Entries Tagged 'reading' ↓

Today is launch day for a book I’ve been quite excited to read — written by friend (and editor!) Jedediah Berry (seen looking entirely the wrong direction in this photo):

There are a number of reasons why this promises to be a most excellent book, not the least of which is: the lead character is a bicyclist who rides with his umbrella! While Jed lives in Northampton, this book was obviously written for bikey, rainy Portland.

Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief said:

“Jedediah Berry knows magic. The Manual of Detection combines the intricacy and thoughtfulness of Borges and Kafka with the page-turning excitement of a detective thriller. . . . It made me laugh, thrill, think, and wonder.”

This book might be extremely important reading in case you accidentally find yourself a detective in a complex mystery. (no affiliation!)

There is a great website for the book (www.manualofdetection.com) built by the same guy who does a ton of great websites for books -  Jefferson Rabb.

A publisher who did not publish the book,  the curiously named ‘Small Beer Press‘ – is hosting a mystery contest to win signed copies of the book. I’ll be picking mine up tonight at Powell’s Books (I’m going to see TC Boyle read – see you there?). Here’s The Manual of Detection at Powell’s.

Best of luck, Jed!

Powell’s books has this really lovely program called Indiespensable, which both my spell checker and I agree is a very poor way of spelling indispensable. It’s like a grab bag delivery service of excellent indie lit and other goodies, usually in original printings/signed/etc, shipped every six weeks. 

Check it out here www.powells.com/indiespensable/

The next installment includes Tinkers by Paul Harding – which looks really amazing. There’s also a very nifty, limited run item from Couch in the next Indiespensable box, which I’ll be signing shortly. 

If you’re in Portland – please come to the Indiespensable #8 happy hour at the Someday Lounge, Monday January 19th from 6pm – 8pm. Paul and I will both have a short reading and then we’ll be all like dancing on the tables and breaking the lamps and slamming tequila shots.

The more I look at the word ‘indispensable’, the more I get confused. I’ve had to look it up twice now.

I’m in Northampton, Massachusetts and am about midway through my little book tour. It’s been tremendous fun. 

Powell’s in Portland was my first reading – it was a lovely time with many friends in attendance. It was there that I realized that I suffer a taste of battle madness. Battle Madness – popularized by vikings – is when you go into battle and perform admirably with your axe, and then can’t remember a thing about it later. So it was in Portland. I remember being very graciously introduced by a Powell’s employee Amber, and then I came to in the Under Wonder Lounge with a pint in my hand and my axe at my feet. Sure there are a few fleeting images here and there, and I remember thinking – ah, I’m getting Theo’s voice right, but that was about it.

Thus by the time I read at the Elliot Bay Book Co.  (introduced by Anthony – thanks!) in Seattle I’d decided to start photographing the audience at the beginning to prove to myself later that I’d actually been there. Here’s the evidence (click for full view):

I had to take it in three shots – there were so many awesome, awesome people there, thanks in no small part to the review in The Stranger. I should also admit that I prefaced the photo-taking by saying I would not post it to my blog with nude photos of myself. True! Lucky for you, there are no nude photos of me. The reading was just incredibly fun (what I remember of it) and they sang me happy birthday at the end. I love you Seattle! The next day I got on a plane and flew over the surface of Jupiter:

Which was unexpected. And then landed in Russia:

Where I read with Caitlin Kiernan at the Fantastic Fiction reading series hosted by Matthew Kessel and Ellen Datlow - which was, apparently, just a great, great time, from what I remember of it.

Incidentally, one of the symptoms of Battle Madness is foaming at the mouth. So I’m told.

Tonight I read in Amherst at Amherst Books and tomorrow in New Jersey – if you have friends in the area I’d be grateful if you let them know, as these might be a bit on the quieter side and then what am I to do with my axe? My tour schedule is here.

Incidentally – Amitav Ghosh also reads from his book Sea of Poppies at Amherst tonight – I tried to find something to link to here for time/place but  the intertubes failed me. It looks like just a great book, which is a shame, since I suspect that after our simultaneous readings we’ll have to joust or something.

I asked a friend advice on giving a reading, since I do my first tomorrow and he said:

“At an early reading in the 70s at my publisher’s house in Vancouver, B.C., I was so anxious I drank a little too much, took off all my clothers except under shorts in front of the audience and about a third of the way through threw my loose-leaf manuscript out over the heads of the audience screaming that it was a bunch of fucking shit and lies…the adrenalin of some fear is good, gives you an edge.”

In case you were wondering what to expect should you happen to attend a reading.

I remember seeing Dave Eggers read – he had the audience diagnose a problem with his leg (night tremors) and then he brought an exercise coach out and we all did a bit of a workout. That might be more my style. I’ve been calling around town to see if I could get a therapist to travel with me, in case we need to diagnose any madness in the audience. I also might play a game or two of bingo, or challenge someone to leg wrestle. No one can beat me at leg wrestling. No one. I’m just saying.

Why does a search for podium aerodynamics turn up almost nothing?!

Peter Fogtdal - who is on tour now – is an impressive reader. I would classify it as about 38% insane, contradicting himself schizophrenically every third sentence. It was a great performance.

Laura bought me a black button shirt with little pin stripes that mesmerize me. So that’s probably what I’ll wear, and subsequently remove at the pinnacle of the performance. I’m also considering a hat, maybe this, or this?

If anyone else has any reading tips for me – please say!

My friend Seth wrote to congratulate on getting the book up somewhere where people see it and added:

 ”P.S. – Is there any chance you can give me, you know, like a synopsis or something? Reading is so  time-consuming….”

Excellent question, Seth. Reading time is indeed a valuable commodity. Fortunately, there is an answer. Using the autosummarize feature of MS Word I can condense a 100,000 word novel down to just 98 words, which I have pasted here for your reading pleasure. I think it very accurately sums up the book:

Couch
by Benjamin Parzybok

“Thom!” said Erik. Thom sighed, “Erik?”
“Tree! Thom! “Erik,” Thom growled.
Thom nodded. Thom nodded.
Thom nodded. “Erik!” “Thom?” Thom smiled. “Thom, Tree and Erik. Thom
nodded. Thom smiled. “Thom. Thom nodded.
“Thom and Tree.”
“Erik,” Erik said.
“Tree,” said Thom.
“Tree! “Erik! “Thom!” said Erik.
“Tree?” “Tree! “Erik!”
“Tree! Thom,
Thom smiled. Thom,
“Thom.” “Erik? “Erik! Thom,
-Thom

# (<–I assume this is to signify part two – ed.)

“Erik!” “Thom! “Erik!” “Erik, Erik. “Tree! “Tree! “Erik!” “Tree? Thom?”
Thom nodded.
Thom

“Tree!” Thom nodded.
“Thom!” Thom nodded. “Tree? “Tree! “Tree?” “Thom – Thom! “Thom? “Erik.
“Thom!” “Tree!”
“Tree. Thom. “Erik!” “Erik!” “Erik,” Thom said.
Thom nodded. Thom!

I hope I haven’t given away too much plot. 

Via my friend Mel Favara. I’ll be reading in this series.
The one I attended was super fun.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THIRD INSTALLMENT OF THE 1,000 WORDS READING SERIES: THE FUTURE
MAIDEN IN THE MIST, 7PM MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2008. FREE
CONTACT: MEL FAVARA 971-506-3340, mel.Favara@gmail.com
More info at 1000wordspdx.blogspot.com

In this innovative reading series, five participants each present 1,000 words of prose written for the occasion. Writers agree to produce 250 words per week for four weeks leading up to the reading; they are given a theme at the beginning (THE FUTURE, this time), and must include certain phrases and words in each weekly effort as capriciously assigned by the host. A stunning variety of fresh works result from the writers’ wildly divergent interpretations of the prompts, and the rapid-fire presentation of short pieces make for an entertaining reading. Reading:

Benjamin Parzybok: Ben founded Gumball Poetry, a literary journal published into gumball machines, co-founded Project Hamad which helped free Adel Hamad, a Guantanamo inmate, runs the treasure hunt/caper into the underbelly of the city known as Peachblow (via the Black Magic Insurance Agency), and runs a startup around walking(walkertracker.com). He has a novel, Couch, forthcoming from Small Beer Press in the fall of 2008. He lives with his wife, the writer Laura Moulton, and their two kids in Portland, OR.

Daniel Thomas: Now in the full bloom of manhood, Daniel embodies the wisdom and perspective of the formally trained philosopher, the earthy humility of the former junky, the vulnerability of the natural born aesthete, the taste and style of a foppish dandy and the inexplicable ownership of very strange purebred dog. For bread and wine, he builds houses with Hammer and Hand.

Jill Stukenberg: Fiction and nonfiction star Jill Stukenberg recently relocated to Portland from New Mexico, where she earned an MFA from New Mexico State University. She writes and teaches at Clark College and Clackamas Community College.

Series curator Mel Favara will also read. She teaches English and hosts other literary hybrid events in Portland. Her work has appeared in the Willamette Week, No Slander, Columbia Poetry Review, and in her zine, teen sleuth.

Special guest Matthew Hattie Hein, formerly of the band New Bad Things and currently performing all by his lonesome and teaching English all over town, will play the guitar and sing.