Catch some ‘Bad Stories’ Oct. 6 at Spark Central

Some books, novels and nonfiction, divulge their contents clearly in their titles. Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote “Crime and Punishment” and “The Idiot,” which are fairly explanatory. And Dostoevsky died in 1881.

Modern writers tend to be no less obvious. One of the best-selling books of 2017 was Rachel Hollis ’ self-help tome “Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be.” No question what Hollis was trying to say.

The same can be said of author Steve Almond’s nonfiction book “Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country” (Red Hen Press, 272 pages).

Here’s an excerpt, in which he invokes Herman Melville in an attempt to explain the current state of American politics: “The great peril of our age is not that we have turned into a nation of Ahabs, but of Ishmaels, passive observers too willing to embrace feuds that nourish our rancor and starve our common sense. It is this Manichean outlook that laid the groundwork for the ascent of Donald Trump and has, as of this writing, sustained his chaotic reign.”

Curious? Want to hear more? Well, Almond will kick off Eastern Washington University’s 2018-2019 Visiting Writers Series at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at Spark Central . The series is being co-sponsored both by Get Lit! and EWU’s MFA in Creative Writing Program.

By the way, Almond is the author of 10 books (three of them self-published), a former newspaper reporter, an essayist whose pieces have been printed in the New York Times, a short-story writer and a professor of writing who makes regular television and radio appearances.

It has been reported that he’s not afraid to speak his mind. Quelle surprise.