Bloglander

Time for more of the wordy goodness that is our GOOD READS blog. Each week, Inlander staffers share five-ish of our favorite stories in hopes you'll love them too. Use them to speed up your Friday afternoon, or bookmark them for your morning coffee over the weekend. Then let us know what you think. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Read anything great lately?

1. "Can Forgiveness Play a Role in Criminal Justice?" (Paul Tullis//NYT Magazine)

One family learns to forgive the man who murdered their daughter. Does it matter?

**And while you're in the magazine, don't miss "Here is What Happens When You Cast Lindsay Lohan in Your Movie."(Because when you bring together the troubled starlet, a porn star, the director of "Raging Bull" and the author of "American Psycho" to make a film funded through Kickstarter, what could go wrong?)

2. "The Boss" (Michael Crowley//TIME)

Since Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his giant personality are everywhere. We can't get enough.

FOR YOUR EYES A haunting photo essay from inside Chernobyl's abandoned hospital.

We'll hand the rest of today's post over to some of our fellow alt-weeklies across the country. You can find a slew of last year's best alt-weekly work (chosen in no scientific way, but by us all wondering aloud, "Where were all the alts on the 2012 best-reads lists?") with the hashtag #BestAltReads2012 on Twitter.

Some favorites:

"'Gary Jones' Wants Your Nudes" (Camille Dodero//Village Voice)

"The Woman in 606" (Christopher Frizzelle//The Stranger)

"Judge Kreep" (Dave Maass//San Diego City Beat)

"Chicken of the Trees" (Mike Sula//Chicago Reader)

Hungry for more? Other Inlander recommendations here.