how often do you get to help a friend make their dream or inspired idea come true? i just got home from happy hour and when i pulled this out of my mailbox i got chills up and down my right arm. i’ve heard various vague, embittered criticisms about this anthology but it is so much braver to create something and go for it than keeping the world at arm’s length and sticking to your comfort zone. meaghan, i am so excited to read this, congrats for seeing this end to end!
“i tried not to think about my life. i did not have any good solid plans for it long-term—no bad plans either, no plans at all—and the lostness of that, compared with the clear ambitions of my friends (marriage, children, law school), sometimes shamed me. other times in my mind i defended such a condition as morally and intellectually superior—my life was open and ready and free—but that did not make it any less lonely.” — lorrie moore, a gate at the stairs.
jonathan franzen recommends 4 overlooked books -
one of which happens to be written by a beloved former writing professor of mine, sarah shun-lien bynum. i recently read her book, ms. hempel chronicles, and adored it. franzen’s endorsement, my praises, and a spot on the new yorker 20 under 40 list…what more do you need to sway you?
“The best critics perform an important function, but it’s not one I’m hard-wired to do. I just find it exhausting having to marshal arguments and defend them against possible objectors. An analogy I often use is that writers are like duck-billed platypuses and critics are taxonomists, and to us duck-billed platypuses the question of whether we should be considered as an egg-laying mammal or what is a pointless exercise. A duck-billed platypus is interested in swimming, finding food, having sex, laying eggs. A novelist’s job is to write a novel, not worry about how it fits into one’s oeuvre or whether it captures the postmodern experience or whatnot. It might be my own ignorance. Perhaps there are writers who consider such things, but I’m really just interested in finding out where a story goes and helping it get there. There are beautiful, magical descriptions of the nighttime in the beginning of Huck Finn—I’ve never wanted to dissect that magic, I just want to read it and experience it.” — david mitchell on critics, in this interview with the rumpus.
another successful book swap has come and gone—a big thank you to housing works for hosting us last night. in attendance: ryan, bailey, laura, nancy, nikki, susan, priscilla, nora, jeannie rose, nick, cole, stephanie, and kevin.
hope to see you at housing works at 6:30p. click here for details.
juliet, naked by nick hornby: this was my first hornby book though i’ve seen the film adaptations of about a boy and high fidelity. it was a satisfying read and a good break from some headier books i’ve been reading this summer, though it did broach the topics of creating a legacy and mortality, two themes that have permeated most of my summer reading (accidentally!).
the ask by sam lipsyte: different tone than the usual books i get into but i liked lipsyte’s language experimentation. interesting characters and a nice, gritty new york city story.
the comfort of strangers by ian mcewan: a good friend of mine recommended this to me on a recent expedition to the housing works bookstore and cafe. usually i am the one doing the book recommending so it is nice to be guided a little for once. i love mcewan. i am only halfway done but the creepy tension is starting to build. i always forget that mcewan has a morbid, violent side.
truth.
also serves as a reply to the “what is the meaning of life” question posed to me by thesearetruedreams. the second part of my answer would be love. aww.
even though it has been almost four years since i last sat in a classroom, i still get the itch to stock up on school supplies this time of year. i just bought the desk pictured above and it is inspiring me to re-do the workspace in my apartment.
fall “back to school” wishlist:
4. west elm parsons desk in turmeric
5. the elements of style, special edition
7. espressione retro espresso machine
getting some reading done before mad men.