I meant to link to this George Saunders piece last week, but that got lost in all the normal hustle and bustle.

Or, better yet, check out this George Saunders piece from a couple months back. Even better. This one's hilarious in its absurdity - more typically Saunders.

God I love George Saunders. He's the kind of writer that you read and say "goddamn this is awesome!" then throw in a little hubris with "why didn't I think of this??" and mix in a little inspiration with "this makes me want to write short fiction." He makes it look way too easy.

So if you haven't read Pastoralia or Civil Warland in Bad Decline do yourself a very, VERY large favor and pick them up. Like a selfish well-endowed lover, they're quick but very satisfying (ba-dump). (hey, I see you rolling your eyes. stop that.)

I know there's a lot of Sci-Fi readers & writers on this blogosphere, but readers & writers nonetheless - so I don't know if I'm tipping anyone off or stating the obvious to a lot more-well read folks than myself. If it's the latter, well, sorry to have cost you two minutes of your life. I know, I'd be pissed too.

At least one thing's indisputable: George Saunders is the greatest living author of ALL [pause] TIME. At least we can all agree on that. Good.