Fucking David Foster Wallace (free)

Yeah, I know he's dead and all, but I have to be straight up: I couldn't get even half through An Infinite Jest. The novel was pretentious and hipster and navel-gazing and as hard to get into as any James Joyce piece of work.

I'm mostly alone in my opinion of David Foster Wallace, I realize. To be fair, I liked a few of his short stories in the collection Girl with Curious Hair. His writing was sharp and insightful in short form, particularly the first few in that collection. (The ones toward the end, meh, not so much.)

If I don't have anything else to do on Thursday April 26th, I might end up at the Hugo House and give fucking David Foster Wallace one more chance. I like the reader line up.

Reading and Celebration in Memory of David Foster Wallace
Thursday, February 26th 2009, 7:00 pm
Richard Hugo House
Free

Hugo House is hosting a special event celebrating the life and work of writer David Foster Wallace. Local luminaries David Schmader, Cienna Madrid, Paul Constant and other writers and performers will read from their most beloved of the late author’s work.

Wallace, who died tragically last September at the age of 46, was a writer of singular importance and influence, both as a literary stylist and as an exacting, hilarious, and heartbreaking examiner of the cultural and existential absurdities and tragedies in contemporary America. Come hear some of your favorite of Wallace’s essays, novels, and short fiction, or be introduced to this extraordinary writer for the first time.

For further information, contact Cristin Miller at cristinmlr@gmail.com

Horizon Used Books on 15th

Horizon Bookstore
Originally uploaded by JeanineAnderson

First time in Horizon Books and boy, what a fun surprise! There's a real maze of bookshelves inside this tiny converted house. Whimsical organization makes room for serendipity.

1. A section for "Gypsies" with one book. 2. Science Fiction anthologies two rooms away from the other Sci Fi books. 3. Auto repair next to computer-related,shelved in the kitchen. 4. Baseball, psychology, science and a ladder in that room.

My SF Reading List

Here's what's on my nightstand currently.

I intend to read these books in top-down order. I fully expect they will be much better than the last two books I read -- which really were pretty awful so it took me months to finish them. (Trust me: don't read Waking the Moon or Island in the Sea of Time.)

I'm reading The Watchmen right now but it's a bit of a slow go for me. Its a graphic novel (new format for me), and the text size is done for eyes younger than mine. Ha! The movie trailer looks pretty good, so I thought I'd give the graphic novel a try. Not sure if I'll make it all the way to the end, though.

Neal Stephenson is one of my very favorite authors so I am looking forward to his newest novel Anathem. He did a reading in Seattle not long ago, where he shared that he is ambivalent about pronounciation. AN-a-them, a-NATH-em. To-may-to, to-mah-to.

Not sure what to expect from The Algebraist. I read an earlier work by the same author and was underwhelmed. I hope I don't have to do any math problems.

The book on the bottom is a re-read in case I finish or abandon the other books: the classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A good re-read, particularly since it's been years and years since I read it. I still remember, however, that the answer is 42.

Neil Gaiman Reads to You

Good news for everyone who didn't make it to a reading The Graveyard Book: British author Neil Gaiman reads the entire novel to you, a chapter at time, on the The Graveyard Book Video Tour, available (free) here.

The video readings are not particularly interesting visually but are definitely a treat to hear. Listening to an author express out loud the phrasing and pacing of the internal voice heard while writing is a learning experience.



What's the book about?

"Gaiman’s latest novel, The Graveyard Book, is an affectionate homage to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book channeled through Webster’s morbid aesthetic. Aimed at both younger and adult readers alike, the story opens on a dark night, following a shadowy assassin as he calmly and dispassionately slaughters a sleeping family one by one," says Bridget McGovern of Tor.

My favorite Gaiman work is American Gods. Neverwhere is a close second and I just recently learned that book is a companion to a BBC TV series. Perhaps the Seattle public library has the BBC series on DVD.

Banned Books Week, now through Oct 4th

We all know Huckleberry Finn shows up on the list of banned and challenged books year after year. Did you realize Huck has plenty of youthful company? Harry Potter, Alice (Go Ask Alice), Lyra (The Golden Compass), and Scout and Jem (To Kill a Mockingbird).

For more, check the list of banned and challenged books from the American Library Association. The ALA explains, "The challenges documented in this list are not brought by people merely expressing a point of view; rather, they represent requests to remove materials from schools or libraries, thus restricting access to them by others. Even when the eventual outcome allows the book to stay on the library shelves and even when the person is a lone protester, the censorship attempt is real."

Top Ten Challenged Books in 2007

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
   
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
   
3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
   
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
   
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
   
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
   
7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle
   
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
   
9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
   
10. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

Primary reasons for book challenges: (2000 - 2005)

• Offensive language
  
• Sexually explicit
  
• Unsuited to age group
  
• Violence
  
• Occult/Satanism
  
• Other (something that doesn't fit the other 19 categories)

Additional interesting information and datapoints here. (I'd love to get my hands on the raw data and make their graphs pop.)

Returning now to reading the slim little novel from 6th grade Minnesotan curriculum: The Giver. Good stuff.

Book Repair Shop in the Seattle Underground

I'm a casual collector of unusual old books, so I was exicted to happen across an authentic bookbinding and repair shop on First Avenue in Seattle. Ars Obscura is located on the original street level - which is now the Underground - of the Grand Arcade Building in the 200 block.

There's something romantic about old books and the craft of hand bookbinding. Through the windows of Ars Obscura are suspended clusters of leather, book presses doing the necessary, and worktables with hammer, liquids, string: authentic, timeless.

I wished to step in and breathe deep the scents and might never want to leave. But I didn't. The shop was closed.

One of my favorite little books is an 1876 edition of the Floral Birthday Book. This is a Victorian-era whimsy, from a time when nothing was said plainly and the inanimate had meaning and significance. Birthday books were popular in the late 1800s through early 1900s (particularly with the British) and provide space for each day of the year to write someone's name. All books I've seen include an illustration or quote associated with the day, and most are based on children's stories or famous writers. Birthday books aren't particularly valuable as a collectible, nor do I seek out pristine or rare versions. I'm not into it for future value. Rather, I like the glimpse into the culture of the past and enjoy reading the inscriptions and thinking of them as Victorian-era horoscopes for a birth day.

Here's September 9th from a few of my birthday books:

"She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them." Shakespeare (Shakespeare's Birthday Book, 1906 NY)

"...Oft thou hast sworn, in friendship's soothing tone, Whatever wish was mine must be thine own." Byron (Floral Birthday Book, 1876)

"He's well under cover; - by cover we mean He's behind a high bank, and of course can't be seen."(Lt. Col. Seccombe's Army & Navy Birthday Book for Children, 1911). [Really. this book floors me everytime I look at it.]

"Always liked a little something at 11 o'clock in the morning." Winnie the Pooh (Christopher Robin's Birthday Book, 1930)

"Dear me, how inexperienced I was!" Quetch (Dr. Dolittle's Birthday Book, 1935

"How sticky the mind that is Discontent." (A Birthday Book by Joan Walsh Anglund, 1975)

Cory Doctorow At Univ Bookstore Tonight

Mr. Boing Boing will be reading tonight at the University Bookstore, as part of the Clarion West writers workshop instructor reading series. Cory Doctorow will likely be reading from his latest publication Little Brother, a novel for the adolescent market.

Doctorow is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the fun and amusing Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003). Down and Out is good summer sci-fi read: short, witty, and doesn't require too much thinking.

However, I'm a little gunshy of favored authors jumping into the youth market. Take Michael Chabon. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000) turned me on to his other works (Wonder Boys, 1995 and A Model World, 1991) so when Chabon's Summerland (for tween market) was released in 2002 I bought the hardback version at an airport. Hardback. Airport. Yep. Wish I could say hauling it around was worth it. I DO like and read children's books, but Summerland? Bah. It felt like it was written with the screen in mind.

It will be interesting to see if Doctorow is able to adjust gracefully to a younger audience, something Chabon struggled with.

Cory Doctorow Reading and Book Signing
Tuesday July 8th, 7 pm
University Book Store - U District
Free

New book on Japanese street culture

(Up)Rising Sonz! is a 300+ page pictoral book spotlighting skater and street art culture in urban Japan. It represents the generations which have influenced skate style, fashion, and street attitude, one of the main sources for the creative essence of Japanese city youth. These skaters-turned-artists now boast legions of fans and their influence reaches into fashion, literature, film, and art. I'm curious to know if the authors included anyone associated with The Ghetto, a rad space in Tokyo focused on skating and the street art scene. The Ghetto is located in a former "love hotel" and includes an indoor skate ramp and private-club-like bar on the street level. Upstairs the former guest rooms have been converted to little shops with skate gear, clothing, and art spaces. Here's a few snaps from when I was there in February.
(See more Japanese street art in my Flickr photostream.)







(Up)Rising Sonz!
Scott Kinsey (aka GOODFEAR), Mark Felt
304 pages
7"x10" Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-86154-330-1
US $49.50 (er...a little rich for my purse at the moment.)
first edition published in January 2008 by Booth-Clibborn Edditions

(ht to Heavy Backpack)

William Gibson to steampunk enthusiasts: make it look old!

Science fiction author William Gibson did a short reading earlier this week from his latest book, Spook Country. I wasn't particularly impressed with the reading, however the Q&A afterward was quite interesting.

Gibson on:

The popularity of the steampunk esthetic: Some of it is quite interesting and nice to look at, but for goodness sake make those decorative brass attachments on your laptop look old! Carry the things in your pocket along with a bunch of change and screws first. (Gibson and Bruce Sterling co-wrote The Difference Engine, an alternative history novel which popularized the steampunk meme.)

The science fiction genre: Speculative fiction is not really about the future. It is about society as it is at the time the piece is written. Case in point: the novel 1984 is not about the year 1984, it is an illumination of western society and culture in 1948, the year it was written.

Timeliness: He's tending to shorten his speculative timeline with each work. By the time his most recent two books were published (Pattern Recognition, Spook Country) the concepts were no longer futuristic and speculative. They were/are current and real.

Reading: Authors don't usually read their books start to finish once they are turned over for publication. That would just be too weird -- like trying to relive a part of the past.

The Singularity: The technological Singularity theory is essentially the Rapture, repackaged for geek consumption.

The movie Johnny Mnemonic:The movie released for screening was not the movie that written or shot. Sony completely re-edited the movie to make it an action flick after Keanu Reeves became famous as an action hero in Speed. The Johnny Mnemonic movie was originally a farce comedy.

Venturing further on the bike

I bought a bike about a month ago and am feeling comfortable enough with the gears to venture further than upper Capitol Hill and loops around Lake View Cemetery and Volunteer Park.

It's not the workout that was challenging; rather, it is learning the gear shifts. I've had trouble keeping it straight: on the right side the lower lever will downshift, and on the left side the UPPER lever downshifts. WTF?

After a few rides, I still hesistate briefly when changing gears but at least I am no longer downshifting when I want to up it, or vice versa. (I actually popped the chain on a earlier ride going up a hill when I got the gears confused. Ow!)

Saturday I ventured outside my 'hood and took on 10th, Roanoke, and Lake Union. Nice ride, but bang! that 1oth is a rough road. I cruised the houseboat neighborhoods and wandered down the South Lake Union Park to check out the Maritime Heritage docks. There's five or six historical boats docked there, including this sexy beast fireboat.



The return ride was up (and up!) Eastlake to Olive to Denny, with a stop in Half Price Books. Hopefully I didn't pick out any more stinkers. (My reading cred couldn't take it.)

guilty as charged: abandoning books

I'm a dedicated reader and normally give authors a LOT of latitude. I'll finish a book even if I'm not particularly enjoying it. (Did anyone like Rushdie's Midnight's Children? I mean really? Not just because it was hip?) I can't recall the last time I abandonded a book without finishing it. That is, until the last six months. I've abandoned not one, not two, nor three, but four books!

Maybe I've had a stretch of really poor luck, or I've become more discriminate, or I've lost patience. Or all three. Not sure. Whatever the reason, the following four books have been real stinkers for me to finish.

Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut. 98% complete. Not a bad book; I think I just forgot to finish it. I probably only have 10 pages left but I'd have to backtrack and re-read a bunch to pick up the thread again. Nah.

Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace. (60%) Wallace was recommended to me based on my appreciation for Neal Stephenson. I found this short story collection while looking for Inifinite Jest at Half Price Books (more on that book below). The first four stories are phenomenal. After that, not so much. I still have a bookmark inserted at page 245 but it has been in the same spot for 6 months. It doesn't look good for the home team. Oh well.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (15%). I really wanted to like this book but I had to keep re-reading the same pages over and over each time I picked it up to remind myself of where I was in the "story." If you could call it that. I confessed my difficulty with this book to a 20-something and she let me in on a secret: NO ONE has ever finished this book. It is a posture prop to demonstrate lit cred. Carry it around and read it in coffee shops when you have need to demonstrate lit hipness. Thank god I never went in public with the damn thing. It is waaaay too wordy, and that is saying something from a reader of Stephenson. How this book made it past a big publishing house editor is a mystery. It would make a good door stop.

Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski. (5%) I liked Danielewski's cult-like House of Leaves for it's brave creativity and bold approach to storytelling (although uneven). So I was looking forward to reading this National Book Award winner. What a shock. Oh my god, it is Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (or perhaps Ulysses) all over again! I hated the stream-of-consciousness bullsh*t years ago, and still don't like it now that I'm all growed up. This book might be ok if you approach it expecting the s-o-c thing mixed in with pretension and lame pseudo poetry in attempt to pander to the critics (which I guess worked). Did anyone ever finish this book, or is it secretly in the same category as Inifinite Jest?

So I've a bunch of stinkers kicked under my bed on my nightstand. I can hardly believe I abandoned so many books in the last six months. More recently than in the whole of my reading years prior. I'm a little sheepish about it, but life is too short to waste discretionary time reading cr*p.