"Knockemstiff" by Donald Ray Pollock

- from interview to theweek.com Pollock's tribute to the hardscrabble town of Knockemstiff is surrounded by all the necessary symbols of small-town depression and decay. The very name of the town is a tribute to its rowdy women, and appears as a tatoo on its drug-using inhabitants. Ramshackle trailers, smelly factories, and domestic violence make up the tapestry of this gritty and grisly collection of short stories. This book may never make it onto the reading lists of Nicholas Sparks fans or those seeking out feel-good stories, but it certainly reflects a sensational version of the author's 30-year struggles with factory work and drug rehabilitation.

"Gladiator: A True Story of ’Roids, Rage, and Redemption" by Dan Clark

- from interview to theweek.com Steroid use and abuse seems to be everywhere in the world of sports, from cyclist Floyd Landis' urine test to Arnold Schwarzenegger's legal case against Dr. Heepe. While the use of steroids may no longer be surprising, some details of its negative effects will be of interest to avid readers of the latest in sports reading lists. For instance, American Gladiator Clark uses personal testimony to detail how steroids lead to anger outbursts, muscle depletion, hormone imbalance, and run-ins with the law. A natural follow-up to this book should be Juiced, the tell-all autobiography of baseball star Jose Canseco.

"Jesus' Son" by Denis Johnson

- from interview to barnesandnoble.com Both a novel and a collection of short stories, Johnson's fifth work explores similar themes to Donald Ray Pollock's Knockemstiff: drug use, abuse of women, and unrealized dreams. The addition of eternal themes and questions of redemption are more prevalent than in Pollock's work, but the soul-killing effects of internal and external poverty still prevail, along with the authors' personal knowledge of the inside of rehabilitation centers. New York Entertainment magazine suggests this book as a worthy addition to intellectual reading lists, citing it as influential to younger authors such as National Book Award winner Dave Eggers.

"Reasons to Live" by Amy Hempel

- from interview to barnesandnoble.com As you might deduce from the title, Hempel is no stranger to soul-searching questions or experiences. The Paris Review details some of the worst times in the author's life, including the suicides of both her mother and aunt, her best friend's unsuccessful battle with leukemia, and two car accidents. Nor was the author unsuccessful in rising above these experiences, since she went on to write for New York Times Magazine and Vanity Fair. Readers whose favorites list include Frank McCort's cautiously hopeful Angela's Ashes will probably see similarities in this fictional story collection.