Silas Jones and Larry Ott are two sides of a coin in a small Mississippi town. They meet as children, where Larry is the town comic book reading, horror aficionado weirdo and Silas is the new kid – poor, black, and new to country life. They become friends for a time, bonding over proximity, loneliness, and a shared love of nature and horror. Over time, however, Silas moves on to sports and other friends. Fast forward to adulthood, where ‘Scary’ Larry is a pariah because […]
Possibly historically inaccurate, but still a good read
One of the weirdest adjustments I had to make when I moved down south last year was getting used to seeing Confederate flags. As the Boston-bred child of a man who considers anything below Pennsylvania to be the Deep South, I was totally unprepared to see these flags flying over houses and car dealerships. Nor was I aware that people who call the Civil War the War of Northern Aggression are not necessarily ironic hipsters. Even though I rarely brought my feelings on this (there’s […]
This is what happens when a comedian writes a true crime book.
Man, it’s been a really long time since I’ve had a book hangover, I forgot what it was like. I also forgot that you can usually tell when it’s about to happen. Towards the end of the book–which you have finished at all costs, ignoring sleep and food–you start to feel a little funny, like the boundaries between real life and book life have disappeared. And then afterwards, you’re just done. With books, with stories, with bathing. After I finished it, I ended up starting […]

