The Journals of Spalding Gray is something of a deep dive into the famous monologist's anxieties and self-analysis. Don't get me wrong. I love Spalding Gray. I watched his movies and attended his performances when came to Boulder's Chautauqua Auditorium. For me, that's about the right level of exposure to Gray's boundless self-absorption. For you? Who knows? Read on.

_{Photo: Knopf}

The Journals of Spalding Gray originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 07:14:55.

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In The Future of Us, which occurs in the early-Internet days of the 1990s, neighboring teens Josh and Emma are able to access Facebook, even though it doesn't exist yet, and see the posts they write in the future. Cowritten by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, The Future of Us explores how teenagers would respond to an influx of information about their futures - is it really your actions in high school that determine your happiness in your 30s? Can changes in behavior lead to changes in the future... and will those changes be for the better?

Review of The Future of Us

_{Photo: Razorbill}

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 06:51:11.

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In his introduction to Distrust that Particular Flavor, William Gibson cops to not being entirely comfortable with nonfiction assigments. It did, however, afford him certain benefits - the chance to visit exotic locales, meet interesting people, and ask questions - that Gibson notes, were invaluable to a writer of fiction.

And despite his reservations, readers and fans of the cyberpunk novelist will welcome this slight volume of pieces that range from his several Wired articles to talks that Gibson gave before live audiences.

Review of Distrust that Particular Flavor by William Gibson

_{Photo: Putnam}

Distrust that Particular Flavor by William Gibson originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 06:45:24.

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A sprawling epic of nearly 700 pages, Craig Thompson's Habibi is the story of two slave children whose love for each other overcomes endless challenges. Set against a backdrop that combines the historical narratives of Islam, Judaism and Christianity with threaded commentary on sexuality, Habibi will most surely become a classic among graphic novels.

Review of Habibi by Craig Thompson.

_{Photo: Pantheon}

Habibi by Craig Thompson originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 07:14:27.

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In Hisham Matar's Anatomy of a Disappearance, Kamal is a Cairo widower; Nuri is his son. When they both fall in love with the same woman, it is Kamal who gets the girl, but then shortly thereafter disappears under mysterious circumstances. Read more.

_{Photo: The Dial Press}

Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 07:15:19.

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Kurt Vonnegut became a cultural legend with novels like Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Galapagos, and many others. His novels and even his artwork is iconic, but less known is his personal life. Until now. Charles Shields, who was working with Vonnegut on this biography when the author died at the age of 85, has delivered an engaging and definitive biography in And So It Goes.

Review of And So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life

_{Photo: Henry Holt & Company}

And So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 06:44:10.

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In Naoyuki Ii's The Shadow of a Blue Cat, 51-year-old Japanese businessman Yuki Yajimi traces a path to his present by reflecting on the events of the past.

Review of The Shadow of a Blue Cat

_{Photo: Dalkey Archive}

The Shadow of a Blue Cat by Naoyuki Ii originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 07:15:56.

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Save Thirteen Reasons Why for a rainy day, when you're feeling down and prepared to read about teen suicide and the effects of rumors on teenagers. This is a dark, tragic novel, predicated on the suicide of teenager Hannah Baker. Before her death, she records cassette tapes with 13 stories about people and events that led to her decision. We follow along with these stories along side one of the tape's recipients, the likeable Clay Jenson. While the book tackles tough topics, the writing and plot is suspenseful, and readers will find the book difficult to put down, and fast to read.

Review of Thirteen Reasons Why

_{Photo: Penguin}

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 07:03:09.

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In Sanctus, a religious conspiracy thriller reminiscent of the Dan Brown novels, Simon Toyne delivers a fast-paced story about an order of monks who will die and kill to preserve their secret.

_{Photo: William Morrow}

Sanctus by Simon Toyne originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 07:53:27.

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In Blueprints of the Afterlife, championship dishwasher Woo-jin Kan is told by his future self that he must quit his job at Il Italian Joint and write a book called How to Love People so that The Last Dude, who sits atop an Arizona mesa, can read this book and spell out for any onlookers what it was that brought about the end of humanity. There are marauding sentient glaciers, floating celestial heads, miniature software development monks, and much, much more.

Review of Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot

_{Photo: Black Cat}

Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, January 16th, 2012 at 06:40:22.

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily Black History Month feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO) MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6: VIRGINIA HAMILTON Profile America for the sixth day of Black...

SEDONA, Ariz., Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A giveaway featuring a trip to Sedona, Arizona and other prizes that allow winners to experience this popular destination will be offered by Sedona-based publisher BEST Life Media from February 5th to 11th as part of its marketing campaign...

RACINE, Wis., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Just 18 weeks after Racine Reads: Dream Big! launched, Racine elementary school students have one million reasons to celebrate after reaching the program's ambitious goal to read one million books during the 2011-2012 school year. More than...

DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Best-selling author Ben Mezrich, whose book about the founding of Facebook became the movie The Social Network, will keynote the University of Dayton's R.I.S.E. XII student investment forum March...

SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The inspirational travel stories featured on Princess Cruises' award-winning blog "50 Essential Experiences – The Travel Bucket List" have been gathered into a just-published collectors' book. The...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mo Willems, author and illustrator of the award-winning Elephant & Piggie books, is teaming up with First Book, the national nonprofit that provides new books for kids in need, to bring books to second-graders at Title I schools...

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, announced today that it will publish a new four-book series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, whose Shiver trilogy has more than 1.7...

BEIJING, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China's leading online media, search, gaming, community and mobile service group, today reported unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. (Logo:...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO) MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6: G.I. JOE Profile America — Monday, February 6th.  It...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily Black History Month feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO) MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6: VIRGINIA HAMILTON Profile America for the sixth day of Black...

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rentrak Corporation (Nasdaq: RENT), today announced the official weekend theatrical box office numbers for the weekend period of February 3, 2012 through February  5, 2012 according to the company's Box Office Essentials™...

CENTREVILLE, Va., Feb. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dealers that include Carfax Vehicle History Reports with their online listings get more sales leads per day. A joint study from Lemonfree.com and Carfax shows that dealers get 73% more daily customer leads by linking Carfax Reports...