<div>An &ldquo;addictive volume&rdquo; of amphetamine stories from William T. Vollmann, Sherman Alexie, and more (Publishers Weekly). Speed is the most American of drugs: twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It has reinvented itself many times, from miracle cure to biker-gang scourge and everything in between. It goes by many names: crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast. And it crosses all ethnicities, genders, and geographies&mdash;from immigrants and heartlanders punching double factory shifts to clandestine border warlords; prostitutes to housewives; Hollywood celebs to the poorest Indian on the rez&mdash;and they all have plenty of stories. Here is the first contemporary collection of new short fiction dealing with the drug from an array of today&rsquo;s most compelling authors. The elements of crime and tweaking, bleary-eyed zombies exist alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, the American Dream going up in flames, and even some accounts of pure joy. Featuring brand-new stories by: Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, James Franco, Megan Abbott, Jerry Stahl, Beth Lisick, Jess Walter, Scott Phillips, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Natalie Diaz, Kenji Jasper, and Rose Bunch. </div>

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The Speed Chronicles

<div>A tale of a slacker, an MIT professor, and a heist: &ldquo;A writer of considerable talent whose techniques, tropes, and wordplay recall Thomas Pynchon&rdquo; (Booklist). Set in Los Angeles, this novel tells the story of a sibling rivalry, a get-rich-quick scheme, and two guys who conceive and badly execute a plan to rob a Korean check-cashing store in order to finance the prototype for an impossibly ridiculous Internet application. &ldquo;I defy anyone to come up with an equation to explain how this book&rsquo;s first impression as a ridiculously clever, funny crime story can gradually disclose a metanovel built from far more encyclopedic scratch only to reveal upon its conclusion a central, overriding thought so heartfelt literally it trembles your lower lip. This is one stunning piece of work.&rdquo; &mdash;Dennis Cooper, author of The Marbled Swarm</div>

The Failure

<div>The true story of the fourth-grade teacher in Dayton, Ohio, who created one of the most influential bands of our times. Devoted fans have followed Guided by Voices for decades&mdash;and critics around the world have lauded the band&rsquo;s brain trust, Robert Pollard, as a once-in-a-generation artist. Pollard has been compared by the New York Times to Mozart, Rossini, and Paul McCartney (in the same sentence) and everyone from P. J. Harvey, Radiohead, R.E.M., the Strokes, and U2 has sung his praises and cited his music as an influence. But it all started rather prosaically when Pollard, a fourth-grade teacher in his early thirties, began recording songs with drinking buddies in his basement. In this book, James Greer, an acclaimed music writer and former Spin editor&mdash;who also played in the band for two years&mdash;provides unparalleled insight and complete access to the workings of Pollard&rsquo;s muse.</div>

Guided by Voices

<div>&ldquo;Artificial Light beats the bejeezus out of the last dozen Thomas Pynchons, the last nineteen Don DeLillos, and the last forty-three Kurt Vonneguts.&rdquo;&mdash;Richard Meltzer &ldquo;In his ambitious and intriguing debut novel, indie rock expert Greer, author of Guided by Voices, employs one of literature&#39;s oldest gambits, the book-within-a-book structure, three times over. A young librarian calling herself Fiat Lux fills a set of notebooks with her passion for books and an enigmatic account of her interlude with Kurt C, a famous indie rock star who appears unheralded in Dayton, Ohio, and buys the long-abandoned Orville Wright mansion. A member of the rock group Whiskey Ships is trying to write about his musical odyssey but longs to return to his book about Orville Wright, whose long-lost diaries also feed the narrative stream. Greer picks the lock on the Kurt Cobain mythos and the rapid commercialization of indie rock&hellip;Strong writing and shrewd perceptions prevail, backed by wry humor, compelling stumblebum characters, a true-blue louche atmosphere, and arresting insights into the dream of art, be it literature or rock and roll.&rdquo;&mdash;Booklist</div>

James Greer
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Books By James Greer (3 Books)

The Failure

Guided by Voices

Artificial Light

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