“Friday Five” is the most convenient meme, because despite its origin as five questions you are supposed to blog your answers to, you can instead totally just list five random things. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I’M GOING TO DO.
1. Wildfire has the most minimal website I’ve seen since approximately 1996, but at least there’s a phone number and map. We went there last night. I learned what sopressata is, and that it is delicious, and also that truffle oil is a fine addition to a mushroom-oriented pizza. Check it out, Portlanders.
2. American Gangster and other stories by Mark Jacobson. The title story is the basis for this movie. I can’t speak for the film, but I agree with the Entertainment Weekly review that puts Jacobson in the tradition of Joseph Mitchell as a New York City chronicler. Also, were I to make a “If you like The Wire” booklist, I would put this book on it.
3. Territory by Emma Bull. Thanks to Greg for the recommendation. You could, in fact, high concept it as magical Deadwood. I enjoyed it enough that I started over at page one again immediately after finishing. I love the way she handles the magic.
4. I was happy to see that Rules is one of the titles featured in this Eclectica Magazine article: An Extra Helping of Family Chaos. The reviewer is the inimitable Colleen Mondor, who also wrote the Territory review I linked above. I’m especially pleased that she loved Battle.
5. And a question: what, if anything, are you going to do and/or be for Halloween? (And is there any other context in which we ask “what are you going to be” without following it with “when you grow up”?)