Adventures in Literature

I’m sure by now most of the folks I know have seen this shot Cary took of me, which was posted on his blog, Dr. Frank’s, and now this one. If not, here you go:

I was stoked when Frank took the requests and played one of my favorite songs at his release party, which I streamed online before bed Tuesday night. My wi-fi cut out right as the second bridge of Population: Us came to an end. If this had to happen, it was as good of a time as any:

“conversation, exploration, manipulation, stimulation, penetration, consummation, procreation, domestication, population: us…”

Consider the Lobster

For #37 we popped in an abridged version of David Foster Wallace’s Consider the Lobster. The audiobook features four of the longer essays taken from the “real” version, tied together by what themes I’m not sure. (Question: Do abridged books count? My vote is yes, if only because I already abandoned another half-listened-to audiobook [or three] out of boredom. Naysayers feel free to speak your peace in the Comments section.)

Foster makes great observations, like: “As a tourist, you become economically significant but existentially loathsome, an insect on a dead thing.” He exhibits his strength as a reporter while researching questions that lack easy answers, such as: “Do lobsters feel pain?”

Dave Eggers has praised Wallace for having multiple writing styles and voices he can turn on and off  at will (I wish I could find a link for this). In this recording, parenthetical asides are given an alternate, muffled recording sound, to keep the reader from getting confused. I’ve never read DFW’s fiction, which could be another goal to make before the year is over (I’m tempted to make Infinite Jest my final book this year, but this might be a little ambitious. I wouldn’t be opposed to waiting for INFINITE SUMMER in 2010, if it happens again.).

It’s difficult to imagine the author of these essays ending his own life a few years after their publication, but what’s done is done. This collection might have been a strange introduction to Wallace The Writer—outside of some interviews and an article he wrote about John McCain—but it’s also the only audiobook of his the Birmingham Public Library had on file (c’mon BPL, get it together).

Right now we’re taking a little too long to get through a modern poetry book. Also, did you get my note about the return of WEEKLY FIZZ?

Smart Cat

Taken from Yewknee.

The Beatles

To hear Bob Spitz’s version of the entire mop top saga, you’ll need some time on your hands. Luckily that’s one of the few perks my day job offers. I listened to #36, rather than read it (this seems to be an ongoing theme, and will continue to be, for better or worse). The 9 discs seemed to go by quickly, making my work far more of a breeze than normal.

One of the things I couldn’t get over was how accident after accident led these four musicians into what eventually became Beatlemania. When Brian Epstein quit everything to manage this band, he couldn’t find them a recording contract. When he finally did, out of impulse he searched the phone book (of all places) and landed on the name George Martin. Martin had never heard the band, but made Epstein sign an agreement to let him be behind all future recordings. Without this spontaneous decision, he might’ve spent the sixties recording comedy records at Abbey Road. See what I mean about the strangeness of it all?

Of course there’s plenty of politics, heartbreak, and complications involved in a story that deals with reaching this level of success and international domination. If you feel like exhausting the topic you can also check out The Anthology DVDs. Some of the information might be repeated from previous biographies, but for the most part Spitz seems to be interested in revealing all new facts, some taken from interviews he conducted for over a decade. He never lingers on a particular phase of the band’s evolution, but keeps plowing on through. Also, his language is solid. I dug it.

Music at the Meelheim

I know it’s tiny, but have your eyes ever seen a flyer prettier than the one below?

Still can’t get over it. Created by the talented Jamison Harper for this upcoming Handwritten Letters show.

Andromeda Klein

Reading the attractive book on the left was one of the highlights of my year. I was able to get Andromeda Klein slightly ahead of schedule, all because Elisa found me an advanced copy.

(Dr.) Frank Portman’s newest novel is hilarious, smart, original, eerie, well-researched, and void of teen stereotypes. It’s hard not to fall in love with skinny, quiet, “weedgie”-obsessed Andromeda, a girl equal parts awkward and hard of hearing, who gives herself meaningful (or meaningless?) tattoos in concealed places. Her parents are a little strange (“the mom” is in her own little world, and “the dad” suspects the government might be surveying his every move).

But perhaps more significantly than these problems, Andromeda’s best friend Daisy is dead. The two weren’t exactly on the best of terms when this occurred either. Luckily, the young occultist has been experimenting with decoding messages from beyond. Unlike Tom Henderson, the Catcher in the Rye-hating narrator of King Dork, she doesn’t understand why people her age are so preoccupied with rock and roll. 14th century Ars nova music is a little more Andromeda’s speed. As they say, alienation makes the world go round.

For years Frank’s writing talent has remained hidden in an (unfortunately) marginal pop-punk band. So it makes me happy that his YA books are finding more exposure (not forsaking the fact that the world can’t have too many MTX records). My own predictions are that just as many imaginative adults will adore this book as peculiar teens. I could keep singing the book’s praises, but wouldn’t you rather order AK and see for yourself? Then, after it becomes available, you could listen to the accompanying 7″ (see artwork and video featuring recording process). Doesn’t that sound like fun? I think so.

*For the sake of archiving where I’m at, this makes 35 out of 52 for 2009.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot

#34 was a book by Sarah Vowell written nearly a decade ago.

A lot has changed in the past ten years. When The Partly Cloudy Patriot was written people were more forgiving of President Bush (even if only mildly so). Also in a pre-911 world, nerds were more hated than celebrated, and people still talked about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These factors and several others kept the book on the dull side for me. Even one of my favorite essays in the collection, “Tom Cruise Makes Me Nervous,” could’ve used a 21st century makeover, since topics like Katie Holmes and Scientology weren’t included. It was less funny and more dated than the other one, but being Sarah Vowell, it still had it’s moments (hearing David Cross voice Teddy Roosevelt was pretty great).

Of course, another big factor may have skewed my “review.” While I listened to the book at work, I longed to be at home reading my fresh, gorgeous copy of #35. That book was so odd and funny, it could only make any other book material feel like homework. We’ll talk it about it as soon as we can.

Things I Thought About Buying at the Book Sale…

Things I Bought at the Book Sale…

Homewood Library Book Sale

It’s short notice, and maybe not interesting to everybody, but a couple of us are scooting up to this Book Sale at the Homewood Library tonight. I took a peek inside the other day, and it looked like a good time. But “FoHo”? Really?

(*Note: I also found this ironic in a funny kind of way. I just finished Andromeda Klein, a book where the protagonist is dealing with the so-called “Friends” of her public library who are weeding out and selling the titles she loves. More to come on that later.)