get filmed adaptations of both Winter's Bone and True Grit. The former is a brilliant movie and the latter isn't out yet but damn after seeing the previews I've got high hopes. If you haven't read those books (or those authors) yet then do so now. If you haven't seen the movies yet do so now (or when you can).

Matt Kindt's milieu is genre. Not just any specific genre mind you but genre itself and all of the story types that fit under genre fiction. Pistolwhip has its way with noir, Super Spies has its way with spy stories and his latest, Revolver is a mash of different stuff and defies categorization. It's also one of the best graphic novels of the year

Recently I was heartened to see a passing comment from Benjamin Whitmer in the comments of one of his posts about 20th century hobo books. One of the best books I read this year was a re-issue by one of the greatest hobo writers EVER, Circus Parade by Jim Tully. His best books are currently being reissued and you should probably get acquainted. Did you know that one of crime fictions best writers, Charles Willeford, also wrote a hobo book? He did. It was called I Was Looking For a Street and it too was re-released this year. Do yourself a favor and read this.

Waste by Eugene Marten & Bloody Women by Helen Fitzgerald are the greatest fucking psycho-noirs you haven't read yet. Marten is an unknown commodity in the crime fiction community but shouldn't be and U.S. readers need to get hip to Fitzgerald NOW -- she's like Allan Guthrie with ovaries -- c'mon!

Terriers on FX was a great TV experience and it's a shame it only lasted one season. But what a season it was. A buddy PI drama, comedy that started off creaky before turning into an emotional slaughterhouse. When this comes out on DVD make sure to catch up with it.

Initially almost everyone liked Inception and then a creeping tidal wave of backlash seemed to crash against it. In the long run I don't know what the final tally will be but for me Inception was exhilarating and captivating. I loved it (even if I'm still waiting on the van to hit the water).

Mulholland has stormed onto the scene with daily essays on a variety of topics (full disclosure: I've written a couple of them). One of the remarkable things is their willingness to write about the community and genre at large instead of just limiting themselves to their own stable of authors. This is the way forward for publisher websites. Two standouts, and two of the best online pieces I've read all year were "Dead Mower Dreams and the Weeds of Boo Radley" by Tom Piccirilli and " Insulting Your Intelligence (“Just gimme some noiriness”)" by David Corbett. Both are drop dead brilliant and articulate thoughts in a way that I envy.

You want to be on the fucking bleeding edge of crime fiction then you buy every book that Switchblade puts out without hesitation.

Jess Walter is a long time favorite of mine but I hesitated when I saw what last year's book, The Financial Lives of the Poets, was about. I waited until the book became available from the library and after trying to read the first chapter through a haze of laughter tears I knew I was wrong and I never should have doubted him. The Financial Lives of the Poets tackles nothing less than the current financial crisis and manages to make you laugh. Just. Brilliant.

2010 brought us a guy who doesn't talk about doing something, he just does it. That guy is Steve Weddle and this year he brought us Needle Magazine. Needle picked up the ashes of the much lamented Murdaland, gave it a new operating model and boom! Three issues later he's serializing Ray Banks novellas. If Murdaland was like a TO, talking shit and letting the personality take over then Needle is like Jerry Rice, just catching the ball and moving on to the next play.

Two of my favorite comics this year were Meta-4 by Ted McKeever and The Bulletproof Coffin by David Hine and Shaky Kane. I'll be honest, I'm not too sure I know what in the hell they are about but I can't stop reading them and think they may be awesome.

That’s my brain dumpings out on the page for all to see. Maybe you’ll find something there.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lindenmuth. Spinetingler Magazine. Yeah, he's that guy.