Click, read, buy

1) The Rumpus has been kicking it out 70s-Heart-style. So many of their offerings help me think better. Here are a few of my recent favorites:
The Throwaways by Melissa Chadburn
When Barbara Jean Was Missing by Rebecca K. OConnor
Night Shifts by Elissa Wald
Transformation and Transcendence: The Power of Female Friendship by Emily Rapp

2) In other excellent news, Roxane Gay, one of my favorite essayists, is now their essay editor. This can only mean good things.

3) Here are some books that I am looking forward to reading:
At the Mouth of the River of Bees by Kij Johnson--I've heard many of these stories on various science fiction podcasts and I hope that they will be as good on paper.
Baby Geisha by Trinie Dalton--I really enjoyed Wide Eyed in 2010.
Three Messages and a Warning Eduardo Jiménez Mayo and Chris. N. Brown, editors--Short stories from authors I've not heard about before, published by Small Beer Press. Sign me up.
Nurse Nurse by Katie Skelly--Being the jerko that I occasionally am, I never picked up Nurse Nurse while it was in minis. Now we can get the book from Sparkplug Books and support Skelly and a great press.
The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford--NYRB rarely lets me down. Plus an afterword by Kathryn Davis, what could be better?

4) Dang, Red Lemonade has republished Lynne Tillman's Haunted Houses? I loved that book, especially when the characters kept going to the movies. If you aren't going to get it from the library check it out in this way with one caveat--if you buy the print version, expect the cover to be wimpy. Seriously, the pages of Zazen were creamy and strong, but the cover curled like dead leaf in the autumn of everyday toting. Come on with that.

5) I am working on two things right now that I am excited about. This is unusual and probably means that both are terrible writing. Still, finishing things is the main thing for right now.

What is your thing for right now?

                                                 

hit submit; the library; Shiga's Empire State

I submitted my first flash story to [redacted] today—my first fiction pitch ever. Though I know that I won't hear anything about it for several months, I still feel very excited about the whole thing. I know that the story will be a tough sell, but I am hopeful.

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When it became clear that more time in front of the computer wasn't going to be good for me, I went to the library. I finally returned some books I've had for months and headed to Fiction for something to distract. As I wandered the stacks, composing a post about how browsing in the BPL Central branch is not pleasurable because there are so few books by the authors I am interested in and many, many copies of Lauren K. Hamilton novels, I ran across two small press books in the New Fiction section that I was drawn to: Isle for Dreams by Keizo Hino, published by The Dalkey Archive Press and Follow Me Down by Kio Stark, published by Brooklyn's Red Lemonade. I remembered that there was a Karen Joy Fowler story collection from the 1990s, Black Glass, which was of course not on the shelf in Fiction or SF, but in the basement stacks. After filling out the slip I sat down to read a comic and wait for it to appear on the shelf in the Popular Library.

///\\\

I read Empire State by Jason Shiga.  The first thing I noticed was the book's color pallet, matte shades of red and blue, done digitally by John Pham. The story skips back and forth through time and the colors help place the reader in time. While this worked well as a narrative strategy, the colors felt drab to me and sapped the settings, such as the library, Lake Merritt(?), and NYC, of strength. Since this book is so much about the contrast between places, and the connection between where we choose to live and the way we live our lives, the coloring choice ultimately reduced the power of the story. The book begins in Oakland, CA and follows the main character, a homebody named Jimmy, on an impulsive, love-fueled Greyhound trip to New York to visit Sara, Jimmy's best friend and crush. He convinces himself that the trip is a step towards adulthood, but from the moment he arrives in New York, wide-eyed and Greyhound-stinky, it becomes clear just how much growing up he has to do. Overall, Empire State, while cute, felt too slight for the treatment—more like a mini than a book. More time spent fleshing out the days and nights on the bus and how naive Jimmy responded to them would have served to make the book more satisfying.

Some things that have happened

1.

2. Bologna is a comics town.

3. Thirty-one years old, as of yesterday.

Recent accomplishments

1) Successful pie tasting night. Ate many pie pieces in low light, didn't become ill, and had a wonderful hour with SEC.

2) "Today only" comics bin at Housing Works netted a copy of Bitchy Bitch 13 and Duplex Planet Illustrated 9 for 54 cents. Then I read them on the couch, under the fan.

3) Initiated an interview for try harder. I think it is going to be grand.

4) Did not read Someday This Will Be Funny and The Mechanics of Homosexual Intercourse in one sitting.

5) Gave a young Rolling Stone intern a pep talk about writing that was not bullshit. I think I inspired myself as well.

What have you done recently?

How many boxes?

I am in the middle of a massive move, a mini-rehab and the end of the beginning of the semester. On top of that I am juggling my internship and prospective employment.

All my books are packed away so the best I can promise is a few inkstuds reviews in the coming fortnight.

Say hi to fun for me, ok?

While some may laugh at the time stamp on this post, I must confess to a very good reason for being awake and writing this early.

Oh, you want me to tell you what it is?

Why, the first day of my new internship that's what!

EDITED TO ADD: It was great. In a basement, but great.

exhale

I will announce the winner of the contest on Monday.
Exciting!

((()))'

I am going to spend the dregs of my free time today writing thank yous and perhaps a letter or two. Is it perverse that I like writing thank you cards? I remember thinking it was a chore when I was a kid, but now I guess I only tend receive thankables from people I care for, so it is much more fun now.


I also used to think my relations actually talked amongst themselves and would write little notes within my thank yous telling the recipient to "say hi" to my aunt or grandma or whatever. My mom made me rewrite those notes.

((()))

Some little wishes:
To see all the people I miss in the next few weeks.
To be rocked to sleep by the surety on a train on tracks, destination in mind.
To find yoga clothes that do not offend me.
To muster the will to write everyday.
To get more comments from you!

Contest Update

I am extending the contest deadline until the 13th of December.

Send in your entries!

Spin me a narrative inspired by this search term gem:
"hard won wisdom being honest true asshole."

As always, any bloggable form is acceptable. Email me your entries.
The winning entry will be published here, and you will win a box of amazing from tryharderland.

I've been inspired by a recent school assignment to put my library, even in its diminished state, onto LibraryThing for cataloging purposes. I'm not sure if I have to make it public; if I don't, I might just keep it to myself for awhile.

Does anybody use it for your own library? For your work's library? For your group's library? Let me know!

Edited to Add:
Damn, this is addicting. I've only done 35 books so far and I could stay up all night...

There are no words for this.

From the Philadelphia Free Library's website:
"All Free Library of Philadelphia Branch, Regional and Central Libraries Closed Effective Close of Business October 2, 2009."

The Inquirer covers it here.

Scare tactic or not, I grieve for my hometown.

In fact, I am so disgusted and dumbfounded I can't even write a proper eulogy.

Edited to add:
Here's how the FLP suggests that you help.

Today is Fall

The first toad lily of the season. Pretty, but, a harbinger of cold weather.


A letter to a friend. You should write one too.


Making barley iced tea. Delicious.

I've been reading short stories. Lots and lots of short stories. I keep flitting in and out of all these different worlds. Snow and zoos and kids and dads and dads and cancer and beaches and love. I usually hate this sort of reading experience, but, perhaps because of the heat and the transitional time, I am really enjoying it.

&&&

Reading RASL by Jeff Smith is the antidote to comic book malaise. Though his main character looks disconcertingly short-limbed sometimes, the story is solid and the art is moves everything along. Dimension-jumping has unexpectedly become a theme in my reading the past few months. It's a concept that I'm finding more interesting than time travel or space these days.

RASL and the excellent Poison the Cure (part 3 needs to come out now) are the only two scifi comics that I have ever enjoyed.

&&&

Strange Horizons is having another fund drive. They offer so much goodness for free, they pay their writers, and they obviously need a makeover, though I don't think any of this money is going to cosmetics. Donate now! If you do, let me know!

bits of good

Some thoughts on internet persona and anonymity by bug girl. Work, passion, Darwin and Tootsie all make an appearance.
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Michael Schaub is back at bookslut. Hooray-a-thon. He is hilarious and smart.
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The excellent Matthew Cheney talks about books on a particular shelf over at Strange Horizons. The only downside to the essay is that he opens with a confession of bookshelf voyeurism and I wanted to know more about what he's gleaned about others from their display.
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Cure for the rainy-month blues:
spicy vegetarian chili
iced tea with garden herbs
books set in Seattle, Scotland, Jupiter or beneath the earth
cotton blankets
Maniac Cop

heads, tails, links

A Vermont locale, a collection of comics, zines and ephemera, and treasures from that archive posted on a nicely written blog. What more could you ask for? The Charles Schulz Library
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Some gorgeous photos of people's private oddities.
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Kate Beaton has a wily mermaid tale in the works.
&&&
Do you have an idea for the summer contest yet?

Excitement! My favorite short story comic anthology, Papercutter, has a new issue out. Number 9 includes work by Aron Nels Steinke, Elijah Brubaker, Hellen Jo and additonal art, as usual by by Nate Beaty. I am excited to see Hellen Jo's story and looking forward to seeing some non-autobio from Steinke. I love his art, but his storytelling (at least in Big Plans) is uninteresting at best. Look for a review of this by me sometime soon.
^^^^
"A World Digital Library?"

"Why yes, my masked friend, one does exist."







Check out the list of contributors. The selection isn't too great right now, but it will grow, according to the FAQ.
^^^^
A lecture on mirrors in horror film by a small press writer--what more could you ask for?

new buddies

So, I cleaned up the links a little and added two new ones:

Olduvai is a great book blog with a giant link list. See if you can get away without exploring.

Morbid Anatomy is like a portal into my mind! It's a great resource for creepy and amazing historical medical hoohaery. No only have we read and blogged about a few of the same things, but MA also features an extremely exhaustive link list.

&&&
How about some garden pics?


These are from last week, so the hellebores and daffodil, crocus and tulip shoots are even bigger now.

Bookswappery

2009's first bookswap happened last night. The words are stuck together because it's not really a swap; the rules are that you dump your books on the floor when you roll in and paw through the pile as the night goes on. First come, my friends.

I ended up with Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell and cronopios and fama by Julio Cortazar, which will perhaps help me decide if I actually dig him beyond "A Letter to A Young Lady in Paris."

I burnt the chili a bit, but people ate it anyway. For dessert, SEC brought a delicious pie. Too bad it has sour cream in it, limiting me to one slice for fear of GI repercussions.

Along with chili topping, MM brought me a gift:

It is filled with great advice for the modern home haircutter, such as:
"With layers, the assumption that short hair has limited styling options is false."
"Children make wonderful models for the home haircutter."
"For the teen who wants a braided 'tail,' take a fine parting in the back an leave it much longer than you plan to cut the next parting." Then slap em!

Since I cut my and B's hair, I am hoping to furnish us both with the Children's Unisex cut ASAP. I think it will give us the confidence we need:

Important thing #1

A plane crashed in the Hudson river a few minutes ago, quite close to where I live. It looks like everyone has been rescued which is amazing and wonderful.

This sort of thing is why I never pass up an opportunity to tell those that are close to me how much I love them. You never know when something terrible might happen. That sounds oppressive, but I find it quite freeing because understanding that and being at peace with that means that I can never allow day-today bullshit to get in the way of the important things in my life. Important thing #1 is the people that I have chosen (and not. hi mom and dad!) to fill out my life.

So, my suggestion for inner peace? Write your aunty a letter telling her that you think of her every time you drink a margarita, send your best friend a xerox copy of a note you passed in middle school, thank your brother for being your brother next time you talk, even if you don't do that sort of thing usually.

Deep breaths, kids.

linkulous

Berlin! Jason Lutes gives a great interview over at bookslut. This is the first interview I've ever read with him and he seems like a pleasant and thoughtful guy.

Get lost easily? If it is as bad as this, these scientists want to talk to you:
"Despite a normal cognitive development, this person has never been able to orient in her environment. From about the age of 6 years onwards she recalls panicking at the grocery store each time her mother disappeared from sight. Her sisters or parents accompanied her to school and she never left home by herself because she got lost each time she tried. As a teenager, she relied on friends to accompany her when she left her parents’ house. Neither she nor her parents know of similar navigational difficulties in their family members. She follows strict stereotyped directions to get to the office where she has worked for five years. She knows which bus to take downtown, recognizes a large distinctive square at which she must exit the bus, and then follows a straight route of about 30 meters to locate the tall building where her office is situated. She follows the same path in reverse fashion to get home, although sometimes she gets lost in her neighbourhood and needs to phone her father to ask him to come and get her."
Nightmare!

YA author and science fiction scholar Justine Larbalestier will be answering questions about her writing process all of January! Leave your query here.

Aaaand, I'm finally not sick and in the thick of application time! It's tedious and nerve-wracking at once.

wearing black

I won't be updating for a few days because I will be traveling to D.C. for my grandmother's funeral. She was an easy woman to be impressed by, an easy woman to admire, but a hard woman to love. Now that she is dead she will be reunited with her only love, my grandfather. In fact, she will be buried right on top of him, which is almost overwhelmingly metaphorical. She will be in the ground like so many of her friends, so many people better and worse than her. The most positive lesson I can squeeze from my memories of her is that old age doesn't have to be ugly or boring, especially if you are committed to always learning something new.

I didn't cry when my father called me to tell me that she had died, angry and doped-up, but I did when I saw my address in her writing on an envelope, my name in her hand.