You guys know that I am a grouch, in the sense that I am natural-born critic.  I can’t even simply listen to the radio without thinking to myself that Daughtry’s latest song would have much more emotional and metrical punch if the title line were “in the last days of September” rather than the vague and flaccid “in the middle of…”

So, when I say something is a great read — full stop, no caveats — you know I must have been impressed. 

Suzannah Windsor Freeman‘s recent post (at the Write It Sideways blog) on the difference between good and bad literary fiction is one of those great reads.  It pulls together information from multiple sources, and takes a stand with which some might disagree.  I happen not to disagree, and recommend it to any writer who strives for the literary.