Stuff About Books

ABOUT THE AMAZON THING...

2011-12-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

There's been a huge outcry lately protesting Amazon's latest questionable business decision: a promotion offering a rebate (up to $5 off) on Amazon purchases for using their price checking app in brick and mortar bookstores. People are pretty upset for obvious reasons that range from Amazon encouraging consumers to use and abuse bookstores' costly resources (knowledgeable staff and rent to name two) with no intention to pay for them, to tricking consumers into doing market research for them to blah blah whatever. If you want to read about it, here's a link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/opinion/amazons-jungle-logic.html

I don't particularly care about the market research aspect of it, because that kind of stuff has been going on forever. Anyone remember those graphic design "competitions" where students could enter to "win" a cash prize worth a tenth of what a professional designer would have charged? Sleazy as hell, but there are bigger issues at hand. The whole exploiting rival businesses' overhead while pricing your own items at below cost (or more frequently, forcing your suppliers to) to obliterate the competition thing? That I have a problem with. I wasn't going to write about it though. Enough bloggers have railed against this despicable promotion as it is, and I think most people agree that it's majorly screwed up. Plus, by internet standards this is old news. Oh yeah, also I didn't want to (I can be pretty aggressively lazy when I put my mind to it).

So now that I've bored you with half a paragraph about why I wasn't going to write a blog on this particular topic, you are probably (justifiably) wondering why I went ahead and did it anyway. You know that article I linked to about three inches ago? Go read the comments section. That's why. To highlight a few:

"The tone of the article and some comments border on snobbery from groups that are unable or unwilling to adapt to technology. A book isn't a real book unless you've searched for it in a dusty, main street store with a quaint name, and had long discussions about it over tea. Anything you buy with a mouseclick that gets delivered in a truck to your door isn't a 'real' book.
I can remember when email was starting to gain traction. Elitist detractors eschewed the impersonal bits and bytes delivered over a wire. So much would be lost without a personal phone call, or handwritten note, they said.
The method of purchase or delivery, in my opinion, doesn't matter. The wonder of a novel lies within the pages itself. If a child is enjoying a book I don't care how it got to their hands.
The independent bookseller will always exist, although perhaps in smaller numbers, for those who want that experience. Society is benefitted as a whole by big-box retailers because it increases efficiency. Instead of driving down to that local bookshop, finding parking, walking through the store, and waiting in line, perhaps you could buy online, and use that time saved to read MORE books." - Arthur, New York, NY

Um, an unwillingness to adapt to technology is the problem here? Are you sure? You don't think that maybe, just maybe that could be a completely unrelated (albeit impressively condescending) distraction from the real issue? I don't think that anyone is criticizing Amazon for being an online retailer. Online and brick and mortar bookstores serve different purposes, and should be able to happily coexist. People are upset because Amazon is encouraging consumers to use traditional bookstores' resources without paying for them, then give their money to a competitor that didn't spend a dime on overhead. People are upset because Amazon did something that was blatantly unethical, not because they're a bunch of elitist snobs. (As for the emails vs. letters/phone calls line of reasoning, emails and letters are two completely separate entities that serve completely different functions--just like Amazon and traditional booksellers! I grew up with email and have acclimated to it one-hundred percent, and I still think that email lacks a personal touch that only proper letters can deliver.) True, online retailers are more efficient, and that is great! You have every right to do your shopping online, but to claim that "The independent bookseller will always exist" and that "Society is benefitted as a whole by big-box retailers" is woefully ignorant. And that whole using-the-time-you-save-to-read-more-books argument? Really?

"Sorry Mr. Russo - you just don't get it. Many times buying a book at 17$ instead of 35$ is the difference between buying the book and not buying the book. Some people who read and care about books can not pay the higher price. So what if they will not have a bookseller to recommend books, they can always fall back on Dickens, Poe, Tolstoy or read the Book Review in the NYT.
Perhaps you and your Best-Seller friends are further out of touch than you realize." - Oliver, Chicago

Some people who read and care about books want recommendations beyond the classics and the New York Times Book Review. Perhaps, Oliver, you are further out of touch than you realize.

"So... bookstores to survive selling books more expensive, want to prevent consumers from obtaining information about where they can buy them cheaper. This is very interesting. It is the same tactic used by totalitarians governments: to suppress bad news, instead of trying correct the source of the problems, they blame and censor the messenger. At the end of course we all know that this type of approach is dead on arrival. Information is always good. Besides, why would you pay more for exactly the same product? The answer is that you wouldn't" - Western Iconoclast, San Francisco

The majority of this statement is so clearly idiotic that it doesn't bear comment, so I'm just going to jump to the end on this one. "Why would you pay more for exactly the same product?" the commenter asks. It's a fair question. You are not paying more for the same product in a brick and mortar, you are paying more for the product plus a small fraction of the overhead that goes in to providing you with a service many find valuable. If you don't value the service, that is completely fine. Just don't use it! Continue to shop on Amazon and enjoy. That is your right. You should not, however use the service--in this case, the knowledgeable staff, the warm place to hang out, and the ability to look through (and probably damage) a book before purchasing it--if you do not value it enough to pay for it. You wouldn't go into a restaurant, sit at a table, eat the free bread, and browse the menu, only to say "Ooh, an apple and brie sandwich! Never thought of that. Well, I'm off to go make it for cheaper at home."

People referring to small stores as "overpriced" has been a stick in my craw for quite some time. Yes, boutique shops that buy a bunch of crap downtown then stick a label on it and octuple the price deserve to be called overpriced, but that is most often not the case. Most of the time stores charge what they do because that is how much it costs them to purchase the item, pay their employees, make rent, and still turn a small but livable profit. I know many small business owners; it is not a glamorous job, and not one of them charges more than they absolutely have to to stay in business. It is corporations like Wal Mart, Target, and Amazon that create this "overpriced" illusion. If goods are available elsewhere for less, than they must be overpriced, right? This is dangerous logic. What consumers really should be asking is, "Why is Wal Mart so underpriced? What kind of shady business practices are allowing them to charge three dollars for an eight-dollar item? Who must they be disenfranchising to get their overhead so low?" Impossibly low prices should be considered a red flag, not a stroke of luck. But we don't want to ask those questions, because a healthy economy, more (fair-wage-paying) jobs, and human interaction in the long run isn't worth a few extra dollars in the short run.

THE MURDER CAPITAL OF AMERICA

2011-06-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, after a fun-filled four (check that ill-literation, yo) days in Chicago (including a visit to 826CHI, which I will post about when I get back), I ended up here in Alton, IL, a small town just a skip away from St. Louis, which as I heard for the first time yesterday, IS THE MURDER CAPITAL OF AMERICA. Yes, that is the ENTIRE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, that whole huge dangerous country. I am in the murder capital of it.

That being said, St. Louis is great! It has a huge free zoo with the coolest penguin exhibit I've ever seen. You can walk right up to the edge of the penguins' habitat, and they just kind of waddle over to you and peer at you curiously. There's no glass, so you get splashed with water when they dive, and you could easily reach out and touch them, though there is a polite sign requesting that you don't. What you are allowed to touch, are the STINGRAYS! and they are AWESOME! Oh, and they just recently put little baby hammerhead sharks in the stingray tank. You can pet those too, and they are so cute!

Anyway, enough about the zoo. St. Louis also has this amazingly cool movie theater called the Moolah Temple. Actually it's a theater/bowling alley/bar, and you can bring your bar drinks into the theater and drink them while you watch your movie from the comfort of a COUCH! And not like Cinefamily, where there's a few couches up front that you can get if you're reaaally lucky and get there early enough. The entire theater is filled to the brim with couches. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the bar comes up with a list of signature cocktails for each movie they show (it's only a one-screen theater). And the tickets are half the price of an Arclight show. If I weren't so afraid of being murdered, I'd fly to St. Louis every time I wanted to see a movie!

I GUESS I'M BACK

2011-06-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

After much ~~nagging~~ encouragement from my ~~no good shrew of a~~ wonderful supportive boyfriend, I've decided to start updating this dusty old blog again. And what better way to get back into the swing of things than with a new installment of "Stuff I've Been Reading?" So, here goes:

STUFF I'VE BEEN READING:

1. John Fowles
The Magus

I made the mistake of recommending this book to everyone I had ever met before I actually finished reading it. But I didn't just recommend this book, I seriously overdid it. I definitely used the word "GENIUS!" in verbal caps lock, and probably used the phrases, "You absolutely HAVE to read this book RIGHT NOW," and "Second-best book ever written" (I think we all know what the first best is). Once I finished the book, of course, I had to come crawling back to words and phrases like "interesting" in verbal lowercase, and "It's pretty good. You should pick it up if you get a chance."

You see, having loved The French Lieutenant's Woman, I think I gave Fowles a little too much credit up front. What I was most impressed with were the loose ends I fully expected Fowles to tie up. The first two acts pose so many unexplainable mysteries and plot twists that it seemed (and ultimately proved to be) impossible to adequately explain them all. And that was really impressive! Maybe I should have known better, but like I said, I generally like to give writers of Fowles' caliber the benefit of the doubt.

That being said, The Magus really is worth reading. I get the impression that it's overambitious tangly plot is merely a symptom of Fowles' inexperience (it was, after all, his first novel), and it really is difficult to stop reading. And the prose is beautiful. It's one of those books you pester your friends with by reading every other line aloud, regardless of your surroundings. So if you don't mind a mystery with a sub-par payoff, you should definitely pick it up. I mean, the book is three quarters good, and it's like 600 pages long, so you really would be getting your money's worth.

2. J.M. Coetzee
Disgrace

Okay, so this book is really really good, but it's also...well, kind of a bummer. I mean I guess that comes with the territory, what with the whole South Africa, race relations, rape thing, but I wasn't expecting it to leave me feeling so drained. The fact that I read most of it on a 5-hour plane ride may be partially to blame, but I think the real culprit is Coetzee's one-dimensional, unsympathetic characters. His characters aren't necessarily assholes (well, with the exception of the main one), they're just kind of stiff and hard to relate to.

I felt sorry for them at several points during the book, but it was because some fucked up shit was happening to them, not because I felt like I knew who they were at all. I felt for the characters, because I would feel for anyone in the situation they were put in, but they never once felt like real people to me. The book read more like a political argument than a novel, the characters' dialogue bullet points in an essay, rather than real conversations, but the story is engaging, and the prose well written.

Oh yeah, and Coetzee kills a lot of dogs in this one. Dogs die. Don't read this if reading about dogs dying is gonna make you cry on an airplane in front of all those people.

3. Jonathan Lethem
As She Climbed Across the Table

This one surprised me. The premise, depending on your mood, is either cool as hell or insanely pretentious: a love triangle between two scientists and a black hole. That is the premise. I'm serious. This book, came highly recommended to me by the aforementioned boyfriend, so I slid my skepticism off to the side for a moment, and dove in.

I was not disappointed. Lethem takes a concept that practically begs to grow into 200 pages of pretentious drivel, and makes it fresh and clever and sincere. I fell in love with that black hole, I felt my scientist ladylove slipping away from me. This book made me feel feelings. But what it did not make me feel, even once, was that it took itself too seriously. Lethem clearly shares Vonnegut's gift for hiding moments of profound insight in layers of humor and absurdity. As one Matt Dupree might say, "Um, As She Climbed Across the Table is a GREAT book."

OUR PLACE OF BIDNESS

2010-02-11T11:00:00.001-08:00

This is the fridge in our office. This is where we work. We work here.

(image stolen from Kathy Miranda)

BEST GUY EVER

2010-02-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

read me

ALEX TREBEK IS THE BEST

2010-02-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

(stolen from Matt Dupree)

COB DYLAN

2010-01-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

Simone sent this to me. I have no idea where she got it, but it is amazing.

V-V-V-VIOLATOR

2010-01-21T13:01:00.001-08:00

I am completely obsessed with this song.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T SUCK

2010-01-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

Someone cut me off when I was halfway through a stop sign today. We both slammed on our brakes and he rolled down his window. I braced myself for the inevitable insult and middle finger. What he said was, "I am so sorry. I wasn't even paying attention." I thought that was very nice of him.

FASHAWN AND AWN AND AWN AND AWN

2009-12-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, my friend Jenny played Fashawn's "When She Called" for me, knowing I would appreciate the novelty of Joanna Newsom getting sampled. I loved the track but, knowing my habit of being blinded (deafened?) by my love of JoNew, kind of convinced myself that I was giving it too much credit because of the sample. I figured it was a fluke and assumed the rest of the album would be boring. I finally caved and picked up the album and well, you know all that "what happens when you assume" business. Turns out, I made an ass out of me, because the rest of the album is even better than the track that initially sucked me in. I'm seriously floored by this guy.

FROGGIE WENT A-COURTIN'

2009-12-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

THIS VIDEO MAKES ME SMILE

2009-12-16T19:44:00.001-08:00

Story from North America from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

DEAR MICROSOFT WORD,

2009-12-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Please stop trying to correct my grammar. I am smarter than you.
Thanks,
Erin

HAPPINESS IS...

2009-12-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

Towards the end of August, I realized that I was in a funk. I was generally pessimistic and irritable, and had been consistently, for about six months. Of course, I had moments of happiness--bliss even, but they were the exception to the rule. Overall, my base happiness level, the amount of contentment I felt when there were no external influences, was lower than it had ever been before. I don't want to say that I was depressed, because that's melodramatic, and wasn't really the case. I was just going through a period of constant negativity, and I probably wasn't a very pleasant person to be around.

I knew it, too. I knew I was becoming this horrible negative and judgmental person, but I felt like I couldn't control it. I kept coming up with things to blame it on (my living situation, my job, the awareness that my best friend and I were growing apart), but never any way to fix it. I felt like I was in a rut I couldn't dig myself out of, primarily because I've always been a fairly optimistic person. This was in an entirely new feeling for me. I'd had bad weeks before, but never bad months, and certainly never bad half-years. In the past, I comforted myself with the knowledge that I'd feel better in a few days, but it just wasn't happening.

So the point is (I think I have a point), by the end of August, I realized that if I didn't get happy, and quick, I was going to stay miserable for another six months, and then another year, and eventually, I would no longer be a happy person who was having a rough time, I would just be an unhappy person. So I just decided to be happy. I said to myself, "Self, this is some bullshit you've been up to," slapped myself like Cher in Moonstruck, and said, "Snap out of it!" And then you know what? I did. It was that easy.

I had tried everything: moving into a new apartment, quitting my job, even doctors' visits on the off-chance it was a nutrition thing, and ultimately realized that it was a me thing. I had built up so much bitterness and resentment for things that I probably had every right to be bitter and resentful about, but had never let bother me before, that I was letting it control my life.

It started raining a couple of days ago, while I was riding my bike home from a friend's house. It was a perfectly clear day when I left my apartment, then all of a sudden it just started pouring, halfway through my ride home. And do you know what I did? I laughed. Out loud. I threw my head back and laughed like a drowning turkey. And not in a "well, what're you gonna do?" kind of way either. It was a completely genuine and unexpected moment of pure joy. That rain made my day, and I can still conjure up the euphoria I felt in that moment. It's the same euphoria I felt this morning, driving home from my first three finals, windows down, and noticing that it was simultaneously sunny and cold. I feel it every time I go on a hike with my friends, every time I do anything with my friends for that matter.

Whoever said you can either be happy or intelligent was dead wrong. Sure, the less you think, the easier it is to be happy, but easy's for suckers. Go ahead and take the shortcut. I'm taking the scenic route, so I may be a few minutes late.

FINALS WEEK, WHY?

2009-12-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

In honor of finals week, I'm (kind of) reinstating my blog. The truth is, I just want an excuse to procrastinate. But hey, I've officially finished one of the three papers I'm expected to turn in this week. Sure, I had to miss out on a hike I'd been looking forward to for two weeks, but I'll chalk it up as a lesson in starting things earlier.

Honestly, I'm a little burned out on writing about books (I know, GASP!), which is likely a direct result of my major. If my official occupation is "student," then writing about books is technically my job (albeit one I'm not paid for), and my job has ceased to be as fun as it once was. Okay, it's still fun. I just don't really feel like filling my spare time with thing that's keeping me from having any. Basically, I think this blog needs to be Stuff About Other Things and Occasionally Books Too for a little while.

Other things:

1. I got to spend time with some really old friends and some brand new friends this weekend, and it was just really great. I know, eloquent right? But really, it was.

2. I've had to watch a few comedies throughout the semester for my Comic Spirit class, my favorite of which is The Fisher King. It's actually sort of appalling that I haven't seen this film before, because I love Terry Gilliam and because it's completely brilliant. So thank you, Comic Spirit professor, for giving me the heads up, and thank God for Terry Gilliam.

3. Despite the fact that I have no desire whatsoever to create a twitter account, I feel kind of left out. I mean, I want to say things "at" people instead of to people. It seems fun! @anyone else who doesn't twitter: is this a commonly shared experience, or am I alone?

4. I have a great deal of respect for people who write beautifully even when they're emailing.

5. I really don't care about Sherman Alexie. Like, at all. Seriously, the man bores me to tears. Does that make me terrible? Possibly.

6. That last one was more a book thing than an other thing, but who's counting?

7. Yes, I realize that the fact that I've numbered my "other things" means that I am the one who is counting. Pretend they're bullet points if it bothers you so much.

I'M DONE!!!

2008-07-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

The class is over, I think my final went well, and I can now honestly say, "Yeah, I've read Ulysses." I think I'll find excuses to bring it up in conversation.

IF GORGONZOLA IS THE ONLY LIVING CHEESE, IS IT STILL THE CORPSE OF MILK?

2008-06-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Jenny and I went to Davey Byrnes Pub today and we each had, you guessed it, a gorgonzola cheese sandwich and a glass of burgundy. The sandwich wasn't as good as I'd hoped, and it was a bit overpriced, but it was completely worth it to have eaten the same meal in the same pub as a character who never actually ate anything in any pub, because he is entirely fictitious. Also, the wine was fantastic. I'm not an expert by any means, but it was some of the best I've ever had in my life. Thankfully, our meal didn't have quite the same repercussions as Bloom's did.

After Davey Byrnes, we went to Penneys, which is basically the Target of Ireland, because my shoes had holes in them and I heard that cheap clothing could be found at Penneys. That was true, but the shoes they had were hideous--except for one pair. And this pair had no tags or price. And they just happened to be in my size. Turns out someone had stolen shoes, and left their old ones in the store, so the security guard just kind of let us take them. Yeah, they were used, but who am I to turn down free shoes?

We met up with Bush, the unfortunately named tour guide from the Joyce Centre at the Stag's Head, and chatted for a while about books and theatre and various other trifles. Jenny, being the siren that she is, had him under her spell almost instantly, and from that point forward, Drew and I were entirely nonexistent. Bush stopped buying the drinks, Drew and I became third and fourth wheels and we decided to throw in the towel. I got a pretty decent amount of reading done and had a good long chat with Miles, and now I am off to bed!

I CAN NOW HONESTLY SAY I'VE TRANSLATED A PART OF ULYSSES INTO A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE (AND BY LANGUAGE, I MEAN LEET)

2008-06-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Ten points to the first person who can tell me what chapter it's from:
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YEAH, I'M PRETTY SURE WE UNDERSTAND THIS...

2008-06-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

We went to the National Library today to hear John Banville speak about Yeats. The talk was interesting at first, and Banville was actually pretty witty and likeable until he started talking about what a terrible writer Cormac McCarthy is and referred to “that old fraud, Ezra Pound.” Oh really, John Banville? And what literary movement were you so influential in establishing? Modernism? Oh no, wait…that was Ezra Pound. He didn’t even really seem to like Yeats that much, which was odd, since he was speaking at a Yeats exhibit about Yeats to an audience that was only there because they love Yeats. To be fair, I haven’t read any of Banville’s writing. He may be perfectly justified in his pretension. It’s quite possible that he is, in fact, better than both McCarthy and Pound. His writing could equal, nay, exceed that of Hemingway, Eliot, Joyce, Frost, Yeats, and all the other geniuses whose writing careers were directly influenced by Pound. But I doubt it. My new goal is to become a famous author, so that I can some day refer to Banville as “an old fraud” at a McCarthy or a Pound exhibit.

KNOCK, KNOCK! WHO'S THERE? LEOPOLD AND MOLLY BLOOM, THAT'S WHO!

2008-06-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

We went to the Joyce Centre today, where they have the original door from 7 Eccles Street, where the Blooms live in Ulysses (the actual building doesn't exist anymore), so of course I nerded out and knocked on it. Though the building didn't have quite as much history as Martello Tower, it was still fantastic. They had a room set up to look like the one Joyce stayed at in Trieste and a few 10-minute documentaries that were pretty interesting. Jenny and I ended up talking to our tour guide (about books, what else?) for a few minutes afterwards, and we decided to meet up at a pub later this week to continue our discussion. The only downside of talking with him was that it forced me to come to the painful realization that even Joyce scholars say, "Oh, like Snoop Dog!" when you tell them you're from Long Beach.

It's a beautiful sunny day, which is rare for Dublin, and I'm in a lovely mood. Even if it does stay light until ELEVEN here, I still have to admit the city's growing on me. I'm off to read for a while, look out my window, see that it's starting to get a little dark, think it's six, realize it's eleven-thirty, shout "fuck" as loud as I can and get four hours of sleep again, because the sun comes back up at three-freakin-thirty. Splendid.

I'M PRETTY SURE MY BOOK IS CONSPIRING AGAINST ME

2008-06-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure whether the Gabler edition of Ulysses' tendency to fall apart is a mark of shoddy workmanship, or a reflection of the cyclical nature of the novel. Just as the book defies a linear read, the pages refuse to stay bound, preferring instead to jump around, whether it be to other spots in the book (perhaps to be nearer to episodes whose company they prefer over the ones they were placed with) or to the bottom of my bag.

MARTELLO TOWER AND OTHER JAUNTS

2008-06-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

We took the train to Martello Tower (now better known as “Joyce’s Tower, though Oliver St. John Gogarty paid the rent—how is that fair?) today after class, and stopped by the 40 foot bathing area (known for forty foot soldiers--that is there were forty of them, not that they were forty-feet tall, awesome as that would have been--that bathed there, not the depth or width of the area). The beach was strikingly beautiful—a nice respite from the busy streets of Dublin. The tower was fantastic as well, but six euro seems a little steep for two small rooms of Joyce memorabilia, especially considering the Yeats exhibit at the National Library was free, and significantly more comprehensive. Then again, Yeats didn’t actually live at the National Library—apparently bona-fide history comes at a premium.

The curator of the museum seemed to be a parody of himself—he was incredibly knowledgeable, and told amusing Joyce anecdotes, but he exhibited all the characteristics one would expect from a curator in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, down to the Oxford accent and the rosy cheeks.

I was dozing off the entire train ride back, which is a pity because the scenery was beautiful. On the way back, with aspirations no loftier than a long nap, we (or rather, Drew) noticed Sweny’s (which was a feat in itself, as the entire façade was obscured by a mass of hideous green scaffolding), and, unable to resist, we went in to buy bars of lemon soap. They were all out, but said they’d ring the hostel when they got some in.

Worn down, and soaked through with rain, we trudged our way back to the hostel, where I attempted to read further in Ulysses, only to get entranced, once more, by the third episode, which, frustrating as it may be, I cannot seem to stop re-reading. It’s as if I have a cursed copy of the book, doomed to fall open to the third chapter, regardless of which one I am attempting to read. I suppose it’s a bit like a train wreck—it’s a mess, and it’s painful, and I know that if I were in my right mind, I wouldn’t subject myself to it once, let alone upwards of seven times, yet somehow, it’s impossible to pull myself away. The strangest thing is that it’s probably my least favorite chapter. It upsets me, not because it is difficult, but because it sucks you into Stephen's mind and makes you feel the frustration of constant, disorganized thought that he feels daily.

BLOOM BOMBS

2008-06-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

In lieu of a field trip today, we stayed after class and watched Bloom, a movie based on Ulysses. I was a bit disappointed, because though I was really excited to see it, I found parts of it to be quite cheesy. The best scene was the one based on "Circe" (which makes sense, since the episode is written as a script), but all of the scenes when Stephen was in his head had this really wistful and dreamy voice over, that didn't strike me at all as the way Stephen's thoughts would sound. When I read it, "Proteus" struck me as being almost manic (though perhaps I wasn't reading it correctly). Stephen seems like a man who cannot deal with the volume of his own thoughts, and cannot turn them off no matter how hard he tries, but the movie portrayed him as a meandering thinker, rather than an active one. All in all, the movie wasn't terrible, and it was nice not to have to be on my feet all day.

LONG WEEKEND! HOORAY!

2008-06-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

We have a long weekend because our professor was in Cork, giving a speech. Most of our class went on trips (including Jenny, who I miss terribly), but I opted out, since it was too expensive. Instead, Drew and I took advantage of the opportunity to see more of Dublin. We visited the National Gallery, which was fantastic (and free!), and we cooked some dinner at the hostel. It was a lovely, lazy day, meandering around the city, taking in the sights, and generally feeling happy and stress-free.

ANOTHER RAINY DAY IN SCENIC DUBLIN

2008-06-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to go to the cemetery today to visit the graves of Joyce's parents and Parnell, but it was raining too hard, so our professor cancelled the trip. Instead, Drew, Jenny and I went to Chapters, a fantastic used book shop, where I spent far too much money. To top it off, I bought more books than I could bring back, because of the weight limit for my carry-on. Luckily, Drew had plenty of space left in his bag, so he generously offered to take them back for me.

After Chapters, Drew and I went back to the National Library, and saw more of the Yeats exhibit. Then we were in the reading room for several hours--it really is as fantastic as I've heard it is. When we got back, I walked around Stephen's Green for a bit. It's really lovely there; I think it's what I'll miss most about Dublin. Why aren't there more massive parks with lakes and swans in Long Beach?

MARY KELLY AT THE YEATS EXHIBIT

2008-06-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

After class today, we went to the Yeats exhibit at the library, where Irish columnist, Mary Kelly, did a talk on what Yeats meant to her. Though she admitted she was not a scholar, I found her talk to be really touching and insightful. She talked about her childhood, her first experience with Yeats, and her friendship with an actor, who used to read Yeats' poems on the radio. When her own words could not accurately describe how she felt about the poems, she'd simply read them to us. It was a wonderful and engaging talk.

Afterwards, we had the opportunity to check out the Yeats exhibit, and it was truly fantastic. Unfortunately, just as I was really getting into it, I realized that I had left my ring in the shower, and had to rush back to the hostel to retrieve it. I'd like to go back and see more of the exhibit later in the trip, and I also heard they have a fantastic reading room.

BLOOMSDAY

2008-06-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

Today was Bloomsday, an event I've been looking forward to since I first heard about the trip. We started the day off watching various readings from Ulysses, which was quite nice, because there were ambassadors there from all over the world, who read in their native languages. Of course, I couldn't understand a word they said, but it was still fun to hear the rhythms of the languages--I think Joyce would have wanted that anyway.

After the readings, we headed over to Davey Byrnes to get Bloom's infamous lunch, but it was quite crowded, so Drew, Jenny, Krista and I opted out. We walked around for about an hour, hunting for a pub that Krista didn't know the location (or even the name) of, then Jenny and I decided we were too hungry for any further hunting, and went off to find somewhere else. We ran into Jen and Emily, who joined us while we looked for a decent place to eat. Easier said than done.

After passing up a number of places (one of which turned out to be the pub we were looking for with Krista and Drew), Jen suggested we go into The Hairy Lemon. At that point, I was so starving that I would've eaten the cobblestones we were walking on, so I eagerly consented. We ordered our food, and the waiter had a two-minute conversation with me about my selection. Twenty minutes later, everyone had gotten their food but me. Finally, the waiter came back to our table (to collect the dishes, because everyone else had finished their meals), and I mentioned that I never got my food. He looked at me, confused, and said, "What food?" to which I responded, "The stew that you spent two minutes talking to me about." He cocked his head at me, shrugged, then said, "So you want a stew then?"

This spawned a series of Sixth Sense jokes, especially when coupled with the fact that when we had first gotten there, I ordered a Guinness from a different waitress and never got that either. Needless to say, it was a frustrating meal.

On a more Bloomsday-related note, I was really expecting a lot more to be going on in Dublin. I had heard so many wonderful things about Bloomsday, but aside from the readings and Davey Byrnes, not much seemed to be happening at all. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right places. I think next year I'll celebrate by carrying a potato and a bar of soap in my pocket for the entire day.

EDIT: I actually did end up carrying a potato in my pocket all Bloomsday this year, but was too stingy to spring for the bar of soap. I mean, it couldn't be just any soap...

O, HOSTILE HOSTEL!

2008-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, no, the day before --well, technically both, because we lost eight hours in the time change--was the worst flight of my entire life. I got no sleep the night before, and couldn't sleep on the flight because the man in front of me had his seat farther back than I thought airplane seats could go, and the man behind me was of a size that prevented me from putting my seat back at all. It was a claustrophobe's worst nightmare. We arrived at the hostel yesterday around ten, stored our luggage, then had a brief orientation in Stephen's Green. When we got back to the hostel, we still had half-an-hour before we were allowed to check in, so Jenny and I went across the street to the Swan Bar. Unsurprisingly, about half our class had the same idea, and were eagerly awaiting our arrival (and by eagerly awaiting our arrival, I mean, sitting awkwardly and not talking to eachother). I went to sleep as soon as we were allowed to check in and slept solid from two in the afternoon until five this morning.

Fortunately, Jenny was awake too and we took the opportunity to walk around Dublin when no one else was out--an extremely rare occurrence. The city is breathtakingly beautiful, once you subtract the shove-y pedestrians and the cars that swerve to hit you rather than to avoid you. We stopped in at a coffee shop called the Bald Barista, where I got the beautiful latte pictured at the top of the post, and everything was just so still and beautiful and peaceful. It was, without a doubt, a perfect morning.

The hostel is not quite so perfect. Rather than top and bottom sheets, they have one queen-size sheet folded in half. That wouldn't be a huge problem if the mattress pad weren't visibly dirty (Jenny found an M&M on hers and I found several hairs and boogers stuck to mine) and if the duvet covers weren't stained with I-don't-want-to-know-what. Plus, we're on the fourth floor (which is realistically the sixth, because the ground floor is numbered "zero" and there's an extra flight of stairs at the top of the fourth floor that isn't numbered) and the lift is broken, which means we had to carry all of our luggage up six flights of narrow stairs. Needless to say, that was great fun. The "free internet" doesn't work at all in the rooms, and rarely works in the lobby, and the payphone ate my euro. I know I shouldn't complain (it's not so much complaining as laughing and shrugging), after all, it is a hostel, but it's certainly not cheap. It's about twice the cost of most of the other hostels I've looked up. But they do have free lollipops, which pretty much makes up for everything. Now I'm off to get some free "breakfast," which consists of toast and toast.

COMIC GOLD

2008-01-22T18:40:00.001-08:00

My friend Patrick sent me this today. Apparently, he found it while researching the death penalty for a class. It's a sample of an essay that you can choose to buy and plagiarize:

"This is my first reason why the Death Penalty should be demolished: when thought of mentally, yes, the death penalty is good!"

"The death penalty costs more than a life sentence in jail. It is also racists." ... [same essay] "And two other states use a firing squad. The death penalty is also extremely racist."

"Death Penalty Electric chair, gas chamber, lethal injection, firing squad, and hanging. When you hear these words, what do you think of? Do you feel frightened? When some hear these words, they tend to say, "Oh they deserve it." But, who deserves to die, whether it is by accident, murder, or capital punishment."

"Imagine the scenario, that you just gotten fired from your current job for no reason what so ever. This devastates you, and you plan to murder your unfair boss. Your plan succeeds and you successfully murder him. You're now convicted to go on death row. Yes, it's your fault, and yes, your very guilty of murder, but should this crime really be the reason of your death? Should you be sentenced to the death penalty? Some people who support capitol punishment would say yes, you took a life so give up yours. Others would say no, death will never be a fair punishment. With out a doubt, I agree with the second answer. Even though you may have took a persons life, yours shouldn't also be taken away! I believe that two people dead is much worse than one. After you read my essay, on why the death penalty it is very inhuman, you will soon agree with me that it's wrong."

I mean, sure, plagiarism is wrong and everything, but I'd totally risk it for an essay like that. Guaranteed A+.

"SHE READS TOO MANY BOOKS" -BOB DYLAN

2008-01-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

I went to Once Read with Darren today and picked up some new books. Alphabetically speaking, it was a success. Pynchon and Robbins are next to eachother now (before they were on different shelves) and they're friends, so that's cool. Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes are now seperated by Victor Hugo, which is probably for the best. They never agreed on much anyway. Stuff I've been reading tomorrow possibly?

I'VE BECOME A CARICATURE OF WOMEN

2007-10-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've been in an awful mood for the past two or three days, and have been shoveling chocolate down my throat to self-medicate. The pathetic part? I don't even like chocolate. I feel like I've become a caricature of a caricature of women. Maybe my body is subconsciously revolting against all the hyper-feminist literature we've been reading in class?

I know I said I'd post stuff I've been reading, but I lied. I'll probably do it tomorrow--but that could be a lie as well.

TWO TARDY REVIEWS

2007-10-21T01:42:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are the links to both the review I wrote for Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics and for Alison Bechdel's Fun Home.

LOVELY, LOVELY, BOOKIES

2007-10-19T00:19:00.001-07:00

Books I've bought:

I actually bought more books than I left myself space for when making that image. I'm definitely an addict.

1 & 2. Kurt Vonnegut - Deadeye Dick and A Man Without A Country
Unlike some of my friends, I don't already own everything that Vonnegut's ever written. I'm working on it.

3. Thomas Pynchon - The Crying of Lot 49
Another one of those books I probably should've read by now. Once again, working on it.

4. Millard Kaufman - Bowl of Cherries
Who am I to resist the lure of a new McSweeney's book? I also got the box of short stories (Dave Eggers!!!!), but did not include it in today's book cover lineup. Kaufman was interviewed in Interview this past month, which is great, cause it got McSweeney's some press. Also, please take some time to admire the beautiful cover.

5. Michael Chabon - The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
I mentioned this in my last post. I liked Kavalier and Clay, I wanted more.

6. Mark Haddon - A Spot of Bother
As much as I avoided it, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time was a darn good book. I'm not sure why I avoided it, I guess it just sounded like one of those stupid pet detective novels, like The Cat Who Knew Too Much or something (I'm not sure that's an actual title of one of those pet detective novels). Just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its title. Anyway, this is his second novel, and I liked his first, so I bought it.

7. Ralph Steadman - The Joke's Over
Ralph Steadman, Hunter Thompson's illustrator of choice, writes about his and Thompson's crazy antics. This is one of those books I always saw, considered buying, then talked myself out of buying. This time I bought it.

8. The Portable Dorothy Parker
I'm not entirely sure why I bought this. I've never read any Dorothy Parker in my life, but some lady in my American Lit class quoted her in conversation the other day. I can't remember what the quote was, but I remember it was funny and then I saw this book the same day and it felt right. Plus, the jacket's well-designed.

9. Albert Camus The Stranger
Okay, I understand that getting into Camus in college is really cliché. Well, sorry. They talk about Camus a lot in Fun Home. They also talk about a lot of other really really great authors in Fun Home, so I put two and two together and thought, "maybe Camus is a really really great author too..."

10. John Fante The Road to Los Angeles
The "prequel" to Ask the Dust

11. Dan Fante Short Dog
Dan Fante is John Fante's son. I was rereading Ask the Dust in the park about a month ago, and some drunk guy came up to me and started rambling about Dan Fante. I was intrigued. On a side (but still related) note, Dan Fante is doing a reading at Open on 4th street on Friday, and a reading somewhere in San Pedro on Saturday. I fully intend to go.

12. Tom Robbins Jitterbug Perfume
For some reason, everytime I talk to Katie Wynne about books, she brings this one up. She then proceeds to sing its praises for anywhere from 20 minutes to eight hours. I trust her opinion.

I'll post stuff I've been reading tomorrow.

AWFUL, AWFUL COOKIES

2007-10-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

I just made the worst batch of cookies of my life. I tried using whole wheat flour instead of white flour, but I guess it's a little drier, so I should've added more margarine to compensate or something. In any case, my cookies are ruined and I'm a failure. On a brighter note, today was a fantastic food day (aside from the cookies). I'm about to alienate half of my readership (sorry Mike, I know how you feel about fake meats), but I had delicious leftover vegetarian meatloaf for lunch and even deliciouser soy orange chicken and fake eel from this chinese food place in Cerritos for dinner. I realize that veggie eel sounds disgusting, but it's not. Definitely weird, but definitely delicious. Take my word for it.

Aside from that, it's been nothing but work, class, and late nights in the Union office (where M,a,t,t, D,u,p,r,e,e is being a comma nazi as usual--so much so that I separated all of the letters in his name with commas, just to spite him)...oh and I've been reading a little too when I can squeeze it in.

I forgot to mention in my last few posts that I finally read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was every bit as good as all of my friends told me it was. Though it started off a bit slow, it was completely worth it once I got deep enough into it. I got a huge Borders gift certificate from one of my family friends for my birthday, which I used to buy The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, among other things. Ashamed as I am to admit it (but hey, admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?), I've bought far more books than I've read this past month. I'll delve into those in a post tomorrow.

BIRTHDAY. BIRTHDAY? BIRTHDAY!

2007-10-08T01:43:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me well, may be aware of the fact that I've got a stalker (and no, that's not a hyper-dramatic way of saying my ex still calls me--this is some guy I've never met and I have no idea how he got my phone number). He's mostly harmless (so far), but definitely annoying. Those of you who know me well (and those of you who don't know me well, but have read the post title) may also be aware of the fact that today's my birthday. Well anyway, my stalker just called to wish me a happy birthday. That is fully weird on its own, but I don't even know how he knew it was my birthday. I guess in these types of situations the only thing you can do is shrug your shoulders and say, "Gee, it sure was nice of my stalker to remember my birthday."

DONE STARVING MYSELF, READY TO WRITE

2007-09-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

I just ended the infamous lemonade fast (five days early) and I've never been so grateful to eat in my life. Today is my first official day of normal eating, which also means I am currently drinking the first cup of coffee I've had in six days. Austin has significantly more willpower than I do and is still doing the fast. He won't be eating one of these again anytime soon.

I've bought/read far too many books since the last time I updated, so I'll choose a few of the highlights/ones I remember. With that said...
Stuff I've been reading:

1. John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
So I know it's really inexcusable that I just now read this book, but better late than never, right? It (like all Steinbeck books) was really phenomenally good and (unlike most Steinbeck books) was an insanely quick read. If you are as lame as I am and have yet to read this book, read it. Immediately. Whether you like Steinbeck or not.

2. Joyce Carol Oates
Black Water
I haven't decided if I liked this book yet. It was entertaining, and it was definitely an interesting approach, but my internal jury is still out on the writing style. It's basically a fictionalized account of the whole Ted Kennedy scandal, which sounded fascinating, but turned out to be only mildly interesting. I usually love Oates, but she kind of seemed to drop the ball on this one. I feel like she could have done so much more with the story and her writing was a bit (intentionally, I suspect) choppier than usual. It was a pretty enjoyable read, but I don't anticipate ever picking it up again. More of a library book than a keeper.

3. Cormac McCarthy
The Road
Once again, I'm probably the last person in the world to have read this book, but in my defense, I owned it before Oprah put it on her stupid list. I wasn't floored by it at first, but by the end I was in love. It's just a really simple, sweet story about a father and his son who happen to be coping with the apocalypse.

4. Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs...
This is a collection of really amusing short stories. I'm a sucker for anything that is equally appealing to children and adults, and these fit that description pretty well. Like most McSweeneys books, this one is super great.

5. Dave Eggers
How We Are Hungry
It's Eggers. Enough said.

6. Craig Thompson
Carnet de Voyage
I picked this up in San Francisco on Mike's recommendation, and It's quite possibly one of the most interesting books I've read all summer. It's a really exceptional example of a travel log, and Thompson's drawings capture his surroundings better than any photograph could.

7. Alison Bechdel
Fun Home
This was also one of Mike's recommendations. He posted something about it on his blog and it sounded really interesting. I stumbled upon it on the 3 for 2 rack, and decided to pick it up. I wrote a review of it for the paper, so I'll post a link to that when it's up online. Cliffs notes version: lesbian's memoir about gay father + his death + crazy amounts of nerdy literature references = really sad yet disturbingly amusing book that I'm not at all surprised Mike liked.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

2007-08-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

I've been unbelievably busy these past few weeks. I finally got a job, so that's been consuming the bulk of my time. Plus, there's been the the newspaper and birthdays and dinner parties, and bachlorette (sp?) parties and close friends that are leaving town to go back to college and absolutely no time whatsoever for blogs. But (because there's always a "but") things should be mellowing out pretty soon, and I recently convinced my neighbor to go halfsies on wireless internet (which means I'll no longer have to rely on shitty stolen internet), so you can expect updates at more regular intervals very soon.

Though I haven't been reading as much as I'd like to, the books I did read during my absence have been lovely; I'll post more about those later, when I've got the time to do them justice. I've also done many things other than reading. To name a few:

- Last Thursday, I went to Wild Rivers with Austin. I was terrified of everything and nothing was scary enough for him, but we ended up going on every slide in the park.
- Laurel and Elizabeth hosted a lovely dinner party on Saturday and I saw many friends I had not seen for quite some time.
- Yesterday morning, I drove along the coast for a bit and got breakfast at Mother's Market & Kitchen. As boring as that sounds, It was a much needed break from the busy busy busy stuff.
- I tried to go see the grunion run tonight, but they were nowhere to be found. Someone said something about it being the lunar eclipse's fault, and I'm inclined to agree (not because I know anything about moon cycles, but because I like blaming things on other things).

Now, I've got to get some rest, so I can work the shift I foolishly agreed to cover tomorrow. I promise promise promise that there will be less time between this and the next update than there was between this and the last.

TEN REASONS SAN FRANCISCO IS ONE OF THE BEST CITIES IN THE WORLD

2007-07-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Beef and I got back from San Francisco about a week ago. On our way there, we stopped at Cannery Row. Aside from being breathtakingly beautiful, it was also the first time we got to stretch our legs after 6 hours of driving.

Once we got to San Francisco, we took rides on slides, got pulled over by the fuzz, and generally rocked out. Here are ten reasons why San Francisco is one of the best cities in the world:

10. Sandwiches
I had three of the four best sandwiches of my life on this trip, one of which was a falafel

9. Crazy guys trying to sell magnetized skateboards
Some guy came up to Beef and me while we were sitting on a bench with our skateboards. He tried to convince us to give him money to ruin our boards by putting magnets in them, at which point we could purchase the accompanying shoes which also had magnets in them. This would enable us to do siiiiiiick ollies over curbs. It would also enable us to look like total douchebags. How could we refuse?

8. No matter how lost you get, you always end up somewhere exciting
Trust me on this one. We got lost a LOT.

7. Simultaneously sunny and breezy
I could wear sweaters during the day! In summer! Absurd!

6. Eavesdropping on the BART
Nowhere else can you hear five-foot tall men adorned with diamond earrings the size of quarters use such sleazy pickup lines as, "Hey baby, I like the way you look. I like the color of your skin," on total strangers.

5. Millions of used book stores
Needless to say, I spent every cent I had.

4. Deforrest Wiggins
This guy (second from the left) always knows how to brighten my day.

3. 826 Valencia
Pirate supply store! Owned by Dave Eggers! Enough said.

2. McSweeneys
Every used book store I entered had a McSweeneys section. Wow.

1. I SAW DAVE EGGERS!
I saw Dave Eggers. For real. In person.

ANOTHER BREAK

2007-06-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

I'm probably not going to post anything for the next few weeks. I'm taking a much needed, though not necessarily well-deserved break. I don't feel much like writing now, but I'll be back in a few weeks.

VEGAS, BABY! VEGAS!

2007-06-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

So I've really got no good excuse for my recent lack of updates, but I do have a poor excuse (laziness), and a fairly decent excuse (I've been in Vegas). I'm back now, and that's what matters, right?

Books I've Bought Recently:

1. Eric Schlosser
Reefer Madness
Eric Schlosser (of Fast Food Nation fame) wrote this book and it was on the 3 for 2 table at Barnes & Noble. I liked his other book, so I bought this one.

2. Truman Capote
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Also on the 3 for 2 table. I've never read it, and I probably should have. I was pleasantly surprised by the extra short stories that are in the book, but not advertised on the cover.

3. John Steinbeck
Cannery Row
This was the third of my 3 for 2 books. I'm one of the few non-professors I know who actually likes Steinbeck. A lot. That's alright with me. I'll stand by my man.

4. Lynne Truss
The Lynne Truss Treasury
Shit. My nerd's showing. Lynne Truss wrote the thoroughly enjoyable grammar book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. I adore her, and I saw this treasury of her essays and short stories on the bargain table. I call it a bargain. The best I ever had.

5. John Barlow
Eating Mammals
Also on the bargain table. Never heard of this guy, but the cover's great, and the few pages I read seemed interesting. I'll let you know the verdict later.

Books I've Read Recently:

1. Eric Schlosser
Reefer Madness
This book contains three of Schlosser's (excellent and well researched) essays on these topics: marijuana, illegal labor, and the porn industry. They are tied together by the common thread of the black market. All three of the essays are interesting and terrifying, but the second one, "In the Strawberry Fields," about immigrant labor, is the most interesting and terrifying. Like Fast Food Nation, the book reads more like a novel than an exposé. The whole black market angle is a bit of a stretch--the essays don't seem to connect at all, but it's a great read nonetheless.

2. J.D. Salinger
Franny and Zooey
I just reread this for the first time since high school, and about the eighth or ninth time since the first time I read it. Every time I read this book, it hits me all over again. Definitely in my top ten books of all time. Probably in the top two actually.

3. John Kennedy Toole
Confederacy of Dunces
I finally finished it. Finally. Nothing like a 6 hour Greyhound bus ride to catch up on reading. I was a little iffy about this book at first. I liked it, but not as much as everyone told me I would. The last few chapters make the entire book. I'm glad I stuck with it. As reluctant as I am to admit it, this book really is as amazing as everyone says it is.

4. The Dalai Lama
An Open Heart
My extremely awesome high school history teacher gave me this book for my sixteenth birthday. Unfortunately, I was sixteen, so I was an idiot. I assumed it was cheesy, put it on my shelf and forgot about it. Then, about a week ago, I ran into it and decided to give it a shot. This book is a really quick read. It made me rethink my attitude towards others, and The Dalai Lama writes in such a non-condescending way. He puts himself on your level and puts you on his. The central argument of the book, that everyone is the same and that everyone desires/deserves happiness, comes through beautifully. It's not at all preachy, but forces you to reexamine your attitudes. Give it a read.

5. Anne Fadiman
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
I bought this book for an anthropology class that I never went to freshman year. It documents the true story of a refugee family from Laos, whose daughter has epilepsy. Due to the differences in culture, the family and the US hospitals are unable to work together, and the girl ends up dying. It's heartbreaking, but incredibly interesting.

SAVE MCSWEENEYS...

2007-06-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

by buying all that you can from their online store during the MASSIVE SALE and auction that is taking place RIGHT NOW!

McSweeneys is the best independent publisher around (as well as the place I stole my layout from). They're in trouble now, because their distributor screwed them over. Here it is in their own words:

"As you may know, it's been tough going for many independent publishers, McSweeney's included, since our distributor filed for bankruptcy last December 29. We lost about $130,000 -- actual earnings that were simply erased. Due to the intricacies of the settlement, the real hurt didn't hit right away, but it's hitting now. Like most small publishers, our business is basically a break-even proposition in the best of times, so there's really no way to absorb a loss that big.

We are committed to getting through and past this difficult time, and we're hoping you, the readers who have from the start made McSweeney's possible, will help us.

Over the next week or so, we'll be holding an inventory sell-off and rare-item auction, which we hope will make a dent in the losses we sustained. A few years ago, the indispensible comics publisher Fantagraphics, in similarly dire straits, held a similar sale, and it helped them greatly. We're hoping to do the same."

Buy some stuff. For real.

COFFEE TABLE BOOKS, A COMIC, AND SOME POETRY

2007-05-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

I opted for some light reading today, and decided to peruse some of the coffee table books I have gathering dust in my apartment. I also read the latest issue of Y: The Last Man and a book o' poetry. Lazy summer days are the greatest.

Stuff I read today:

1. Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra
Y: The Last Man #56
I wasn't able to get my hands on #55, but this issue was no less enjoyable because of it. Some of it was a little bland, but the last few pages more than make up for it. I don't want to spoil anything on the off chance that I'm not the last person on earth to have read it, but I will say it was absolutely fantastic.

2. Nigel Coates
Guide to Ecstacity
This beautiful coffee table book is a work of art in itself. The graphic design is impeccable, and the concept behind the book is nothing short of genius. Coates designed a model city, called Ecstacity, by combining elements of seven real cities around the world with his own imaginary aspects. The result is a beautiful and compelling ethnography, not of a real culture, but of a city and culture that could be.

3. Michael Gray
The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia
I was looking through some of the photos I've taken recently, and this one of the boyfriend put me in a Bob Dylan mood. This could quite possibly be the single most difficult nonfiction book to stop reading. Gray's meticulous record of anything and everything relating to Bob Dylan is an astounding feat of research and willpower, if nothing else. Start with a random entry and prepare yourself for a long afternoon of cross referencing. It's truly thrilling, and very informative.

4. Dean Young
Embryoyo
I'm not the hugest fan of poetry (with a few notable exceptions), but this book came in the mail a few months ago as part of my McSweeney's book release subscription, so I thought I'd give it a read. As much as I generally avoid poetry, this particular book is beautiful and absorbing. My favorite poem of the bunch is "Ten Inspirations," which features verses like, "You decide to tell your sweetheart / how much you like humping him or her / but even as you're coming, / his/her nipples stiff as pearls / under your palm, you know / theres something deeper you love" and "You are in your pajamas / eating cold pizza / when you decide to make a coyote. / Now all you need is a pregnant coyote." Other things I like about this book include the title, and the fact that Young seems to have an unhealthy fascination with clams.

5. The Push Pin Style
This coffee table book, published in 1970, belonged to my mother in college, and has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. Aside from the inimitable old book smell, it showcases the best work by the members of the Push Pin Studios (arguably the most important and influential graphic design firm at the time). Each of the designers has his own unique style that does not detract from the overall unity of the firm's portfolio. Barry Zaid's and (famed creator of the I heart NY logo) Milton Glaser's designs are my favorite of the bunch, but all of the artists make equally valuable contributions. I'm not sure if this book is still in print, but if you can find it, I highly recommend giving it a look.

FINALS ARE DONE, AND I'M BACK FOR A BIT

2007-05-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a bit of a break from this blog (note the alliteration). Never fear. Nothing truly frightening happened to me and now that finals are finished, I expect a surplus of mindless blogging time.
Reading Material I Bought/Recieved in the Mail/Got for Free Recently (in no particular order):

1. Marisha Pessl
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
This was given to me to review for an online magazine that's just starting up. I'll talk more about it in the "Stuff I Read" section.

2. Chuck Palahniuk
Rant
I've always been a big Chuck fan, though Lullaby and Diary were painfully disappointing. I forgave him for those two after reading, Haunted, which far exceeded my expectations. I bought this book a week or two ago, and I'm fairly optimistic.

3. The Believer - Issue 44
I got this in the mail last week, and have yet to read any of the articles. I did however sneak a peek at the Believer Book Awards to see if The Children's Hospital made it into the list. It did. I'm thrilled.

4. WIRED - June 2007
This also appeared in my mailbox within the last few weeks. I've read two of its articles so far: one about the lead singer of Linkin Park and his internet stalker (very interesting, despite the crummy band), and another about Judd Apatow and his nerderiffic films and shows. Both were great.

Moving on.
Stuff I've Been Reading Lately (aside from those WIRED articles I already discussed):

1. Marisha Pessl
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
As I mentioned before, I was asked to review this for an online publication, so I don't want to go into too much detail. I will say that this book was far better than I expected it to be (though honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect), albeit a little melodramatic at times. It was a bit of a slow read, not in the sense that it was hard to get through or unexciting, but in the sense that it took more time to read ten pages of this book than it would have taken to read ten pages of a different book. It was also a very difficult book to stop reading. I will post a link to my full review once it's online.

2. David Foster Wallace
"Incarnations of Burned Children" and "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" (from Oblivion)
"Incarnations of Burned Children" is a pretty disturbing story about a child whose parents run around like headless chickens when he is doused with boiling water. I won't say anymore to avoid giving anything away, because it's short and you should read it. "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" shows that botched plastic surgery can be highly amusing.

3. John Kennedy-Toole
A Confederacy of Dunces
I'm embarrassed to admit that I've yet to finish this book. I'm only about half way through it, but so far, I'm a fan. I'll write more when I actually complete it.

4. The Norton Anthology of American Literature - Volumes A & B
Mostly Puritan bullshit. Don't torture yourself. Not worth it. History schmistory.

SYNOPSES RUIN EVERYTHING

2007-05-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've been having far too much fun lately to post anything. I've been learning to skate on an awesome new board that looks like this, and been listening to Merle Haggard, who looks like this. I've also been lounging on my lawn and sippin' on some summertime suds. Life's pretty great.

Oh yeah, I've been reading some stuff too. I'm trying to get through a lot of the books I feel like I should've read by now so that I don't have to feel like I should read them anymore. Stuff I've been reading:

1. John Fante
Ask the Dust
I finished this on Tuesday, and it's every bit as amazing as everyone says it is. My favorite scene describes one of the characters driving recklessly with one of her legs hanging out of the window and her dress billowing up around her face. Obviously, Fante says it better and his description is impeccable. The book's only flaw lies, not with Fante, but with the publisher. The synopsis on the back of the book gives away the ending, and I made the mistake of reading it before the novel. If you plan on reading this book, don't read the back cover synopsis.

2. John Kennedy Toole
Confederacy of Dunces
I started reading this on Wednesday during my excruciatingly boring Survey of Early American Lit class, and am about a third of the way through. There is nothing good about Puritans and there is everything good about this book. I'll write more when I'm done with it.

I'VE BEEN SLACKING OFF A LITTLE...

2007-05-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

...but I didn't want to post again until I had something turtle-y awesome to write about.
Stuff I read today:
1. I finally finished John Connolly's, The Book of Lost Things and it was great. I initially thought it was one of those books that was meant for children, but enjoyable for adults, but as I read on, darker aspects emerged. It's a very quick read, though it took me a few days to finish because of schoolwork and fun-filled beach trips.
2. I got about fifty pages into Ask the Dust and I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of tomorrow.
3. There is no third thing.

"STILL GOING STRONG LIKE CASTRO"

2007-05-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

I perused McSweeney's #23 today, though I haven't had the time to read all of it yet. Each story has its own cover, illustrated by Andrea Dezsö, and the book jacket folds out into a mural of all of the illustrations. The reverse side of the unfolded cover reveals 38 very short stories by Dave Eggers. When you remove the jacket, the cover reads,

"McSweeney's 23
Still Going Strong

Like Castro"

Pretty exciting stuff. So, anyway...
Stuff I read today:

1. Roddy Doyle
"Black Hoodie" (From MCSWY'S 23)
This was a funny and engaging story about racism, shoplifting and wheelchairs. A great line from it is, "I said she was Nigerian, kind of. I didn't mean she was kind of Nigerian. I meant she's kind of my girlfriend." I scanned in the cover illustration, and it looks like this (minus the akward scan-shadows and whatnot):

2. "The Science of Pop-Ups" and "Brand New Bag"
Two articles from this month's WIRED. One of them is about pop-up books and the science behind them, which you could have figured out from the title. More specifically, it is about, "Robert Sabuda, the reigning king of the pop-art jungle." The other is about people in San Francisco making hipster messenger bags from plastic shopping bags and the like. WIRED is pretty spectacular
3. Nicholas Francomano
"Hawks Hunt Squirrels"
A short story about falconers and hawks who have interior monologues by one of my high school buddies. You can and should read it here.

Speaking of high school friends, a band I knew back then, called Simon Dawes, has inexplicably appeared on the Spiderman 3 soundtrack. Strange.
In other news, I'm seeing said movie at midnight. You're jealous.

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES FOR A TOP SECRET(ISH) PROJECT

2007-05-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Andrew Wilson showed me the preliminary sketches he did for the comic book that we're working on and I took a photo of them:

The project is mildly secretive (and by mildly, I mean not really secretive at all), but it should be good. I'm pretty excited about it. Mr. Wilson also drew this picture of me growing out of Beef's hand a couple of months ago. What a hero.

ESSAYS AND NOT-ESSAYS

2007-05-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on my past-due Hawthorne essay, but I'm almost finished. I'm tempted to just ignore it and work on my short story for Creative Writing class instead. Today I've been reading:

1. John Connolly's, The Book of Lost Things, because Shar wrote a great review of it for the newspaper a little while back. Unfortunately the review's no longer online; she describes it far more accurately than I ever could. I'd like to try and finish the book by tomorrow, so I can start reading Ask the Dust by John Fante, which my friend Michael bought for me when we went book shopping a few weeks ago. The boyfriend is reading it right now, and as soon as he's done, I'll pretty much be the only person on earth who hasn't read it yet.

2. I've been dragging my feet (or eyes) through Gob's Grief by Chris Adrian. So far it's an amazing book, and I'm not really sure why it's taking me so long to finish it. Hopefully, I'll be done with it by the end of the month. Chris Adrian also wrote another phenomenal book called, The Children's Hospital, which I reviewed for the paper several months ago. I highly recommend it.

A GOOD DAY FOR NEW BOOKS

2007-04-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

I went to Borders today to apply for a job, only to find out that they only accept online applications. After the hassle of finding parking, I figured I deserved a new book or two...or six.
Things I got from the 3 for the price of 2 table at Borders:

1. Michael Chabon
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
This book came very highly recommended by (my primary comic book buddy) Beef and Mike (the Literature editor of the paper I write for), among others. I seem to remember Mike saying it was, “better than Eggers,” but that could have been a different book. In any case, it’s supposed to be great.
2. Jeffrey Eugenides
The Virgin Suicides
Though I saw and enjoyed the movie, I haven’t seen it in a while and don’t really remember it. I don’t usually like to read books once I’ve seen the movies that are based off of them, but I really liked Middlesex and I’m fairly sure this book will be just as good.
3. Cormac McCarthy
No Country for Old Men
I still haven’t read any of McCarthy’s stuff, even though I’ve been meaning to since last year and I already bought Blood Meridian and The Road. Mike G.’s crazy about him (which is always a good thing), and my friend James is pretty into him as well. It was on the 3 for 2 table, so I figured, why not?
4. Uzodinma Iweala
Beasts of No Nation
I’m not usually into soldier/war books, but this one seemed pretty interesting, and after reading What Is The What, I think I might like this. I’ll admit the cover is what caught my eye, but when I flipped through it, the parts I read seemed really interesting. Written with poor English, as if the main character (an African boy soldier) were actually writing it.
5. Jasper Fforde
The Big Over Easy
Again, I liked the cover (despite the old saying). Sounds very interesting from the synopsis—apparently about a nursery rhyme detective investigating the murder of Humpty Dumpty. Supposedly funny; the reviewer on the back of the book called it “Pythonesque.”
6. Zadie Smith
On Beauty
I’ve never read Zadie Smith, but I hear her name a lot, and I feel like I should at least read one of her books. They mention her in that movie, Hard Candy. The line is something like, “Would a little girl read Zadie Smith?” when the chick’s trying to convince the pedophile guy that she’s all grown up. On an even more superficial level, Zadie is a fantastic name.

I arrived home from Borders to find two books waiting for me in my mailbox. Mailbox books are the best; I've already paid for them, so it always feels like I'm getting them for free. Awesome!
Books I got today in the mail from McSweeney’s:

1. McSweeneys #23
This is the first McSweeney’s issue I’ve gotten this soon after it’s been published since I started subscribing. I’m pretty excited about it. I was toying with the idea of canceling my subscription and just buying every issue because it always comes in the mail so long after it’s been in stores (I’m talking months), but it’s so much cheaper to subscribe.
2. J. Storer Clouston
The Lunatic at Large
This is the newest title in the McSweeney’s Book Release Club. It’s part of the Collins Library, which consists of reprints of old out of print books. I always love the way the Collins books look. This is supposed to be a comedic Victorian novel, which makes it sound like it may read a bit like Oscar Wilde. Let’s hope so.

Things I read today:
1. A Union Weekly article about Eric Bryan, one of our writers, being mistaken for the guitarist of the metal group, Testament, by a writer from a different publication. (1 page)
Highly amusing. Eric was supposed to interview the guitarist (also named Eric) for The Union and so was a writer from a magazine called All Access. The All Access writer, upon learning that our writer’s name was Eric, immediately assumed that he was the guitarist, and began interviewing him. The real Eric played along, making for an incredibly funny example of sloppy journalism. (5 pages)
2. A handout on Problem Solving techniques that our teacher gave us in Critical Thinking class.
Quick reading that was enjoyable enough, but predominately common-knowledge (like, “the first step is admitting you have a problem.” Never heard that one before).
3. Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The May-Pole of Merry Mount" (7 tiny-print anthology pages)
A short story that I had to read in order to write an essay (that’s already past-due) for my Literature class. The colonists of Merry Mount are celebrating midsummer eve with a maypole when those asshole Puritans come and chop down their maypole. What dicks! In any case, it’s painfully boring and turgid, as is the case with all of the Hawthorne I’ve read.

I’m nowhere near the 100 pages a day I promised myself I’d read, but I’ve been writing essays and spending time with a boy, so I’m granting myself a free pass for the day. Besides, I bought well over a hundred pages worth of books today. That has to count for something, right?