Books Books Books

We all love the internet – what’s not to love? – but I’m getting concerned that we (and I include myself) are becoming convenience junkies. The biggest danger is the only shopping. I’ve learned to control the ebay impulse – you think drunk dialing is bad, you should see some of the wacky drunk purchases I’ve made – but I have a real online book buying problem.

First of all, booksellers email me about sales and with coupons, because I buy books, so I feel like I’m saving rather than spending. Then, whatever book your looking for, in or out of print, you can pretty much find an affordable copy somewhere on line… unless you want a first edition copy of Gravity’s Rainbow in hb. And, when you’re shopping on line it feels like fake shopping, there’s no money, no slips get signed, but then books show up. Genius.

Here’s what I’ve bought in the past month – mostly on impulse:

Les Jeux Sont Faits by Sartre

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

Absolute Sandman 3 by Neil Gaiman

A Tale of Time City (first ed) by Diana Wynne Jones – I’m slowly trying to collect her books first ed.

Widdershins, Dingo, and Memory & Dream by Charles De Lint

To name a few… Help! I need more book shelves.

Where Am I?

Celeb sighting: Fisher Stevens walking his dog down Abbot Kinney – I almost knocked him down; I was stepping on cracks in the sidewalk.

When did Abbot Kinney get so gentrified? I knew there was a PinkBerry there now, but wow, it’s upscale boutiques from Venice to Main Street. And it’s become a “destination shopping” area; all along the street on a Saturday, women flit in and out of stores, pollinating the cash registers. As much as it’s weird, there are a couple really lovely additions to the block. At the south end of the street there’s a really cool – if overpriced – used bookstore and The Farmacy (same as the one in West Hollywood) has opened a clean, bright Venice location.

Proposed new names for the street: Hampton Kinney, South-by-South-West Hampton, and South Abbot Beach.

Comic Con Rocks!

Not only did we have a fun of ton manning the FanLib booth, but Melanie and I had a great time wandering the Javits Center and taking pix! Here she is with a storm trooper.

We saw Jedi and Indiana Jones and sexy harem ladies. We got schwag and stickers and pins. Melanie got interviewed by David Price of The Middle Show. He asked her when nerd girls got hot; she said they always were. That’s why she’s my best gal.

The highlight of the show, obviously, was Gaiman. Bill Hader intro’ed him, talking about what a rabid fan he is, how Gaiman’s brought him career luck, and doing some impressions of celebrities in Gaiman roles (Vincent Price as Coraline was hy-larious!). Mel videoed him doing Pacino “spitballing” idea on the set of Sandman… imagine Pacino as Sandman…

Anyhoo, Neil was fantastic. Funny, charming, generous of his time and spirit with his fans. He read some short stories, and then the third chapter of his new novel, The Graveyard Book, about a boy raised in a Graveyard by dead folk mostly. The book’s due out in October. Here’s a crappy picture of Neil reading.

I found footage of Neil talking about the CBDLF, from the very beginning of the reading, but the reading itself isn’t up yet. I’m sure someone will post it, there were lots of people with handheld digital cameras.

What a fantastic day.

On a completely different note, Happy Passover all. If you’re not a Jew, and you find it hard to remember what we do at Passover, just remember that while Passover and Easter are celebrated at the same time of year, our food is the opposite of Jesus: unrisen. Good Yontif!

Calling all East Coast Geeks!

This weekend is the New York Comic Con at the Javits Center. If you’re in town, stop by the FanLib booth; we’ll be giving out some cool schwag and you could win a PS3.

And, Neil Gaiman is reading Friday night. Tix were still available as of last night…

If anyone is getting huffy about the title of this post, um I’m the one giving out the info and who works for a fan site… I’m included in the group. Plus, I’ll bite off a chicken’s head if given half the chance.

Looking for a Good Book? Never Fear, Hero is Here!

I just finished Hero by Perry Moore. What a fun read. Recommended by my good friend Roderic, he of the pithy comments, this book has all the elements of a page-turning, loose-yourself-in-it, where-did-the-daylight-go novel. It doesn’t punk out half way, but weighs in at a solid four-hundred-and-some pages, thoroughly exploring the hero, his world, his flaws, and his journey.

Hero is the story of a young man (17-ish), Thom, the son of a discredited super hero, who comes to terms with his both his powers and his sexuality. It has fun characters (Typhoid Larry, The Wrecking Balls, etc), high impact fight scenes, and a true emotional core, exploring Thom’s relationships with his parents, his team mates, and potential romances.

If you’re a fan of YA coming of age novels, super heroes, or gay teen lit, this is the book for you. Wow, how diverse.

Hey Ro, thanks for the rec. I pictured you as Thom.

Challishing and Polishing

In Martha’s Home Housekeeping Book, in the chapter on how to properly keep the room in your home devoted to your library (ha) clean, she says that once a year you should take all the books down, and dust the spines and covers and the shelves. Well, what started out as a simple afternoon activity became a two day project when I realized that my main bookshelf was dangerously dry. I actually felt bad for the poor thing.

So, I took everything off the shelves, organizing the books into groups as I went, then took out all the removable shelves. Using Butcher’s Wax Boston Polish Amber Paste Wax – which I had to special order last year, because it’s the shit and I couldn’t find it in LA – I waxed and buffed the shelves and left them to dry for several hours. Then I alphabetized the books within their groups and re-shelved them. I also took the opportunity to carefully clean and organize random chazzerai and to winnow out some of the clutter.

Flippy True Gear

Sorry I’ve been a bit awol over the holidays. Tried to keep it up, but life is so overwhelming (cue violins…). Now that it’s a new year, and who wasn’t glad to say good-bye to ‘07?, we’ve got a lot to do; to that end, I’ve been reading Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. Not only is it a great resource for spot cleaning – how would one best get old grease off antique porcelain, for example – but it’s actually interesting and soothing in an odd way. Obviously I’m not going to line the sink with a rubber mat every time I do dishes, but I will flush my drains with boiling water once a week, and with baking soda and vinegar once a month. And did you know that home freezers became popular in the 20’s and 30’s? See, interesting and oddly soothing.

Happy New Year everyone.

Top Five Books I Read This Year

In no particular order, here are my favorite books I read this year (not necessarily published this year).

1. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Set during WW2, The Book Thief is the story of a good German family struggling against insurmountable odds. The book is labeled “young adult,” because the protagonist is a teen aged girl, but the material is very mature. Beautiful, sad, and joyful.

2.The Prestige – Christopher Priest
There was a mediocre movie of this, with Christian Bale, the book is much better. Period fiction, competitive magicians, secrets taken to the grave; a page turner.

3.Stardust – Neil Gaiman
It was a reread, but the film came out this year, so… It’s a beautiful little book, a tale much older than it’s publication date. Gaiman manages, as always, to transport the reader and leave reality behind.

4.First Among Sequels – Jasper Fforde
I love the Thursday Next books. This is the latest in the series, number five I believe. If you haven’t read any of his books start at the beginning. They are literate, funny mysteries, set in a world much like ours, but books matter. Wow.

5.Michael Tolliver Lives – Armistead Maupin
Maupin says this isn’t a new Tales of the City book, but it is. So great to see friends you haven’t seen in years.

Not My Favorite Book Of The Year (But That’s Coming…)

Just read Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace, a crime novel set in post WW2 Japan. Perhaps crime is the wrong term, it seems a bit “modern lit” poetic to me, in a way that may have been a nod to Japanese stylized writing, but for me it came off as repetitive and solipsistic.

A series of murder/rapes are committed in Tokyo, and the subsequent investigation sets the frame for the exploration of Japan at the time. The factual information on how life was in Japan post war was fascinating; it was a difficult and confusing time which is rarely explored, at least in Western culture. The crime story itself felt a bit like a long wandering episode of SVU, with the rape victims piling ever higher.

Okay, stop if you hate spoilers.

The biggest problem with the book is the “big reveal.” The whole way through the author reminds us that in post war Japan “no one is who they say they are,” so we know the main detective is most likely not who he claims to be, but to play the, “he’s insane and the whole book was through his perspective so nothing’s really true,” card (phew)… it’s like JR’s shooting being a dream… it’s like in high school math, when they teach imaginary numbers, and tell you everything you ever learned might not be true…

Look, it’s not a bad book, and I’m sure for some it’s even a good book, but I found myself thinking about chores I had to do at times; maybe not a big recommendation from me. I think I’ll cleanse my palate with an Agatha Christie.

Go See Some Art!

Feeling somewhat better. Got out into the crisp, cold New York day. The kind of day that starts out damp and biting, but by the time you’ve strode a mile and a half through the park, you’ve got to dump the hat and unbutton. Mmm, New York winter.

For anyone who’s here, or will be in the next month or so, I’ve taken in a couple of terrific exhibitions which should be seen, if possible.

Today I went to the Jewish Museum, up on 5th Avenue and 92nd Street, to see From the New Yorker to Shreck: the Art of William Steig (now through March 16th 2008); it was lovely. The work reminded me of Addams’, they were contemporaries, but with a looser line. Steig was raised on the LES, and there’s a very Jewish New York sensibility to much of the humor. The most magical part of the show, for me, was the original artwork from Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and the dummy book he made first. Obviously, the original Shreck artwork is a big draw for many, and there were more kids in that part of the exhibit, but they were mostly well behaved.

For those not in New York, or who really hate children, the exhibit is online as well.

The other exhibit was Pricked: extreme embroidery, at The Museum of Arts & Design, on 53rd St. Wow! What an amazing and inspiring show. I’ve been working on a textile project for some time now (soon to be revealed…) and it was so great to see that there are others out there thinking subversively about needlework. The show is not to be missed.

 

Andrea Dezsö, My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though …

It’s Eerie

I just had one of those weird, separated-at-birth moments. USA is showing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this weekend, and I looked up at the screen and saw Johnny Depp, as Willy Wonka, but thought it was Mystery, that weird, Dr. Suess muppet from The Pickup Artist and The Game. How great, I just learned his real name is Erik Von Markovik, like a crazy Eastern European Baron.

She May Be A Tranny, But She’s No Hooker

So much to do; so much to review! Let’s see…

I saw No Country For Old Men on Thursday, it was beautiful, and dark and suspenseful and funny; one hundred percent Coen Brothers. I felt the last fifteen minutes were a bit week and anticlimactic, but I hate spoilers, so I won’t say more. Josh Brolin’s performance is all it’s cracked up to be, and Javier Bardem was scare-ree. Tommy Lee Jones was great, as always. There was no soundtrack to the film, no ambient music, just the sounds of boots on gravel, shotguns cocking, and the tension filled silence; a great choice. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s within sight.