The next five
The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy (Liveright); Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie Jr. (Viking); The Peripatetic Coffin by Ethan Rutherford (Ecco); Duplex by Kathryn Davis (Graywolf); A Questionable Shape by Bennett Sims (Two Dollar Radio)
Best account of man versus bear
In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell (Soho Press)
Book that feels most like a Robert Altman movie
Tumbledown by Robert Boswell (Graywolf Press)
...and the worst of 2013
GranTa’s deflation
Perhaps a philanthropist can’t lose money in a grand, literary endeavor forever, but still, it was awful to see the smart staff of the internationally minded journal reduced to nearly nothing.
FINAL GRADE B Indie shops thrived, Amazon paid some sales tax, and e-Book sales held steady; still, nothing distracted from a few good reads.