Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Book Reviewers Beware!!!
Today I stumbled across Michelle Kerns at the Book Examiner and her creative little dig at the cliches used by lazy book reviewers. You see them all the time, those great big empty words that tell you nothing about the book. Words like "Riveting" and "Compelling" and "Epic".
Take a peek at the Book Review Bingo game she created.
Click on her link up above to print out the cards and play along with your fellow book lovers. The object of the game is to see how many reviews you need to read before you can get BINGO first. If you find that BINGO's are no great challenge, shoot for "blackouts"!!
Michelle's warning to all book reviewers: "watch yourself... Get lazy and use those clichés with caution. I will find you. I WILL."
Love is for the Birds
3 Stars - Recommended to readers familiar with genre/author
Pgs:208
Thanks to the incredibly awesome people over at Harper Perennial for forwarding me The Bird Room for review.
It was a quickly paced, bizarre story about an unemployed self conscious young man named Will, who finally finds love with Alice, only to have his heart broken because he can't leave well enough alone.
Told from Will's point of view, we are plunged head first into his dark and twisted mind. We are cringing at the unchecked jealousy over his best friend - also named Will. We are watching as he pushes Alice away from him and straight into the other Will's arms. We are shaking our heads as he dives into the deep end of Internet porn, through which he discovers Helen - the "actress" with an invisible "sister".
While it was easy to read, it was somewhat confusing. We are thrown into the story at the halfway mark and flip-flop between the present and the past. There were times when I was reading a chapter and could not be quite sure if I was in the current moment or a past moment.
The painfully damaged characters make this novel enjoyable. You can find bits and pieces of yourself in just about all of them, if you are honest with yourself! Some of Will's neuroses made me laugh - There was a moment when Will and his girlfriend are having dinner with his best friend Will, and he drives himself crazy imagining them touching their feet together under the table. He follows his girlfriend after work because he is sure she is visiting her ex-boyfriend behind his back....
Not something I would recommend to everyone. At times dark, funny in parts, and heavily layered in lust and sex and pornography.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Shutter Island - The Book vs. The Film
5 stars - Highly Recommended
Pgs:369
I never pass up the chance to read a good ole fashioned thriller. And with two of my Goodreads groups voting in Shutter Island as their March group reads, and with the film releasing into the theaters, the timing was just too perfect!
From page one, this novel of a US Marshall arriving on Shutter Island (a prison designed to hold and treat the most mentally unstable patients) to investigate the disappearance of a female inmate is a true page-turner.
Believed to be home to unspeakable illegal experiments on the minds of the patients there, Shutter Island can only be reached by ferry, and is surrounded by electric fences and sheer rock cliffs that would destroy any attempt to escape.
Teddy Daniels has been researching this island. He is certain it is holding the man who killed his wife and he is determined to find him and uncover the evil goings-ons, while searching the island with his partner Chuck for the missing Rachel Solando.
Collecting evidence and interviewing the staff and patients turns out to be more difficult and weary than he had planned. The more questions he asks, the more Teddy believes that things are not as they appear, and that the Doctors of Shutter Island are trying to make him insane.
It's a story that is filled with cryptic clues, and crazy twists and turns. One that makes you question everything you see and hear, and will have you rereading previous pages to rethink what you thought.
Of course, having finished the book, I had to go and see the film. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, and I was pleasantly suprised at how well he portrayed Teddy Daniels.
The film followed the novel very closely, which is always a wonderful thing for a book lover like myself, since I cannot help but compare the two. Of course, no film covers every inch of the book. For me, the most important thing is that it not leave too much on the cutting room floor.
Here is where Shutter Island - the film - failed me. (If you have not yet read the book or viewed the movie, advert your eyes, I may spoil some things):
* In the book, we know Teddy's full name is Edward Daniels. We are also privvy to his wife's maiden name. In the film, this information is never fully disclosed. If you read the book, you understand why that is important.
* In the book, Rachel Solando's cryptic note "The Law of 4" had some additional codes to it. These codes are also very important to the storyline. However, in the film, we only see "The Law of 4; Who is 67". We never discover the meaning behind "the 4", as we do in the book.
* Since the film does not show the additional information on Rachel's note, it also does not contain the rock piles that are part of Rachel's code in the book. A shame, really.
* Finally, they added an additional line to the end of the film that adds one last twist. For me, changing the ending of a book to please an audiance is just cowardly. I am sitting on the fence here because this change did not ruin the film... just puts a different spin on things.
The things I loved about the film (again, look away lest you be spoiled):
* The knowing glances - when patients are being asked about Dr Sheehan, or Andrew Leiddis, and when Teddy talks about how insane criminals should not be treated kindly to Dr Cowley.
* The landscape and the buildings were practically characters themselves in the film. Seeing them on screen added an additional layer to the story.
* Not to mention that the cast was phenominal. Watching Teddy question his own sanity... Seeing the compassion and concern in Dr Cowley's eyes...
Read the book. See the film. I would defintely recommend reading the book before seeing the film, though.
Other films that do justice to the books they are based on:
High Fidelity ; The Princess Bride ; Angel and Demons ; The DaVinci Code ; Blindness ; Where the Wild Things Are ; About a Boy ; Bringing Out the Dead
Monday, March 15, 2010
What Kind of Reader are You?
What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. | |
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm | |
Literate Good Citizen | |
Book Snob | |
Fad Reader | |
Non-Reader | |
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz |
My Newest Additions
They are listed here in the order they arrived, which is also the order they will be read:(Descriptions taken from back covers and goodreads)
Post-Human by David Simpson
It's a vision of what our world will look like in the future, in which microscopic robots reset your celluar clock, keep you young, and allow you to download intelligence, strength, and eyesight. Everything we dreamed was supposed to come true. Until a group of 5 terraformers return to Earth from outerspace and find every human being gruesomely murdered. Welcome to the post human era.
Don't Smell the Floss by Matty Byloos
It's a collection of short stories that are broken up into two sections: Love Stories for a Contemporary Audience and Post-Traumatic Dreamscapes. With titles like "A Brief History of the Tupperware Party" and "My Friend the Pornographer", I can't help but think I will enjoy this!
Banned for Life by D.R. Haney
He and his novel were recommended to me by Greg Olear. The book centers in on New York and LA. Punk Rock music. And the culture wars of the 80's and 90's. It's been reviewed as a "rock'n'roll novel that truly rocks". A man is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of someone he barely knew... The first sentence is an attention getter- "It all began with a fuck".
The Life O'Reilly by Brian Cohen
Exploring the flaws of being human and the imprtance of controlling one's own destiny, this book reminds us of how precious life is and how quickly and tragically it can change. An emotional and unforgettable tale that will challenge your expectations of the modern love story.
I think it goes without saying that I am very thankful for the opportunity to read and review these novels. And for the generosity of the authors who so willingly sent them to me!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Dead People Don't Send Postcards
4 Stars - Strongly recommend
Pgs:256
Thanks to HarperPerennial for sending me this review copy of "Postcards From a Dead Girl" by Kirk Farber.
I was not really sure what to think when I first saw the cover of this novel - with it's lone man standing in an apartment window watching postcards rain down from the sky. But after reading the first few paragraphs, I knew I had a great little book in my hands.
I'm a sucker for a fucked up lead guy. And oh boy is Sid fucked up. Here's his deal: He currently works as a telemarketer for a travel agency. He's a hypochondriac who is so obsessed with mud baths that he trys to recreate one in his own backyard. His dead mother talks to him through a 1967 bottle of wine. And he is receiving one year old postcards of exotic locations from his deceased girlfriend in the mail. He is unravelling fast, and while his sister attempts to hold him together at the seams, even she can't save Sid from completely falling apart.
Witty. Humorous. Strange. Tragic. Farber's book is all of these things and more, and sometimes all at the same time. It's one of those storys where you wish you crawl inside the text, inside where the characters are living, and shake some sense into them. Help them to get the closure they need in order to quit making such a mess of thier lives and begin the long journey of moving on.
Speaking of closure... The postcards were the one thing I never got any closure on. Read the book to find out what I mean. And maybe we can discuss your take on them. After all, the entire story circles around those darn little peices of paper!
"To Be Read" Tuesday
I went shopping at Borders today, for the first time in a very long time, armed with a list of books I desperately wanted and the giftcard my brother and his fiancee gave me for my birthday.
Borders used to be like a little corner of heaven for me. Browsing the shelves used to make me giddy. Thumbing the book spines used to make my heart sing. But as I've grown and matured as a reader, the more I wander the shelves there, the more depressed I become. The books I want now are not normally stocked on their shelves.
The good news is that I did manage to find 4 new shiny novels to bring home during this trip. Take a peek:
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
I have heard so much about this novel that I just could not pass by it any longer. Not to mention the fact that Atwood released it's follow up "The Year of the Flood" this year. Being a fan of apocalyptic fiction, I am excited to finally own it. Now to figure out when to read it!!
Crooked Little Vein - Warren Ellis
I first saw this book on a Goodreads members book shelf, and thought the storyline was something I would enjoy reading. It's gotten very mixed reviews, which is always a hook for me. I can't wait to see which side of the fence I will be on.
If On A Winter's Night A Traveler - Italo Calvino
This one was added to my pile because many of my Goodreads Friends have read it, and THEY give it mixed reviews, which is an EVEN BIGGER HOOK for me!! I have not read any books written in second-person before, so this should make for an interesting read if for no other reason.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
One of those timeless classics that should be on everyone bookshelf. The setting, the story... I have always meant to pick it up and read it, but couldnt justify spending the money on it when I had so many other books to buy. And it's one of those novels that is never at a booksale.
Post what's new on YOUR to be read pile and link me back to it by leaving a comment here.
Creating a Book Cover
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Does Font Matter?
I don't think I have ever really paid attention to the font choice of the books I read. While I have never turned a book away based solely on font, I am aware that some type fonts are generally easier on the eye than others.
Watching the video (linked above) gave me a better understanding of the publishing process. The Typographers make each text sound alive, don't they? Some are snobby and stuck up, some are playful and fun, they can even be sexy and alluring.
I was surprised that I recognized many of the fonts they discussed. This, of course, will lead to a new book obsession for me - how the font fits the novel it was chosen for.
Do you have a favorite font to read? to write in? Post a comment and let me know.
By the way, this makes me yearn something awful for a job in publishing...
Author Interview w/ Patrick Wensink
According to his Goodreads profile.."he has done a lot of things he is not proud of. But he's also done some pretty interesting stuff. Over the years he has bottled and sold his own line of Wentastic BBQ Sauce, got married in a doughnut shop and even found the time to author a few greeting cards."
He had a fun time answering the following questions. I had a fun time reading them, and I hope that you do too!!
Who was your role model growing up and why? Who is your role model now?
Uhhhmmmmm, this is when I’m supposed to say Gandhi, right? Or, wait, no, Abe Lincoln. Yes, Abraham Lincoln. But I’m a writer and writers always say Shakespeare, don’t they? Crap! How about that time Lincoln and Shakespeare arm-wrestled? I think Gandhi was the ref.
At what age did you first start writing?
I’m not one of those guys who wrote a book in grade school. In fact, anyone who claims to have written a work of fiction that young is probably a liar. And if they are a liar, well, they’re probably a good writer. Damn. I did a lot of journalism in college and worked as a rock critic for many years. That was good training, since entertainment writing lets you be more creative than hard news. Somewhere along the line I started writing fiction and that gradually swallowed my urge to write newspaper stuff until all I did was fiction. According to my records, this was some time in the last decade.
What was the writing and publishing process like for Sex Dungeon For Sale!?
I actually pitched Eraserhead Press a novel I wrote, but they said they wanted something shorter from first-time authors. Luckily, I had a desk drawer full of funny, weird short stories that had been published a little, but mostly not. My editor read them and, I think, got back to me within a few days and said Eraserhead wanted to publish it. Then we hired a group of market researchers and scientists to help come up with a title that showcased my grace, class and dignity. They suggested we call it “Sex Dungeon for Sale!” and the rest is history.
Describe Sex Dungeon for Sale! in 5 words.More Fun Than A Mustache
Which of the short stories do your readers seem to enjoy reading the most? Which did you enjoy writing the most?
The cool thing about “Sex Dungeon for Sale!” is that everyone gravitates toward separate stories. It’s like a Rorschach Test of your sense of humor. Millionaires and important politicians gravitate toward “My Son Thinks He’s French,” probably because it’s funny. While Astronauts, avant-garde sculptresses and submarine captains lean more toward “The Many Lives of James Brown’s Capes,” probably because it’s also funny. However, ballerinas, private detectives and the Sasquatch seem to enjoy “Pandemic Jones,” which isn’t really funny at all, but a longer noir-type story about a pharmaceutical company conspiracy. Oddly, some people really enjoy the Foreword I wrote, which is basically making fun of pretentious forewords in books by telling some rambling, esoteric story about Nazi spies and Bruce Willis.
Personally, I felt like I really found my voice when I wrote “My Son Thinks He’s French”. It was funny, but had a strong emotional core, which is what I shoot for. It was one of the first stories I had published in a lit magazine (Hobart) and I am still proud of that little guy.
What are you reading right now? What books are currently sitting in your TBR pile?
Eerily enough, I was halfway through “Ray” by Barry Hannah when he died this past week. I’m also reading Will Self’s “Junk Mail” which is a collection of his newspaper articles.
My TBR shelf is large, as I’m a compulsive book buyer. Especially at yard sales and thrift stores. One new book I’m very excited about is James Greer’s “The Failure.” James is a cool guy and has said some very nice things about my work in the past. I cheated and read the first chapter and am very eager to continue.
Which 5 books would you save if your house were on fire?
1. “How to Save the Really Important Stuff from a Burning Home”; 2.“Firefighting for armatures”; 3. “Arson and Insurance Money Made Easy.”; 4. “Fodor’s Guide to Caribbean Islands for the Recently Wealthy”; 5.“The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor” .
What is your take on eBooks and eReaders, both as an author and a reader?
I don’t own an e-reader and “Sex Dungeon for Sale!” isn’t available as an e-book yet. But I have no problem with the format. Anything that encourages people to buy books and keep reading seems like a good thing to me. It does make me feel bad for bookstores, though. I used to live in Portland, OR and Powell’s Books is home to many happy memories for me.
What books/authors/websites would you recommend to our audiance?
I always recommend “U.S.!” by Chris Bachelder. That’s one of those brilliant books that shocks me when nobody’s heard of it. It’s about a group of liberals who bring Upton Sinclair back from the dead, only to see him assassinated over and over and over again. It’s hilarious and poignant.
How did you become the proud creator of Wentastic BBQ sauce? Where did your obsession with all things BBQ originate from?
What’s that AC/DC song, “It’s a Long Way to the Top if Want to Make Barbecue Sauce?” About five years ago I began brewing up my own barbecue sauce and canning it to give to friends as a gift. (Part of the joke was that the label featured a picture of me, cross-eyed drunk)I got lots of positive responses and very few cases of food poisoning, so I began selling it at a street fair in Portland. I actually wrote an article about my experience called “Anarchist Clowns Stole My Money,” it’s up on my website (www.patrickwensink.com/nonfiction). I have since moved across the country and dedicated way more time to writing, so, sadly, the Wentastic BBQ Sauce Company has closed its doors.
Thanks for the questions. I had a lot of fun answering them. Hopefully I didn't ramble too much.
Not at all, Patrick! Thanks so much for allowing me this opportunity to let everyone take a peek inside the head of a bizarro fiction writer!!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Author Interview w/ Kevin Sampsell
Without further ado....
When did you first start writing? Can you remember what your first story was about?
Well, my first stabs at creative writing were song lyrics when I was in elementary and middle school. Then I heard Henry Rollins doing weird spoken word stuff when I was in high school and I thought that was funny so I started writing stuff like that. I don't think I started writing stories or personal essays until I was about 24 or 25. I think my first story was about a guy who hangs out at the library and draws pictures of toasters while vandalizing phone books. I guess that must have been back in the days when they had phonebooks at libraries. I remember my brief time living in Fort Smith, Arkansas, thumbing through phonebooks from other cities at the library. But that story was NOT autobiographical!
Tell me how your publishing comany - Future Tense Books - came to be. What does a day in the life of a publisher look life?
I started Future Tense in 1990, basically to publish my own crappy little chapbooks of poetry. A couple of years later, I started publishing other people and getting more serious about it. Well, at least as serious as one can be while stapling books in my kitchen. A day in the life? Reading as much as I can and bossing my intern around. And of course, stapling.
Of all your published books, which was the hardest for you to write? Which are you most proud of?
Definitely A Common Pornography for both. It was the only book I've written that has brought me to tears. So my secret hope is that readers also shed tears when they read it. I mean it's only fair, right? As far as fiction goes, I'd say that Creamy Bullets is a good example of what I do there and it's my longest book too.
The book I'm most proud of being a part of as a publisher was Please Don't Kill the Freshman by Zoe Trope. The author was still in high school when I published that chapbook and then she got a big book deal before she even graduated. That was a pretty crazy thing to be a part of. That book turned out to be a hugely influential young adult
when HarperCollins republished it in 2003.
"A Common Pornography" covers some embarrassing, sensitive moments from your life. What were you thinking as you were writing it (both originally, and this time around)? Were you worried how your family and the public would respond to it? Is there any one particular memory that your readers feel most drawn to?
I think you just get to a certain age (late 30s and 40s for me) where you don't care anymore. Hahaha. If I had to write about really embarrassing stuff from the past few years it might be harder, especially if other friends or family were involved. But either way, if you're going to tell stories from your life, you have to dig into those deep uncomfortable moments. And you can't worry about what certain specific people think. You'd get stuck or you'd hold back all the time if you worried about your dear old aunt or sweet little nephew. You can't please everyone all at once.
The parts that readers are responding to is really interesting for me. Everyone has a different thing they latch onto. Some people respond to the family stuff, some relate to the nostalgic childhood stuff, and of course some people just want to talk about the porn stuff. But no matter what part they want to talk about, I think it's the honesty at the root of it all that people appreciate.
Are you currently writing a new book? What is the next book we can
expect to see from your publishing company - Future Tense Books?
I'm going to try a novel next, I hope. And I do think I'll do another memoir thing but probably not for another ten or twenty years. In the meantime, I hope to publish some more short stories and essays here and there.
As far as Future Tense goes, I'm about to release a cool little book of poetry collaborations by Zachary Schomburg and Emily Kendal Frey. And then later this year, there's a flash fiction chapbook by Prathna Lor and a weird, funny novella by Jamie Iredell.
Who was your role model growing up, and why? Who do you admire today?
Growing up, I'm not sure. I didn't have a really strong role model in my actual life. I was a big basketball fan though and I loved Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks. That whole 1983 championship team. That's probably kind of sad, I know. When I got a little older, I found other people who inspired me though. Calvin Johnson, the singer of Beat Happening and record label guy behind K Records was a big influence. He was how I learned about DIY. Of course, there are writers and publishers who I look up to as well--Dave Eggers and McSweeney's were really big deals to me when I first discovered them about ten years ago. Other writers who multi-task: Michelle Tea, Davy Rothbart, Jonathan Ames, Dan Clowes, Steve Almond, Chelsea Martin, Miriam Toews, and my fiance, Frayn Masters (who writes, does sketch comedy, directs, and produces a storytelling show in Portland).
If your house were on fire, and you could only rescue 5 books from your bookshelves, which 5 would you save and why?
My signed copy of Stories in the Worst Way by Gary Lutz (my favorite book ever), Facing the Music by Larry Brown, Cruddy by Lynda Barry, Home Land by Sam Lipsyte, and my signed copy of Barry Hannah's Ray (He wrote: To Kevin, Sabres Up!).
What were the last 3 books you've read? What books are sitting in
your To Be Read pile?
I read Jamie Iredell's spectacular book, Prose. Poems. A Novel. And also: The Ticking Is the Bomb by Nick Flynn and Justin Taylor's great story collection, Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever. The books I'm reading now, or soon are: Willy Vlautin's Lean On Pete (he's someone I will read anything by, forever. He's that good.), The Mercy Papers by Robin Romm, and the controversial Reality Hunger by David Shields.
What is your take on eBooks and eReaders, both as an author and a reader?
I don't really think ebooks are going to take over, at least not for regular books. Maybe for some magazines and newspapers. I read some stuff online and on devices but I prefer to hold books.
What authors/books/websites would you recommend to our readers
out there?
Authors: Lipsyte, Toews, and Lutz. But also specific books like I Remember by Joe Brainard, Letters to Wendy's by Joe Wenderoth, Stop- Time by Frank Conroy, and all the great funny writers like Terry Southern, Mark Leyner, and Harry Crews. Also, Wells Tower, Diane Williams, William Gay, Lewis Nordan.
Websites: The Rumpus, HTMLGIANT, Powells.com, Elimae, Hobart, Bookslut, Identity Theory. And of course, futuretensebooks.com
A huge thank you again to Kevin for agreeing to be interviewed, and for allowing us to get to know him better, as a writer and publisher!! Be sure to check out his blog, and his books.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Mastering the Dream
4 Stars - Strongly recommended
pgs:107
Thanks to author Kelly Lydick for sending me a copy of this experimental work of fiction for review.
Mastering the Dream takes us on the emotional journey of a young woman named Marie. Written in a multitude of forms, spanning her past and her present in journal entries and letters written to her future self from her past self, we witness her swift mental decline and her slow and painful climb back up into sanity.
Marie, like many of us, questions the existence of God. Though unlike many of us, she appears to agonize over it. She ponders the past, present, and future of everything around her in excess, which I believe eventually takes its toll on her mental and physical health.
There is a point in the novel where Marie fears that she will fade out of existence, that by forgetting the placement of freckles she may forget herself. There is a panicky anxiety to her... her inability to sleep at night, her attention to breathing... Which funnily enough I can relate to.
When I was in my teens, I started to experience heart palpatations, which scared me half to death. I would notice them more at night, when I was laying down trying to sleep.. so, many nights found me pacing the bedroom floor, wringing my hands, and drinking water just to keep my body moving, because if I was moving, then my heart was beating...and I was terrified to fall asleep for fear of not waking back up.
In my opinion, the risks Kelly Lydick takes by telling her story in multiple formats paid off. At times, her methods added a frantic, paronoid pace. The further into the novel I got, the more I felt sure that Kelly was writing from personal experience herself. It felt a little too real to be written purely fiction. But again, that is only my opinion.
Bazell's Mob-tastic Masterpiece?
3 Stars - Recommended to readers familiar with genre
Pgs:336
Have you ever read a book that was all hyped up, recommended by everyone who read it to everyone who hasn't, and wondered if you had read the same thing everyone else had read???
Have you ever read the back cover of a book and thought "Hey! This sounds like something right up my alley!" and then proceeded to read it and realised that it really wasn't what you thought it was about, and wondered what book the person who wrote the blurb had read???
I'm kinda torn here. Which is a strange for me. I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me - See, this was part of a pack of books that Regal Literary mailed me for review. I worship the ground Michael Strong walks on, and look forward to reading more of the books they are associated with.... They do a great job of sending me books that match my tastes. And there really was nothing wrong with the book at all. I thought it was well written, fast-paced, and it held my interest the entire time I was reading it.
Were there moments of "oh yeah right, there is no way anybody would/could do that"? Sure. Like when our guy Peter Brown slices his leg open in a walk in freezer, breaks it's fibula and removes the bone with his own two hands, and uses it as a weapon. - But those moments were few and far between.
Were there moments of "in your dreams, buddy"? Uh huh, yup. Like when our same hero walks into an elevator, makes small talk with a hot chick, and suddenly she is pulling the STOP button to do it "aerosmith" style. - Not enough to take away from the big picture though.
Mostly it was just a cool little story about a guy who was once involved in some messy shit with the mob, put his time in for a crime he sort of didn't commit, entered the witness protection program, and tryed to move on with his life. There was no real race to beat death, not in the sense that the back cover blurb made it seem like. And there was no case of dual identities or split personalities, as the back cover blurb also made it seem like. Just a straight up story of a repentant dude having some bad shit finally catch up to him.
I just didn't see what all the fuss was about. I'm not screaming from the rafters about it. I wasn't left with the feeling that I had just read the next best book. I liken this to one other reading experience Ive had.. and that was with Joshua Ferris's "And Then We Came To The End": A good book that was hyped to hell and just didn't live up to all of it... for me.
I allowed the hype to build this book up. It's not the author's fault. The fault lies completely with me. No one made me set those expectations. I did it to myself.
I almost wish I could turn back the clock and read it without ever having heard a word about it from anyone else. Perhaps I would have been one of the ones raving about it? Where's that damn time machine when you need one, huh?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Author Interview W/ Ben Tanzer
How long have you been writing? When did you first realise that this was something you wanted to do for a living?
I have been writing for about 11 years. I first had the idea that I might need to be a writer when I was a senior in high school and forced to take a creative writing class. I thought about it a lot in college, and even took another creative writing class which I did not enjoy, the older students were really harsh and I never had any good ideas for stories anyway, and then I obsessed over my desire to write for much of my twenties, endlessly writing down lists of stories I might someday tell.
As I hit thirty though, I thought now, I must start now, nothing is happening for me, nothing I want, and then there was a call from someone I know who was thinking about leaving her husband, and I got very upset and started obsessing what it meant, for them and for their kids, and for me and my wife. I was really spinning and I felt like the only thing that was going to make me feel better was writing.
So sitting in bed next to my wife I wrote this story about a guy leaving his family. It was one of the stories that had been sitting on one of my endless lists of stories I would one day write. Once I finished that one, I couldn't stop and here we are.
What was the strangest job you've ever held, and why did you leave it?
I suppose the strangest job I've ever held was working in a law firm right after I graduated from college. Okay, it wasn't strange, just not fun. And I left because everyone I worked with was so unhappy, which just sucked and made everything I was building there seem very unpromising. Ultimately, I may have found a law job I liked, and may have even started writing as well, but hating that job was helpful, because it led me to make some changes, and try other things, like social work, and moving from San Francisco to New York, and then on to Chicago, all of which I want to believe has played a role in making me who I am as the person and the writer I am now. Of course, I may be wrong about all of this, but if I am it doesn't change the fact that it was a job that really sucked.
How would you describe your online blog and 'zine?
They are related and yet not. The blog was created because I thought I needed a platform for hustling my books and I wanted to create a vibe like the monorail episode of The Simpsons. In that episode which is based on the Music Man this guy convinces the citizens Springfield that they need a monorail because it will not just make their lives better it will make the whole world a beautiful place. Of course they don't need one and it won't make their lives better. Building on this I decided to create a blog that would be like a faux corporate blog where my books were products that changed people's lives, sometimes for the better.
I also thought though that I should use the blog to brand myself, thinking that some people might be drawn to how I see the world and what I like to riff on and this might make them more drawn to the things I am working on. So, I endlessly hype myself, but I also hype all the things I like and celebrate which in my fantasy world becomes intertwined into this brand. As I created this platform, I also thought though why just hype what I like, this has to be fun as possible for me as well, so why not use it to pursue other interests that further build the brand, but also support those I want to support.
The zine then grows out of this desire. It represents things I feel compulsive about, writers, street art, music; it supports or exposes the work we highlight to a wider audience and it extends my brand, and my completely fake goal of presenting that which I like most, including myself, as a lifestyle choice a la, Martha Stewart, Oprah or Tony Hawk.
How do you manage to balance your time between publishing books, writing for and running TBWCYL and This Zine Will Change Your Life, and having a personal life?
Some of this magic of course, my herd of unicorns and team of gnomes rock, but really, it's a variety of things that more or less work. Part of it is keeping the fat in my schedule to a minimum, which means I rarely treat any time as down time, no Seinfeld marathons, no naps, and much less drinking than in the past. I am also constantly slotting or scheduling things, looking for potentially open times in my calendar and then deciding what might be done then. With the zine, it helps that I am just part of a team and that everyone plays a role, with my role now mainly being air traffic control. I have to skip things of course. Or put them off.
I make sure I write at least 30 minutes more or less every day, but rarely get to write more than that, which means the various writing projects I'm working on take longer than maybe I would like. I also don't sleep a lot, but by choice, though from what Dr. Oz says, this isn't the best strategy among the many I factor into what I am trying to do or not do.
Of all your published books, which was the hardest for you to write? Which are you most proud of?
I would say they were all hard in the same way. Meaning, once I have an idea getting started is not so hard, there are little glitches along the way, but when I'm ready to write, I write. What's hard is after taking a break and coming back to something, and then trying to decide if it's really what I intended it to be. Does it flow like it did in my head? What needs to be cut? Do the various threads get pulled together?
Also, and maybe more important, does it look, read, taste, whatever, like what I hope something I write will look, read and taste like. Is it stripped down, driven by dialogue and anger and struggle, but funny and slamming, something that tries to mash Bruce Springsteen, David Cronenberg and the Ramone's together, but without their talent? Given this, I imagine the book I am currently shopping around is the hardest, because I'm in the middle of it, and it might not quite be ready, though if it isn't how can I get it there?
In terms of being proud, I'm proud of all of them, but that's wishy-washy, so let's say Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine, because I was proud to write a book, any book, and I did with Lucky Man, but I was worried I wouldn't be able to do so again, at least something I liked, but I did, and it's out there, and this is good, for me anyway.
What was the thought process that went into the short story collection Repetition Patterns?
I had a bunch of story ideas all piled-up, that seemed like they could be related, but didn't yet have any direction or form. Meanwhile, I was reading these various short story collections I really liked, When The Messenger is Hot, Drown, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake, The Bridegroom, and I was really taken with how they all seemed to be of a certain time and place, and as I thought about these collections and my stories, I wondered if I could so something like that, write some stories that might all take place in a place like my hometown around the time I grew-up, and as I thought about this, the stories started> coming together and then I sat down and wrote the first drafts over 2-3 months.
Some of the stories in Repetition Patterns contain teenage promiscuity> and abnormal parental behaviors... Do you ever worry about how a reader,> friend, or family member may react to you writing?
One thing I have to say, and especially with Repetition Patters, is that as a whole, these stories are fiction and the elements in these stories that reflect any one person or event are slight because they are merged into other people and events and memories. Also, these are stories influenced by events that took place at some other time and some other place and while they stuck with me it's not clear they stuck with anyone else. Plus, I would rarely write about something that was especially hurtful or embarrassing to someone that I am in regular contact with.
That said, on occasion people have just popped-up again out of nowhere who might recognize something less than flattering about themselves from whatever time and place we crossed paths for whatever length of time that was and when that has happened I have felt self-conscious and bad about it.
Now if you're question is also in part about how friends or family members will look at me or think about me after reading these things, that I don't worry about, again I'm not embarrassed about the little that might tie to me directly, it's who I am, or was, and I think as writers we need to give that up.
Repetition Patterns was published by CCLaP as an eBook. What is your> take> on eBooks and eReaders, both as an author and a reader?
Good question. I am of two minds on this. As a writer, and a very obscure writer at that, I think eBooks and e-anything is great because I want my stuff to get out there and this accomplishes that and if it sucks in some more people, generates some more fans and possibly makes some more money, awesome.
As a reader though, this kills me, I loved books before I could even read, the look of the spine, the feel of the pages, carrying a book around in my pocket or a bag for weeks on end, seeing them lying on the table next to my bed, and across my bookshelf, or better a bookstore, and so when thinking about that stuff, and I do, I hate that the whole feeling of loving books as a sentient experience may slowly get lost.
If your house were on fire, and you could only rescue 5 books from your> bookshelves, which 5 would you save and why?
Five is tough. And wrong to even ask. Still here are 5 I could see favoring if forced or on fire: The Basketball Diaries, Jim Carroll; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson; The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury; Cruddy by Lynda Barry and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver.
Now with your indulgence, I do have a second 5 I would grab if I had some help from say my sons or a really well-trained dog: Meditations from a Moveable Chair, Andre Dubus; Radiant Days, Michael Fitzgerald; Carrie, Stephen King; American Skin, Don DeGrazia and Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid on Earth, Chris Ware.
Finally, and sorry, really, as a shout-out to myself at fifteen and in recognition of J.D. Salinger's recent passing: The Catcher in The Rye.
What authors/books/websites would you recommend to our readers out there?
You know, I'm a terrible name dropper, though saying that I will still miss some people or places I think people should check out. But having said that, and even having referenced some of the books and authors above that I really love, this still leaves many authors and/or bloggers I hope your readers will take a look at: Tim Hall, Mary Miller, Scott McClanahan, Mel Bosworth, Collin Kelley, Claudia Smith, Jim Ruland, Barry Graham, Matt Bell, Jason Fisk, Jason Jordan, Ken Wohlrob, Shannon Burke, Benjamin Carr, Kendra Grant Malone, Lindsay Hunter, Corey Mesler, S. Craig Renfroe, P.H. Madore, Spencer Dew, John Domini, Amy Guth, Kyle Beachy, Nick Ostdick, Jamie Iredell, Kristin Fouquet, Pete Anderson, Caleb Ross, Matt DeBenedictis, Steve Lafler, Michael Kimball, Keidra Chaney, Peter Schwartz, J.A. Tyler, Mary Hamilton, Gina Frangello, David Masciotra, Elizabeth Crane, Brandon Will, B.L. Pawelek and William Walsh to name a few.
I would add some zines, zine-like joints or presses: Dogzplot, Annalemma, Knee-Jerk, Hobart, THE2NDHAND, CellStories, decomP, Prick of the Spindle, PANK, Full of Crow, Artistically Declined, Featherproof, Dispatch Litareview, ML Press, Future Tense, Microcosm, Monkeybicycle, Thieves Jargon, Necessary Fiction, Opium, Another Chicago Magazine and Caketrain.
And then I would also throw-in a handful of arts and culture type blogs that just rock: CCLaP, Orange Alert, The Scowl, Baby Got Books, The Page 69 Test, Largehearted Boy, HTML Giant, Big Other and Deckfight.
Cool?
Oh yes, Ben, Totally Cool!!
Author Interview w/ Michael Horvath
(photo © Stephanie Bart-Horvath 2010)
I understand that you are the Director of Aquisitions for an art gallery in NYC. Can you explain a bit about your art background and how you became an author?
Basically, ever since I was six or so, and got a lot of strokes for my drawing ability, I wanted to be an artist, knew I was going to be an artist, so my direction was set. I was a shy and obsessive kid and kept to myself much of the time. Really, I don't feel I had much of a choice. When I entered the University of Akron's art program, I met others like me, which sealed the deal, once I had a supportive community. This was in the mid-70's, and the faculty was young and very plugged in to what was going on, and a really great local music scene was developing, and there was a sense of community and energy. It was great! One of the guys in Devo taught there for a while, so there were many ideas floating around... I was writing art reviews for the University newspaper. I met people who were influential to my thinking, so that was good.
As for writing, a lonely kid with curiosity and a lot of time on his hands has to do something to kill time. I loved reading and would obsess on my favorite authors at the time--HP Lovecraft, Poe, Kafka. They all wrote evocative stories, which put you "there," so this escape put me "elsewhere" which is what i was after... I would try to mimic their styles in my early attempts I took one creative writing course in college, and had my first story published in the first issue of YAWP, the literary magazine started by the teacher of the CW course. He became a poet of some renown, and was very supportive of my work. I think his name was Elton Glaser, but I'm terrible remembering names. I concentrated on the art and didn't start writing again until 1995, when I worked myself out of my home studio with a series of 34 concrete sculptures, and started jotting notes for the story that became Graphite.
Since I read certain authors voraciously and was mesmerized by the the work of specific artists, it all mulched up in my mind, and I cannot differentiate how one affects the other-- it is all of a piece, and my creative mentality, I guess.
What was the strangest job you have ever held?
Without a doubt it was it was the summer I spent counting traffic at the AM and PM rush hours-- 6-8 AM and 5-7 PM-- for the city of Akron. They had been using mechanical pneumatic counters with long hoses across the highway; cars registered 2 signals, the front and back wheels, trucks at least twice that. But the City had to verify the numbers with humans.The split shift was absolute hell. Those were my party days, and I was usually late picking up my partner to go on-site. they moved us all over the place. The point, I guess, was to count the truck traffic for proper taxation. Big semi's rolling over the hoses with their 12 wheels or whatever would sever them and screw up the data. So we had to do it by hand on clipboards that had counters on 2 sides, one for cars, the other for trucks. And then back to the site at 5PM for the evening rush. Excruciating.
I later sublimated the monotony and repetition of that job, however, for my senior show when I sequestered myself in the University gallery until I completed One Million Marks, which was a grid of scratch marks--four vertical marks with a diagonal slash through them. I lived in the gallery until my task was finished, nine days and four hours. Beautiful huge drawing, 9 x 11 feet, in vermillion on the bumpy white plywood walls, which appeared to waver in pink patterns... And thus, I became a millionaire.
Who are you most influenced by? Has anyone ever compared your writing style to another author?
I am most influenced by writers who have the ability to put me "there." I admired Lovecraft, despite all his excess, for his ability to drag you through his various hells by a steady stream of poignant sensory details. He had good pay-offs, too, his climaxes quite satisfying. Kafka, ditto. I read William Gibson's Neuromancer about ten times. Martin Amis and Will Self blow me away... There are so many good writers out there that, in order to write, I quit reading. Apparently I have hit my saturation point for input, and must now output. Artists that have influenced me most are Caravaggio, Leonardo, Duchamp, Chris Burden... I could go on and on.
As for comparisons, you compared me to Nabokov, and let me say here that I am unworthy! He is the best writer in any--and all--languages. I started re-reading Lolita a few years back and just had to put it down. His sentences are so loaded and perfectly phrased that it would have taken me years to get through it. Like eating lobster at every meal.
I do obsess over my writing, though Nabokov-esque quality is every writer's goal, I would think.
What was the writing and publishing process like for you?
It was a rush and a thrill and very daunting. But my editor, John Paine, shepherded me through the process in a fairly painless way, and made good suggestions about the pacing and plotting, as did my publisher, Chris Sulavik. I was well mentored, and it helped my confidence a great deal. Thank you, guys.
Your novella "Graphite" follows an eccentric on a journey to Graphite, a strange and foreign city where everything and everyone is covered in a fine gray powder, to discover why his beloved pencils keep breaking. In "Brighter", we are introduced to a unique world where a war is brewing between two different classes of artist, and bear witness to the Proof - an ancient and deadly test that is both an honor and a humiliation. How did you come up with these story ideas?
As an unrepentant eccentric thinker, I was just following my instincts and letting go. Graphite started with a note card while I was working myself out of my studio with the sculptures. And then another, seemingly unrelated note to myself, and then another, and so on until I had a pile of these obscure and unrelated observations started to coalesce into a unified and strange fantasy. Puns and a mordant sense of humor have always set my mind in motion, and it all whirl-pooled into Graphite, the story. I must say it was one of the most interesting and profound creative processes I've experienced. It really opened my eyes. In fact, Graphite almost wrote itself. So I just trust that process, trust my gut.
Looking at my body of written work, I tend to write strident satires about odd and needy people who get what they think they want, and the consequences that follow. I have a dark sense of humor, and enjoy flexing it.
Are you currently working on another project?
I have several stories in eternal revision, and a rough draft of a novel that needs expansion. My life is hectic and time is hard to come by, so I don't get to my creative work as much as I want.
Which authors do you enjoy reading?
Martin Amis, Will Self, Kafka, I would like to read Moby Dick again... but my time restraints declare: write it or read it!
What is your take on E-books and E-readers, as an author and reader?
I like it, and it is the obvious new frontier: Green Lit. On the other hand, I love the book as an object, a portable repository of info and adventure. I also appreciate the book as an art object, my wife, Stephanie, is a great designer, and the aesthetics involved in designing a book are as complicated as creating a painting.
If your house was on fire, and you could only rescue 5 novels from>> your>>> bookshelves, which 5 would you save and why?
Tough question, and unfair. But OK--in no particular order: Moby Dick--the Great American Novel of revenge and obsession, and everything you wanted to know about whales. London Fields--Martin Amis is a funny, ironic, mean and poignant writer, and I dearly love all his work. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas--Hunter Thompson's Howl, and it is a howl, even though it isn't a novel. My Idea of Fun by Will Self, dark and bitter wit. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, the other Great American Novel, a monster book of spiritual devastation by a fearless writer. These are the very books I should use as kindling to start the fire in my library and free myself of their influence...
What authors/novels/ websites would you recommend to our audience?
Well, Brighter Graphite is book that immediately comes to mind...
Every writer I have mentioned is eminently worth reading. My advice to adventurous readers is to take chances on authors they have never heard of, read the backs of new books, look for the new guard. As for websites, I end to focus on sports sites (I am a devoted Cleveland sports fanatic, for some reason. I went to the Catholic grade-school that was folded into another Catholic grade school that LeBron James attended... Sports are a matter of faith for fans in northern Ohio. I also read a great deal of science-oriented websites. And humor sites, I like to laugh, or I'll cry.
The best general recommendation I can offer to everyone is use your time well. Time is the currency of life.
Thanks so much for agreeing to answer these questions. It's wonderful to get to know the person behind the book!
It was my pleasure; thank you for giving me this opportunity to rant.
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