The Year in Books 2012: Worth a Second Look

Includes Mark Dery's I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts.

Dery_Bad coverAfter a fully established career that has seen this cultishly loved essayist slowly building a following, 2012 seemed to finally be the big breakout year for Mark Dery, with this dark yet erudite collection being one of the big buzzes among lit hipsters all last year. Granted, it's not quite as groundbreaking as some of its breathless praise warrants, which is what kept it off the "Best of the Best" list -- although always smart and subversive, it ultimately isn't anything different than what's being said by Warren Ellis, Bruce Sterling, the staff of Boing Boing, etc -- but if you're not familiar with any of these other people, it's an absolute imperative that you pick this up as soon as you can, a writer destined to be as important to future hackers and Sub-Geniuses as William Gibson and Mondo 2000 was to my own youth.

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Published in: Chicago Center for Literature and Photography
By: Jason Pettus