Gasp!

Book Review: The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Diseases You Probably Already Have

My review of The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Diseases You Probably Already Have, by Dennis DiClaudio was published in Monday's Birmingham News. Yes, that would be last Monday.

The book was written by an improv comedian who happens to work at one of the largest medical and scientific publishing companies in the country. A one line snippet: "Dennis DiClaudio has written the perfect guide for people who think they may have a horn growing out of their head."

Next week: Back to a regular posting schedule, whatever that is.

Recap: The Week Thus Far

I didn't mean to take a short hiatus. Suddenly, it's Thursday.

What happened this week?

A few days ago, I celebrated my birthday. I am a big new nameless number. Jethro gave me a cool birthday present, which I heartily recommend for every former New Yorker.

I cleaned my computer desktop of random files. Oops! I accidentally trashed eight hours of research along with those files. So I plunked down the money for data recovery software.

Cats love Rosie Rats. I finally found them on the net.

I've been writing everything I spend, just like Dave Ramsey tells me to do. I even used his envelope system. So far, so good.

Worked on my new writing project, which isn't so new. It feels new, but doesn't have that new car scent.

Speaking of cars, I mourn for the days I could walk to work. Jethro's chick magnet broke down this morning. There's nothing more unattractive than being stranded. Though the sight of a man working on a car is strangely... Well... Anyway...

Book Review: The Harder They Fall

My review of The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Real-Life Stories of Addiction and Recovery by Gary Stromber and Jane Merrill was published in Monday’s Birmingham News. You can also find it online with some weird formatting issues.

66 Laps by Leslie Lehr Spirson

Book Marginalia is a new feature on Gasp. I started it so I could explore genres that I normally wouldn't cover. It is not meant to be a complete review; rather it is more like my personal notebook.

66 Laps, a novel
by Leslie Lehr Spirson
2000, Villard/Random House, page 214

How I received the book: I found it. Literally.

What attracted me: I thought it was Chick Lit. Since I don't read that genre, I read it to expand my horizons.

Plotline: Suburban mother has an affair as revenge against husband. Bad things happen. Dostoevsky meets Chick Lit.

Structure: Standard. Status quo ---> Suspicion ---> Action ---> More Action ---> Climax ---> Ending.

Writing style: Curiously, there were wisps of poetry in the book. A cut above what I would expect from the genre. She also does that "shocking first sentence which stands alone in a paragraph" thing which feels a bit 90s-ish to me. But the book was published in 2000, so I can't complain.

Comment: When I detailed the plotline to Jethro - including the ending - he asked if was diving into my pulp fiction collection again. The ending was that tough.

Analysis: As well, the book points out that there's a huge chasm between the lives of men and women. Men can grow old gracefully, women can't. Men can have affairs, and women can't. A passage in the book reflects the idea that a male perspective is the norm, according to a sociologist. That kind of thing. Main character indulges in the stereotype and then complains about it as well.

Length of time to read the book: One sitting. About the time it took Auburn Tigers to lose to Mississippi State in a football game.

About the Author: This book won the 1998 Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Gold Medal for Best Novella. Also, she wrote the script to "Heartless," which was shown on the USA Network. 66 Laps was her first book. She's written a few other nonfiction books about parenting.

Criticism: I wasn't the intended audience for this book since I tend to be an asexual reader. I don't think about a "female perspective" when I read. For the most part, I've grown out of those limiting "male v. female" beliefs as well. So readers who want to ponder that Chinese finger puzzle would enjoy this book. The pulp fiction elements make it fun. I'd be interested to read her next book, just to see if she's gone beyond her comfort zone.

Brett Somers 1924-2007

One of my all-time favorite people... Even if she was also my competition for Jack Klugman.

Review in Seattle

One of my reviews was published by the Seattle Times. Cool.

Stories of the Great Depression

You can read some terrific family stories of the Great Depression at this forum.

Click quick, I don't know how long the thread will be accessible.

Patrick's Meme

Oy, Patrick Gabridge has tapped me for his meme. It’s called “Five Strengths.” Here’s it is:

"Make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It's not really bragging, it's an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you'd like to see share their strengths."

1) I have lots and lots and lots of ideas. I don’t seem to ever run out of them. In fact, I probably have more ideas for articles, books, films and other creative projects than I will ever be able to implement.

2) I’m very good at taking a form, tinkering with it and creating something new. This extends beyond writing to day jobs. My office resume states that I excel at creating new processes. I gravitate towards cutting-edge, which is probably why theater and I didn’t get along too well.

3) I love rewriting. I love getting rid of extra verbiage. It comes from writing poetry as a child.

4) I keep an open mind. I’ll entertain all sorts of ideas – from the absolute wacky to the unbearably rigid. It doesn’t matter who thought the thought; only the thought itself matters. I can listen to Air America, Far-Right Radio, Coast to Coast, Whitley Strieber and give it all equal credence. Anything is possible. Isn’t that what creativity is about?

5) I’ve always read a tremendous amount of books and magazines. And I’m glad to finally come out of the closet about it. Especially since I was taught to never talk about things that other people may not know about. Yes, that’s weird, but that’s why I always kept my reading a secret. If I didn’t, I was accused of being a braggart. So, in an effort not to make people uncomfortable, I never talked about anything I read.

Now, I have to give this to five people. Too bad I’m “in-between communities” right now. Patrick, can we expand this meme to include people in other professions? How about “five strengths for your particular profession.” Sigh. I hope I’m not breaking the rules. I’m such a rule-freak.

Here it is. Scott, Joshua (because I know you guys still read Gasp), Cormac, Owentew (even though I don’t know if he’ll do it) and Megan.

The State of the Blog

I spent an evening archiving entries from Gasp. Copying and formatting them to their new home gave me an opportunity to look over what has transpired during the past year. I also copied over the comments as well.

Using the wide lens of time provides perspective. Some entries I thought were well-written. Their intent was clear and honest. Whatever I was expressing was so important to me that I was willing to drop pretense and just say it. I didn’t care what readers thought. While writing those entries, I remembered how focused I was on the words and how I was caught up in the writing process.

And then… There were the theater entries, which were phony. With those entries came the responsibility of belonging to a community and making sure that I could cover my bases if attacked. My sole focus had more to do with trying to get a few key people to like me. People who, in hindsight, I don’t think would ever like me. And in the end, I’m not sure I liked them. C’est la vie.

Over the weekend, I also considered the life span of Gasp. In the beginning, blogging fed my creativity. Then I switched to blogging about theater, which siphoned off my energy. I’m still trying to figure out how that happened and where my energy went. No doubt, it had to do with the politics of community.

One last thing. I noticed how my very best entries got little response from that community. Yet readers who stumbled upon those entries, courtesy of Google, drop me notes and such to tell me that I struck a cord with them.

The moral of the story: If people don’t appreciate your work – find new people.

I haven’t taken anything down. A month ago, I stopped giving theater as an option in the category section. But it’s all still there. There’s no use denying history. Besides, some people have found those old theater articles and essays useful.

Book Review: Rewind, Replay, Repeat

My review of Jeff Bell’s book, Rewind, Replay, Repeat: A Memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder was published in Monday’s Birmingham News. You can also find it online.

I was ambivalent about mentioning the book’s production error. Part of me thought that the author shouldn’t have to pay for the publisher’s mistake by having it mentioned in a review. But as you can see, it was a deeply ironic mistake, and a newsworthy one considering the topic of the book.

The rest of the story involves phoning the publisher to mention the problem. They told me that I should expect a new copy overnight. After waiting a few days, they replaced the book with a new one on how to get rid of miserable people.

I called the publisher back and inquired if this new book was a subtle hint. I asked it in good humor, of course. The publisher was absolutely mortified by the confusion and promptly sent a new review copy.

When I was finally able to continue reading the book, it was like I never left it. The story was that compelling. So, don’t let all of this prevent you from reading the book. I got a lot out of it and I'm sure many others will as well. But as I said in the review, just be certain there’s a page 87.