· mcsweeney’s

Dave Eggers and Me

November 8, 2007 in books, dave eggers, mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

I often dream of meeting Dave Eggers, as he is a writing god to me. However, sometimes when I think about meeting Dave Eggers I become concerned that he would actually find me silly and inconsequential and then I think perhaps I am better off just dreaming of meeting Dave Eggers than actually meeting him. That way the dream that he and I are twin souls that will have some great laughs can stay alive…if only in my deluded mind.

I have been itching for (and honestly looking all over New York for…what’s wrong with you New York!) Eggers and McSweeneys (and Manguso and Unferth’s) new book titled 145 Short Stories In A Small Box. I finally got my greedly little hands on it last night (thanks Adam!) and found it to be even more delightful than expected (and I haven’t even read any stories yet – we’re just talking packaging people). Anyway, there is a little one page insert by Dave Eggers and it’s the kind of brilliant little fluffy thing that again reminds me that if and when I finally meet Dave Eggers I will simply blush and faint, and then just lay there unconscious while he feels uncomfortable and is forced to walk away from the “scene” I’ve created. He’s just too brilliant for me to stand that close to…and remain conscious. And if I lose consciousness then I don’t have to worry about saying anything stupid that will make him think I am silly and inconsequential… instead of being those things I can just be ‘that ridiculous girl who fainted’. Anyway, I’ve pasted the text from the insert below in the hopes that you too will find it brilliant and you will run out immediately to get your own copy of 145 Stories In A Box (and all the other McSweeney’s you can get your hands on). According to Eggers…pick up at least ten, although he doesn’t specifiy that you can only buy McSweeney’s books, it certainly doesn’t hurt…and at least then you know you’ll be getting “the right kind of books”.

Thankfully for me (and less for my credit cards) I pick up WAY more than ten books a year…so maybe that will give me a better shot with Mr. Eggers when our paths eventually cross…

“THE NEW RULES” by Dave Eggers

“I don’t know why it came down to me to tell you about this, but anyway, here goes: if you don’t buy at least ten books a year, you’ll be struck by lightning, or maybe a bus. It’s the new rule. Yeah. You’ll probably be sent a more official notice in the mail pretty soon, but for now, you’re hearing it from me. Ten books a year, or the bus or lightning, each of them very painful and likely deadly. Is the rule a bit harsh? Well, maybe. Some people might think so, but then again, those people won’t be with us very long, because anyone who complains about the rule will be disemboweled by bears. Again, not my idea – I’m just the messenger here! – but that’s the way it is. I don’t know whay you’re worried, though. Just buy the ten books a year and don’t whine about it, and you won’t be struck by anything or have your insides ripped out by a grizzly. Doesn’t seem so complicated, really. Also, make sure you buy the right kind of books, or else someone in a cardigan will push you off a building. Again, nothing to worry about: just buy the best kinds of books, not the bad ones, or else you’ll be looking over your shoulder pretty much forever. And you can’t read that way, anyway, so it all works out.”

I say again BRILLIANT! And oh so funny. That Dave Eggers, what a character. What a laugh he and I are going to have someday…assuming I’m conscious.

McSweeney’s…not to be outdone by a Tandem Bicycle, posts another brilliant short piece today…

October 24, 2007 in mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

A piece titled “What Happened After I Lost My Guardian Angel: A Timeline” by Jon Methven posted over on McSweeney’s today, and it is so funny, mostly because it’s too too true. It will only take you a few moments and will be the funniest thing you read all day, so run, don’t walk, to McSweeney’s to check it out, here.

Tandem Bicycle Seat Open over at McSweeney’s…

October 23, 2007 in mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

If you’re not reading McSweeney’s Internet Tendency everyday for their incredible new short pieces, you are missing out. But I’m here to let you know when you are really really missing out.

Go now to McSweeney’s and check out their new piece posted yesterday by Collin Nissan titled “Good News: A Seat On My Tandem Bicycle Just Opened Up” it’s a hilarious bit of fun, and if it’s not enough to cheer you up a bit today than you’re probably not cheer-up-able…

And just for fun…a picture of a tandem bicycle. For some reason i find tandem bicycles hilarious.

#35 Lady Into Fox by David Garnett

October 9, 2007 in book reviews, books, mcsweeney's | 4 comments

#35. Lady Into Fox. David Garnett. Fiction. 4.0 stars

This is a fascinating little reprint from an original 1922 book by McSweeney’s – The Collins Library Division. I wasn’t sure what to expect when reading this book and picked it up largely based on my devotion to McSweeney’s, the intriguing title and the gorgeous nature of the reprint, which includes the original woodcut illustrations.

I was happily surprised when I finally sat down with this little gem. It is shocking how much you end up feeling for the main character Mr. Tebrick, husband of Mrs Silvia Tebrick who does quite quickly in the story literally turn into a fox. By page 5 Silvia is a fox and I found myself wondering how on earth Garnett was going to keep this interesting.

Boy was a I wrong. The real story is the mental breakdown of the heartbroken Mr. Tebrick as he tries at all costs to keep his wife, now a fox, in his life. Initially it is easy for him (really for them both) and he dotes on her and she on him and their love remains chastely alive, but the longer she remains a fox the more wild she becomes and the more of her humanity her husbands sees (and feels) slip away, until it is like she is caged unwillingly and he her captor.

It is quite a heartbreaking story and leaving the “fable aspect” of her actually being a fox aside, it speaks volumes about relationships and what happens when a partner moves on and grows in a way that the other cannot follow. How the bonds of love are often not enough to keep two people, changing in different directions and at different rates, together. I was immersed in this world and shockingly found myself near tears on occasion. A great story. 4 stars.

Apple iphone and the end of the world…

October 5, 2007 in mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

I have been reading McSweeney’s Internet Tendency everyday for the past week or so (why wasn’t I doing this for my whole life? I have no idea, the only excuse is that I’m a complete idiot…the stuff over there is just hilariously brilliant…or brilliantly hilarious, whichever you prefer). McSweeney’s posts new stuff every day, so you, like me should go there every day, but I wanted to bring your attention to this gem by Matthew Duverne Hutchinson titled “A Few Years After The Complete Collapse Of The Global Economy, A Consumer Reporter Reviews The IPhone”. It’s wonderfully fun.

Unfortunately neither Firefox nor Safari are allowing me to link things for some reason, so you’ll have to follow the path below to get to it. Or of course you can click on McSweeney’s on my home page and go to the Internet Tendency. Enjoy!

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2007/10/5hutchinson.html

fun with time travel

September 26, 2007 in books, dave eggers, mcsweeney's, writing | 3 comments

go now and read this great short fiction piece about time travel called Troubleshooting Guide for TimeCorp’s VH3928-Model Time Machine today by Jonathan Baude & J. Alex Boyd on the McSweeney’s site…it’s hilarious. definitely worth the read, especially if you’re a fan of the idea of time travel and the all the crazy nonsense that must come with it.

there is also this completely awesome selection of very short fiction pieces by three authors (Eggers, Manguso, and Olin Unferth), as a promo for their book called One Hundred And Forty-Five Stories In a Small Box. number 49 by Sarah Manguso, which you can read here, is a measly 73 words, and completely blew my mind. i love it when someone can blow my mind in only 73 words. i’ll be picking up this book as soon as humanly possible.

you should too.

the best thing you will read this week…

August 27, 2007 in brett ratner, hack, mcsweeney's, the road | 2 comments

…is not on this blog, but i’m going to link to it…

let me first preface this link by saying that Brett Ratner is the definition of a hack. seriously, if you go to my dictionary, under the word hack it says Brett Ratner and there is a little picture. yes, i wrote it in and drew a cartoon of him in sharpie on the page, but still, i’d trust it. someday all your dictionaries will be as advanced as mine. in the meantime, you can read this absolutely hilarious bit from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency:

http://mcsweeneys.net/2007/8/24molyneux.html

ps: McCarthy’s The Road was the best book i’ve read so far this year. if you haven’t read it yet, read it now, even though if you a buy a copy now it has that tell tale Oprah sticker on it, which annoys the hell out of me. it’s still worth it.

#23 superbad

August 19, 2007 in book reviews, mcsweeney's | Permalink

if you came to this post, thinking it was going to be about the movie, sorry, but thanks for visiting!

this is a book review (#23 for the year) of Superbad by Ben Greenman, Short Fiction Collection.

i wasn’t sure about this book early on as it is pretty experimental, but i ended up really enjoying it, a few stories at the end in particular sold me, but i’ll admit that i did languish a bit in the middle.

before i read Superbad (and after reading Tao Lin’s Eeeee Eeee Eee) i had pretty much decided to stay away from experimental fiction and short fiction, but after reading Superbad i think i’m going to keep reading it (and i plan to pick up Tao Lin’s short fiction collection Bed, which i’ve heard a lot about, despite the fact that i didn’t fall in love with his novel the previously mentioned Eeeee Eeee Eee). i had felt kind of uninspired lately by experimental work because it seemed too, well maybe too intellectual, and with not enough soul. but i’ve changed my mind and i think it’s good to have them both out there doing their thing and it’s good for me to read both kinds.

i have to admit that the fiction i end up loving is a bit more traditional. even within Superbad, with a few exceptions, it was the more traditional pieces that i enjoyed. i think in short fiction (and probably in regular fiction too) i’m just looking for something to move me these days, something where i can connect with the characters and simply be moved to feel, and in experimental fiction i think that rarely happens if only because that is not necessarily the primary goal.

the standouts for me in Superbad were: Snapshot, In Shuvalolv’s Library, and most especially What 100 People, Real and Fake, Believe about Dolores. that last piece was quite frankly a brilliant piece of experimental short fiction and is probably the reason for my conversion to continue reading in this way. it was exactly as the title describes and i was shocked to see what an effective way it was of knitting together a story, i had such a clear picture of what Dolores and the circumstances in her life may have been, and it left most of it wildly open to the imagination, similar to the way a choose your own adventure allows you to participate (but much much better). i was really truly wowed by this piece, and it was the last piece in Superbad, which was a powerful way to end (note to self: end all short fiction collections on a super high note).

i also really enjoyed Notes On Revising Last Night’s Dream, which was laugh out loud hilarious and Stuck On Red: My Hopes And Dreams Detailed.

there are also these “musicals” or rather “fragments of musicals” which are all funny (5 in total) and are a running theme in the book, which is in itself quite funny, but for me they just weren’t strong enough to knit the overall book together. they seemed a bit gimmicky and as such, lost their charm after maybe the second one. it was not enough to derail the book though, there was enough beautiful strong writing, funny bits, and finely crafted stories to earn this 4 stars.

Superbad by Ben Greenman. Short Fiction Collection. 4 stars.

sidenotes: Ben Greenman has a pretty interesting blog (as well as a couple other books), check it out:

http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/bloggers/ben-greenman/

also, i got Superbad from my beloved McSweeney’s, there is a link for them on the home page.

do something…

July 19, 2007 in mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

i’m trying to offset superficial and/or negative posts i make with positive “deep” posts. so here is my world healing post to offset yesterday’s negative one. expect something nice and superficial and hopefully fun tomorrow (not to imply that today’s post is not fun).

my amazing friend keegan is involved with an incredible community project in minneapolis called Juxtaposition Arts. here is a link, if you’re in the area (or even if you’re not) it never hurts to get involved.

http://www.juxtaposition.org/programs/programarchive.html

also, i have been dying to get involved in this program run by McSweeney’s, but am too busy being selfish with my time and trying to get my faltering “real career” on track. if you’re less selfish (or more available than i am) you should check this out, they always need volunteers:

http://www.826national.org/

Mcsweeney’s has chapters in new york, los angeles, chicago, seattle, michigan, boston, and valencia (san francisco), so perhaps there is one near you.

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