Book Review: So Different Now by Ben Tanzer

So Different Now is a eBook collection of nine short stories by Ben Tanzer. Each short story share a REALITY through the experiences of an unknown third person who in certain stories reflect on the past during the high school years, and other stories telling of dysfunctional situations in adulthood that at times begin or ends at the local bar, Thirty's. The characters are pretty powerful simply because they are believable. Right from the beginning I was able to place myself in every situation. I was able to put faces to each character and had a sense I may have not been far off with my assessment. The stories are very straight forward and not formulaic like so many short stories that aim hard to give you what they believe you want, a moral story where everyone wins. I'm not saying that this is bad and I'm not saying these stories are not giving a moral stance but it's refreshing just as it is in film when life is told as it is and not put in a neat package. Tanzer just gives us what life has thrown at each character...like I said REALITY.

So Different Now (2011) is the second series of ebook stories following Tanzer's Repetition Patterns (2008) which this review could easily be used to describe as well. We have characters ranging from your typical horny male-with-no-clue, that girl- you know the one you could never figure out to the guy who never resolved his daddy issues. I could tell you more but I really believe you would find it more refreshing meeting these characters yourself. I recommend you read both books. So Different Now (2011) has been released by CCLaP (Chicago Center for Literature and Photography) Publishing under a "pay what you want" system (how awesome is that) as well as the first series of shorts, Repetition Patterns (2008). You can upload to whatever ebook device of your choice.

CCLaP Publishing is also proud to present its first-ever premier publishing event which offers a beautifully handmade book created specifically for professional collectors and hardcore fans, It's titled The New York Stories and includes both Ben Tanzer's short story series Repetition Patterns (2008) and So Different Now (2011):

Note: No electronic copy of this book exists

From CCLaP:

The book features a full Colophon, signature/provenance page, and 30 illustrations by Chicago artist Laura Szumowski (six in full color and inserted via special vellum sheets), the whole thing held together with faux-suede covers and external Coptic stitching.

This is no doubt a great gift for any book lover.

About the author Ben Tanzer:

Twitter - @bentanzer

Facebook - Ben Tanzer

Ben lives in Chicago but grew up in upstate New York. You can find him doing book readings throughout Chicago and be sure to click over to his website to keep up with his future engagements and works. I'm proud to say the photo at the top was one I was able to capture while attending one of these events. Definitely a talented author and a fun guy that I was very pleased to have met.

Bonus: A podcast interview with Ben, explaining more about how this book came out