Gasp!

Book Review: X Saves the World by Jeff Gordinier

When Generation X was first marketed to twenty-somethings back in the early 90's, no one I knew identified with the term. Just out of college myself, I resented the implication that all of us could be lumped into one tidy category. We're not a group. We're individuals.

 

We decided that Generation X was a marketing scheme to get us to buy something. Buy the clothes, the lifestyle or the ideas. After all, corporatism moved the world. Fuck that.

 

I now know that Generation X never identifies itself as Generation X, and the fact that I refused to be lumped into that corporate culture term means that I'm uber-Generation X.

 

Follow me?

 

My generation refuses to identify itself as a generation. We don't wear pants that splay the word "juicy" across our asses. That kind of tackiness is best left to the Millenials. We've also left them alone with  their lip-syncing singers and blond chick narcissists.

 

We don't need to have our self-esteem propped up by receiving a trophy for participating. We believe trophies are meaningless if given to everyone.

 

It's safe to tell you that Jeff Gordinier thinks the same thing. His book, "X Saves the World" dives straight into the issues of being sandwiched between the Baby Boomers and the magnificient Millenials. One generation drones on and on about how they changed the world. The other believes they are just too fabulous for the rest of us.

 

"In spite of what we've been trained to think, Generation X has done a lot already. The more the boomers talk about bringing the world together, the less they succeed at it, but a thousand Woodstocks couldn't touch what Generation X has already accomplished through the shrewd and inspired use of media and technology."

 

It's true! We're not just a bunch of slackers. Chad Hurley and Steve Chen - both Xers - founded YouTube so Xers can catalogue our favorite videos. College juniors Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson founded The Onion in 1988, making Xers laugh with it's unique brand of irony. Google was also founded by us.

 

Gordinier wants us to know that we've accomplished quite a bit in our old age. Though we'll never get trophies from the media, Xers need to be reminded that we have a reason for being here. Gordinier encourages us to find ways to change our own corner of the world. The ripples will spread outward.

 

Yes, I'm telling you to read the book.

Book Review: Drawers & Booths by Ara 13

Drawers & Booths by Ara 13
Covington Moore, 228 pages, $15.00.

In a city occupied by the American military, a villager is beaten by vigilantes. Trapped in a ring of tires, the man is burned alive.

"Drawers & Booths" begins as a story about military officers who are seeking to "win the hearts and minds" of its citizens. The story is abruptly interrupted by the narrator who mocks readers as he explains himself.

"Well reader, you might as well follow me since you've come this far. I'm not quite sure what you expect to get out of all this. Maybe you're just killing time. But you'll have to excuse me if I don't analyze your motives any further. I've got a job to do."

The storyline then moves to Auschwitz for a brief visit with victims of Josef Mengele. The chapter - three pages - ends with a juxtaposition of Mengele's evil and the love that the victims have for each other.

The narrator is looking for a murderer. Once he figures out that his character name is an anagram, he realizes who he needs to capture and bring to trial... God. With gentle references to Law & Order, God is brought to the courtroom.

Is he responsible for man's inhumanity? Does one need to believe in God in order to have morals? These are a few of the questions debated during the trial.

Metafiction is defined as fiction that never lets readers forget they are reading a book. Through constantly calling attention to the story, the role of the author and the non-existence of the characters, readers are forced to go beyond their normal assumptions and expectations.

Under a less skilled hand, "Drawers & Booths" could have been an indulgent exercise in preciousness and self-righteousness. However, Ara 13 checks his agenda at the door. Consistently steering clear of easy answers, he raises the possibilities of metafiction to a new level.

"Drawers & Booths" is an exciting debut by an author who is one to watch.

Book Review: A by Curt Eaton

A by Curt Eaton
AuthorHouse, 460 pages. $32.99. Released 2008.

I don't usually put subtitles on reviews but I am making an exception for this one. It is this: I wish I edited books for a living. The first book I would dismantle and make anew would be "A" by Curt Eaton.

Book Review: Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards

Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities by Elizabeth Edwards
Broadway Books, 224 pages. $22.95. Released: May 8, 2009

From media reports, one would assume that Elizabeth Edwards' new book, "Resilience" is about victimhood and survivorship.  That is not the case.

Perhaps it is the fact that she has incurable stage four breast cancer that makes her go far deeper than one would expect. But this is not a book describing titillating events. Rather, it is a poetic and heartfelt story about dealing with circumstances that go wildly beyond your control.

Edwards picks out memories from her life that demonstrate how others have processed tragedy. A Japanese woman, about to become a geisha, experienced the atomic explosion in Hiroshima. Scarred with burns on her arms, she was no longer celebrated for her beauty. Instead, she became a dance instructor. As a child, Edwards learned how to move gracefully under her tutelage. The woman also taught her acceptance.

"She accepted her life as it was. If she bore resentment or hatred, she found a way to bury it, to not let it define the rest of her life. And she found the happiest ending now available to her in the pleasures of a simple life, the dignity of her remarkable civility and the absence of pain."

Book Review: Reaching Climax by Gary Gladstone

Reaching Climax: And Other Towns Along the American Highway
by Gary Gladstone
Ten Speed Press, 144 pages, $19.95. 2007

People who reside in oddly named towns, such as Dickshooter, Idaho and Idiotville, Oregon probably have a sense of humor. After all, it takes guts to live in a locale that lends itself to jokes. "Reaching Climax" by award-winning photographer Gary Gladstone features insightful and humorous images of these unusual places and the people who inhabit them.

Each portrait creatively illustrates the name and personality of the town. The picture of Two Egg, Florida centers on a retired tobacco farmer holding two eggs. For Hooker, Ohio, Gary Zuck stands next to the giant silver hook on a tow truck.

Other times, Gladstone juxtaposes the town's name. An image for Hell Hollow, New Hampshire features Mary Mills holding two plastic containers of strawberries. Nothing hellish there. The picture of Fickle, Indiana features a couple holding each other - very much in love.

For each portrait, Gladstone includes commentary about the characters in the image. Usually quite complimentary, these stories also highlight stories of how these unusual towns were named. Erect, North Carolina received its name after three other attempts to name the town were rejected by the postal authorities. "... the town fathers threw up their hands and, in a defiantly flippant gesture, named the town Erect, supposedly after the extremely upright posture of their very tall group leader, Tom Bray."

Reflecting on the experiences of working on his similarly-themed first book, "Passing Gas" and this project, Gladstone writes that he expected to see "cartoon towns populated by cartoon people. I expected to have to manufacture outrageous situations or arrange over-the-top settings and backgrounds to do justice to my idea of a fitting portrait. What I found was that I had not only brought cameras, film and root beer with me, I was also hauling foolish expectations, prejudices, and a bit of snobbery." It's refreshing to see the American Heartland depicted as a place of character, humor and wisdom.

Call for Submissions

Roger Armbrust has asked me to post this announcement.

Call for Submissions for the Our National Conversation Series

"Our National Conversation book series covers vital American concerns including—but not limited to—water supply, health care, energy, homelessness, public education, taxation, our Constitution, as well as presidential, Congressional, judicial, and corporate accountability."

He notes that they are "primarily concerned with vital issues directly impacting the American continent, or a region thereof, but will also consider topics international in scope. Any matter affecting the common good. Accepted projects most likely will involve informational manuscripts bearing on a critical national issue, but may also range from personal and professional experiences to photojournalism."

An additional item: "For Discussion series, we'll look for tight writing, probably 150-200 typewritten pages."

The website: www.pbros.net

On a personal note, if you don't know Roger Armbrust, you should. He was national news editor for Backstage, taught writing at New York University and has a whole host of other credits to his name. I've also posted a series of interviews with him on Project 1968. He's a friend and a good guy.

To email him: jra@pbros.net

Feeling the American Century

What It Felt Like: Living in the American Century
by Henry Allen.
Pantheon Books
pg. 176, Copyright 2000.

Henry Allen's book, "What It Felt Like: Living in the American Century" is a fabulous book. Starting with 1900, each chapter is dedicated to a decade's worth of memories, product name-dropping, and random dialogue. Allen picks an underlying theme with ties each of these elements together.

In books like these, it's usually the earlier part of the decade that gets short shrift. The writing sparkles in the chapters which the author remembers. In this case, Allen's best work is done in the first few chapters. His voice is dispassionate, allowing readers to feel the full effect of the words. "You stand at attention in restaurants whenever the band plays, 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' which it does a lot, and there's a punch in the nose waiting for any man who doesn't. Sauerkraut becomes 'liberty cabbage.' German measles are 'liberty measles.'"

Renaming words was a 1910-1920 phenomena, which as you remember, played out again nearly 90 years later. Such patterns are subtly underscored throughout the book. Greed and rampant materialism appear and then disappear; waiting for each generation to discover it anew. And they always do.

From the 60s onward, the book takes a more dour tone; paranoia and narcissism laced with disappointment. Greed makes life simple in the 80s, but scheduling life becomes complicated. And the 90s, the "Whatever" decade in which technology imposed itself on relationships. In this book, he sees America as a lonely place - by choice. "Memoirs replaced novels as the fashionable sport. Internet games and chat rooms replaced social life, even offering the change to change your identity and sign on as someone else."

Allen allows readers to reach their own conclusions about the American Century. But with this evidence, it's hard not to be worried about the future.

Amazon strongarms authors

Head:Sub/Head got my attention today with his post talking about Amazon's new sales policy. It seems that Amazon will not allow books published through Lulu, iUniverse or other print-on-demand service to be sold through their site.

Why on Earth would they ever do that? Because they have their own in-house print-on-demand service - BookSurge. Of course, they will sell books published through BookSurge.

To verify the story, I checked with a few of my own online sources - including a self publishing group. For awhile, there was some debate about whether or not this new policy was rumor. But then someone provided a link to the Wall Street Journal story, and ergo, it appears that it is true.

For those who still think that self publishing is the same thing as vanity printing, it is not. It has reached a level of respectability.

Bill Mize, author of the Denton Ward and Monty Crochetti Mystery Series was nominated by the Private Eye Writers of America for The Shamus Award in 2001. Who was his publisher? iUniverse. It was the first print-on-demand book to be nominated for a major award.

Since that time, Lulu and others have come on the scene, producing attractive, quality books. Newspaper editors have a difficult time separating the "real published books" from print-on-demand books. If you don't know the signs, you'd never know the difference.

So what does this mean for the industry? In general, doors are opening for print-on-demand books. I think that there will be a backlash of monumental proportions. The Wall Street Journal suggests that Amazon's business will go up. That's highly doubtful. I can easily see Indy publishers and print-on-demand authors banding together to come up with a new way to get their work to the marketplace. And of course, let's not forget about boycotting Amazon.

As for me and Gasp, I have often linked to Amazon when talking about a book. We'll see if that continues.

Why Books are Safer than TV

I'm not in an overly paranoid mood... At least I wasn't until I read this article. Comcast turning our televisions into two-way devices? Cameras in our sets watching us? Surely you jest...

So my writer friends, the possibilities are endless. Anyone wanna come up with a good story/script/play?

And you, in the corner, we don't want to see that! COVER UP!

Reading List for 2008

You guys left some amazing recommendations for me during my time off. It's taken me a while to figure out which one resonates with me the most since they all look so good. Let's take a look at what was left in my comments section.

(Please note that the summaries are from my research on the net, and probably don't fully describe the experience of reading the book. In fact, if you have anything to add to these descriptions, feel free to comment. We all know that the net is SO reliable.)

Ether Books and the Written Word

I get a visceral thrill from books. The musty smell of old paperbacks, the slight tinge of yellow on the page. Finding little pieces of ephemera in used books makes me happy. To date, I've discovered hardware receipts from the late 1960s, notes on the meaning of certain passages, and grocery lists. People collect this stuff. What are they going to do now?

Thick books make noise. Try putting one on a table - you can feel the impact. It's noisy. All of that research in one place. These words have manifested and can now be measured. 853 pages plus a ton of footnotes. Unlike ether words, they exist in the physical world for everyone to see.

Books require nothing more than the book itself. They don't require tools to read, unless you need glasses. There are no hidden costs.

Books and death are the great equalizers. A rich man or a poor man can read a book. They can both keel over from brain tumors, but the chances of them being buried next to each other is quite slim.

Books are unique. Cover art changes, according to when a book is published. Beautiful cover paintings, like the kind you find from the pulp fiction days. Those book covers were created by artists, with very little interference from technology.

But every now and then, I need to find a quote in a thick book. Unless I put a post-it note on the page at the time I'm first reading it, I will never be able to find it again. It disappears and even if I'm able to find the quote, it is never how I remembered it. I wish there was something like a find function for thick books.

And when I get a bunch of books from the library, I have to lug them around in my bag. Those fancy backpacks are no relief for overburdened shoulders.

Sometimes, when I go on vacation, I work. Which, of course, requires bringing a bag full of books. Several years ago, me and my books took a brand new suitcase on a trip. It fell apart by the time I got to Texas. Picking out which books to bring on trips is a drag, since I always have to leave some at home, alone, where they can do no damage.

I don't know if the written word will be cheapened by these ether books. But I would love to see how the Kindle Reader handles cover art.

If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer

IF I DID IT: Confessions of the Killer
by The Goldman Family
Beaufort Books. 254 pages. $24.95

Unreliable narrator doesn’t begin to describe O.J. Simpson. Within the first pages of his text, "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer" readers will become keenly aware of being manipulated.

Simpson’s literary voice is charming. He assures us that he will share the facts of the murder because he knows them better than anyone else. Maybe everyone is right. Maybe he did do it. What if he did? A few pages later, he assures us once again that he will tell the truth.

By the end of the book, the only certainty is that two people are dead. This man, acquitted of murder, is telling us that he did it. He is also telling us how he killed them, and why. But then, it’s all hypothetical and he’s telling us the truth.

The death of Nicole, his wife and Ron Goldman, an innocent bystander, made instant celebrities of court reporters. It riveted the country and divided a nation along racial lines. It informed the public about domestic violence and made jury nullification a household word.

Those who cheered at the nonguilty verdict will not find a rallying cry here. Simpson is all about himself. There is no mention of race. Nothing other than building a case that Nicole had it coming to her.

She was materialistic, "venomous and full of rage and anger." But it’s the domestic violence charges that annoy him the most. He didn’t hit her, he grabbed her. "The ones (bruises) on her arms – I put them there. Her face? I didn’t hit her, but it’s possible she hurt herself while we were scuffling."

In his defense of her famous 911 call: "I hit her once – not even hit her technically – and ever since that day I’d been known as a wife-beater." Hit but not hit. Kill but not kill. His capacity for rationalization is boundless.

Much is made of Chapter 6, which describes the murders, but Chapter 5 is more problematic. Throughout the text, he has built a case that Nicole’s friends were into drugs and other sordid activities. It appears that he will make a case that her friends killed her. Instead, he says, "If you’ve got kids, you’re stuck with that person for the rest of your life. It was not a pleasant thought."

He wasn’t going to be dragged down. So he killed her... Maybe. When confronted with a knife-wielding Simpson, Ron Goldman, an unlucky fellow that night, adopted a karate stance to defend himself. It only made Simpson angrier. He killed him, too... Perhaps. There are no gory details because he claims he doesn’t remember them. He only recalls being soaked in blood afterward.

So we don't really know if he killed her or not.

There is no introspection and no sense of responsibility. Even in murder, Simpson is the hero, the rescuer, the one who dispenses justice. There is no empathy.

His name isn’t in the credits. Officially, the author of this book is The Goldman Family. The copyright for Simpson’s text is under the name of Lorraine Brooke Associates. LBA, for short, was founded so Simpson could profit off the book without paying the family for the civil judgment owed them.

Both a Federal and California court ruled that the company was a sham, according to The Goldman Family’s commentary in the beginning of the book. While LBA was founded to provide money for his children, Simpson used the entire book’s advance to pay off an IRS debt and pay down his mortgage.

Pablo F. Fenjves, the ghostwriter and collaborator for the book wrote the prologue. Ironically, he also testified at Simpson’s trial – for the prosecution. Fenjves heard the dog’s wail that night. He tells us that this fact didn’t figure into the collaboration. Simpson had complete editorial control over the book and didn’t hesitate to use it.

When the Goldmans won the rights to Simpson’s text, they were also compelled by the court to publish it. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice. Nicole’s family fought against the book, and only later changed their minds. By then it was too late.

Regardless of how one feels about the Goldman Family or the entire affair, exposure is closure. Simpson’s narcissism, his manipulations and inability to accept responsibility are clear throughout the book.

Emerson once said that "People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character." Ambiguity and distraction might work in the U.S. Justice system, but in this case his words convict him.

(Update: I forgot to include a small edit that was in a later draft of this review. The ambiguous chapter six paragraph was made slightly more ambiguous in this review. After all, he did did not sorta mighta maybe had something to do with whatever went on that night.)

Oh, if it were really this simple

"Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't."

---Julian Barnes, author

(Courtesy of my desktop calendar - updated to fix typos, etc.)

The Book Behind the Quotes

I never blog about a book while I'm reading it since the book could redeem itself - or screw itself in the end. This book, Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture by John Strausbaug, is an odd duck. The book gives new meaning to the phrase "uneven." Paragraph by paragraph, it either makes an strikingly valid point or the author has written a WTF statement.

I'm posting quotes that I think are valuable, mostly for myself. If you find them interesting, cool. And if you want to argue them, then by all means... I'm not sure what or if I can defend anything just yet.

NBCC Survey for Reviewers

I received an email yesterday from the National Book Critics Circle. They would like all members to take a survey on the ethics of book reviewing.

“This past year, the NBCC Board decided it would be illuminating, particularly given the brave new blogosphere that's become a large part of our world, to ask whether ethics in book reviewing has changed, and to inquire about fresh ethical issues that have cropped up.”

It’s a mighty quick survey, and the questions had a familiar ring to them. It appears that the theater blogosphere isn’t the only tiny world that’s questioning ethics, mainstream media and blogs.

Here’s a sample of the questions asked, along with my answers.

Most Overlooked Book

I got a notice from the National Book Critics Circle, which states that NY Magazine is asking for the most overlooked book or author from the last ten years. Deadline is the end of the day today. Address: bookpoll@nymag.com.

Hmmmm... I'll have to think about that one, since most of my choices would be from the last 50 years. Even Chelsea Cain's Dharma Girl doesn't fit the stipulation. It was published in 1996.

Who would get your vote?

David Halbertstam Died Without My Permission

Horribly sad. What a loss for the rest of us.

As I've mentioned before, I've used his book The Fifties as a resource guide for my book collection. I took issue with his view of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, but that didn't stop me from respecting the sheer brilliance of his work.

His genius was his ability to take an enormous amount of material and siphon it down to understandable essentials.

I used The Best and the Brightest as a secondary source before writing War. It was an astonishing book, perfect as a primer for my research at the LBJ.

His contributions will be missed. But books, like children, live on...

On Collecting Books, Part Four

As I open my collection for discussion on Gasp, please note that you will occasionally be able to find versions of my books on the net. This is a good thing.

I learned through researching presidential documents that history has often been misrepresented. The truth is out there. Don't take someone else's word for it. If more people read old books, they'd stop being some damn gullible about the past.

When possible, I'll provide a link to the book or journal I'm discussing. Then, you could buy a version of the book for yourself. Imagine how cool that would be.

On Collecting Books, Part Three

Collecting books is a responsibility. When I first started, it was a cool and very personal hobby. But as I began my research into the causes of the riots at the ’68 Democratic Convention, I realized that a number of scholarly institutions would be more than happy for me to donate my collection. I’ve seen editions of my books under glass at The Book Depository Museum, or in the stacks of the LBJ Presidential Research Library.

As I noticed this more and more, I began to see myself as a “Keeper of the Canon.” Book collections protect books from destruction. We live in a disposable society that sees no value in history. The only other “Keepers” are libraries, and as I mentioned earlier, they’re imprisoned by “Community Standards.”

Collecting books is a form of literary activism. History is taken out of the hands of those in authority and brought down to a very personal level. Reading an old and rare book brings life to a voice that would otherwise go unheard.

When I’m old and grey, maybe I’ll donate my collection to library or museum. In the meantime, I think I’m going to use Gasp as a form of literary activism.

On Collecting Books, Part Two

My book collection goes something like this:

Books on the 60s. I used a number of books from my collection as secondary sources for War is Kind: the 1968 Democratic Convention. These books have the most sentimental value to me, since you can’t find any of them in your local library. Odd, isn’t it? Not really.

Beat Criticism. This section was due to my obsession with 1950s in the early 90s. I read through the New York Public Library’s Beat criticism and had to look elsewhere. My interest in the Beats waned over the past few years, so I don’t jump at these collectibles as much anymore.

Mass-Market Paperbacks. My collection includes both pulp fiction and regular paperbacks from the 1930s to the 1970s. These are the most fun to collect, but they are also a ton of work. The artwork on the covers are amazing, but tracking down the artists are difficult. As well, publishers were necessarily honest about date of publication and a whole host of other issues.

Literary Journals. There is nothing like finding an old literary journal filled with articles by Jack London, Jean Stafford, Charles Baudelaire, Sinclair Lewis or J.B. Priestley. The ads are awesome. This part of my collection also holds controversial journals as well. Occasionally I’ve allowed magazines to find their way into this section – as long as they meet certain criteria.

Presidential History. I’m deeply into presidential history, from Roosevelt to Carter. Actually, I should probably say Ford since I don’t have Carter in my book collection. Along with books, I also collect campaign buttons.

Those are the major parts of my collection. I have subsections of all this – Feminism is a part of the 60s section, for instance. I also keep a collection on Soviet-American relations as part of Presidential History.

My collection doesn’t include every book I own. Again, this is an actual book collection – not a library. There is a big difference.

On Collecting Books, Part One

I began collecting books in the early 90s, when I became aware that public libraries only kept certain books on the shelves. I noticed that it was a rather curious selection process. Traveling the country, I visited other libraries to see what they had on their shelves. What kinds of books were important to people in South Carolina, New York, San Francisco, or Austin?

Each city’s library specialized in something different. I noticed that the main branch of the NY Public Library had an enormous amount of conservative talk show host books. These were brand new and prominently displayed. They didn’t appear to have as much Beat Literature as I would have expected.

San Francisco didn’t have as much Beat Literature either, but I was told that Kerouac books often went missing, or were stolen. The Myrtle Beach library had more classics and less controversial 20th century books. Austin had Beat Literature, a slew of books on the 60s, but damned if I could find Peyton Place anywhere.

You get the idea. Books chosen for canonization in a library reflect community standards. An avant-garde bibliophile is out of luck in a conservative township.

Having lived a nomadic life for over a decade, I experienced this difficulty firsthand. So I guess you could say that I became a book collector out of necessity.

As I grew older, my interests solidified. My collection is now largely shaped by my obsession with 20th century Americana, specifically from 1920 to 1979. I don’t limit myself to first editions, though I have a fair amount of them. A few books have been signed by the author, such as Allen Tate. I know parts of my collection are valuable, but it doesn’t matter. I only collect books I’ll read. If I have no interest in reading it, I won’t buy it.

Book Blooper - Tales from the Clerks

For my fiance's birthday, I pre-ordered Tales from the Clerks by Kevin Smith. He's a huge Kevin Smith fan, and blah, blah, blah... It arrived yesterday from Amazon. Upon taking it out of the box, I noticed a mistake on the back cover.

I circled the error. Two people are listed on the credits twice. Since I'm not a big Kevin Smith fan, I asked my fiance if there was any possibility it was done on purpose. He didn't think so. I can't figure out why they'd do it either.

Maybe they'll fix it for later editions.