Happy not to be a British goaltender today

Reuters: Barbara Kingsolver bested Hilary Mantel and Lorrie Moore for the British Orange Prize for female writers for her novel THE LACUNA, about a young man getting mixed up with famous people in Mexico. I hear not-so-great things... have you read it?

ESPN: Hey, the World Cup is here! Since I haven't read a single memorable book about soccer, I can only point you to this exhaustive list of the sport's best chronicles. (And I'd skip THE MIRACLE OF CASTEL DI SANGRO, which they singled out.) So you'll have something to do when South Africa goes to bed.

L.A. Times: There's a documentary in the works about Harper Lee that sounds exciting (even though it's called "Hey, Boo"). Authors featured as talking heads include Richard Russo, Anna Quindlen and Lee Smith.

Via Twitter: Bret Easton Ellis' IMPERIAL BEDROOMS comes out next week; the author noticed that Entertainment Weekly thinks he's getting better with age. See?! Authors can be on Twitter and not lose their minds (except for the part where Ellis says "Sex and the City 2" was underrated, shudder).

Associated Press: Fox TV hit "Glee," about a motley crew of high schoolers bonding through music, is spinning off a five-book series including a prequel. (Back when they were all unhappy loners? Was there a demand for that?)

Spotted on the subway: Not Achewood

30something, balding in a blue sweater vest, engrossed in this edition of the Kerouac book. It reminded me of the popular webcomic Achewood but the artist is Jason, about whom I cannot find any information.

When I looked it up on Amazon, though, I saw this funny review: ...THE BOOK THAT RUINED MY LIFE!!!!!..........!

New Yorker 20 Under 40: Lead Time Kills Several

Haven't had the chance to read all 20 writers honored in this week's New Yorker yet? (Me either.) The good news is that FSG is coming out with a collection of stories from all the writers. The bad news is... it won't be out till December.

Sigh.

From what I understand, every author under consideration had to submit an unpublished work to the New Yorker at some point. I assume it's from this pool that FSG is publishing. How nice would be to have a lap card fall out of my New Yorker this week that says, "In 2 weeks: Pick up THE ONLY WRITERS THE NEW YORKER EVER LOVED, in bookstores everywhere"? Two weeks so it doesn't interfere with newsstand sales, because 5 of those 20 pieces are in this week's issue.
But that would never work, because they could never get the rights turned around that quickly, or the production.
Okay, so the editors draw up this list in December of 2009. Then they and FSG have six months to hash it out, plus three-fourths of a summer double issue completed much earlier so the good people at 4TS can go on a nice vacation.
It would leak. There's no way a secret that big could stay secret for six months.
This is the industry responsible for the mass deployment of HARRY POTTER. Surely there's an ironclad confidentiality agreement or several (dozen) floating around that would suffice.
Oh, it's not the publishing folk we're worried about, it's those... writers...
At the risk of being blackballed from one of the major magazines in this country that still publishes fiction -- they will keep it down.
What about editing time for the stories themselves?
Assuming that these are, in fact, the 20 best writers anywhere for now (debatable) and they have almost all published at least one book (Tea Obreht the exception), surely they have a recently rejected or finished story in the drawer. Probably many! We're not dealing with Jonathan Safran Foer's first ever workshopped piece, "I Broke Up With My Thinly Disguised High School Girlfriend," or Rivka Galchen's Finn/Mr. Schuster slashlets. These are pros, and since the original lead time was about six months, clearly they aren't counting on needing more.

Okay, now someone tell me why this can't work. (Might as well have called this post, "See, It's Super Easy To Publish A Book In My Mind.")

Holy shit! Listen to William Faulkner

If you have to lean into your speakers a little, so be it, because you really want to hear the author reading AS I LAY DYING. (I downloaded the .gsm file and it opened right up in QuickTime, FYI.)

Loved that video of Bill Murray reading poetry to construction workers? He can read to you at the Poetry Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge next Monday. Galway Kinnell, Poet Laureate of Brooklyn Tina Chang and Laurie Anderson will also read at this mobile benefit -- all for the low, low price of $250.

You might think anyone can just walk up, but my friend P. and I wandered into it by accident two summers ago on our way to the Telectroscope and they hurry you along.

In other news, for this summer only I will stand outside your apartment and read you poetry for $1.* A bargain at twice the price!

--
* May not include travel expenses for recipients outside the tri-state area. Also if you could lower me down an iced coffee at the end, that would be swell.

Respect your elders

This list of 10 Writers over 80 from Ward Six is a trivia goldmine, and not just because of the ages. I didn't like Paula Fox's DESPERATE CHARACTERS, despite strong recommendations, but discovering that she's Courtney Love's grandmother, now that I can drop at readings. And I feel still guiltier over never finishing THE GINGER MAN if J.P. Donleavy is still with us.

Two recommendations to draw from it: If you enjoyed Beverly Cleary's books when you were younger, her memoirs A GIRL FROM YAMHILL and MY OWN TWO FEET will surprise you and give you insight into her writing. Also, I've been meaning to read some of Alison Lurie's other books after randomly picking up FOREIGN AFFAIRS on vacation and really enjoying it; it's light, but not "beach reading."

There are some puns I won't make

and that would be one of them. Really??? (Taken at Borders over the weekend when I stopped in for a magazine.)

You're a novelist; your second book is coming out to mild fanfare; why wouldn't you get your famous brother to throw you a book party? That's the least I would expect from my siblings (who are not famous, yet).

Scenes from a library queue II

Felt like I only did this a few weeks ago, but I was wrong:



NOTES
1. Perhaps this list reflects a little of the ambivalence I spotted in my lobby in April. Okay, that's not true, I know it does, but someone recommended the Vaynerchuk book to me and this beats buying it.
2. Summer of DFW in full effect! But speaking of, is it ludicrous that the library only has one copy of the David Lipsky book? 36 people are waiting for it right now (myself not included, though it looks like I'm going to have some slots free soon).
3. This is the third time I have checked THE HELP out from the library. Twice I received it, didn't have time to crack it and sent it straight back because someone else had a hold on it. Given my admitted desire to see what the fuss is about, I can only speculate that it's just ill-timed.
4. I realize given #3, I should probably not be requesting this many short-wait books at one time, but this habit dies hard. It hearkens back to my more transient years, when I would move into a place, gaze disapprovingly at the empty shelf, and form an ad hoc collection at the nearest library. (Unless I wasn't allowed to use it. I'm looking at you, college libraries of my mid-high-school summers.) And the DFW I can just renew until I'm finished.
5. On the other hand, I have been digesting books at an awesome rate recently, so let's hope that continues. Must be the weather.
6. It's worth noting that the Michael Lewis book has already been out for almost three months, and yet... Maybe 177 copies just wasn't enough? But I can wait.
7. I flipped through EVERYTHING AND MORE once and it seems pretty esoteric and technical. Not sure if I'll end up finishing it. We'll see.

Author Blog of the Week: Glen David Gold

Title: O Evil Planet: Theory and Practice of Gnomonism by Glen David Gold
Location: glendavidgold.blogspot.com
Books for which proprietor is responsible: CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL and one of my favorite novels of 2009, SUNNYSIDE
Features: Disjointed, often numbered musings; pictures of pets captioned as "support staff"
You'd never know this author... would list "Dude Where's My Car?" as one of his favorite movies. I hope he is sincere about that.
Why you should read it: Because I don't have the slightest idea what is going on with it, and if you scroll down you might jump out of your chair.
Sample passage: "Why is it, then, that the internet is so disruptive to thought? I think it might be because it mimics the freedom of woolgathering while substituting, like a cuckoo's egg, its own images for the ones you might have made up."
A great recent post: "O. And Why It Took 8 Years"

New York: Housing Works Open Air Street Fair this Saturday

The twice-yearly street fair is a delightful way to shop -- the SoHo cobblestones, the people-watching, the fact that no one minds if you sit down on the curb and examine your purchases right after buying. The $1 books contain some gems if you're patient enough. Apparently there are also clothes there? I never get that far.

The New Yorker's 20 Under 40

In classically bitchy fashion, the Times goes ahead and publishes the list before David Remnick's baby hits newsstands next Monday. The question isn't whether you have any opinions on it, but do you have enough? Herewith, the class of 2010:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chris Adrian
Daniel Alarcón
David Bezmozgis
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
Joshua Ferris
Jonathan Safran Foer
Nell Freudenberger
Rivka Galchen
Nicole Krauss
Yiyun Li
Dinaw Mengestu
Philipp Meyer
C. E. Morgan
Téa Obreht
Z Z Packer
Karen Russell
Salvatore Scibona
Gary Shteyngart
Wells Tower

I will quickly call out a few members:

The Prodigy: The youngest author on the list is 24-year-old Téa Obreht, a Cornell MFA grad from the former Yugoslavia whose first novel hasn't even come out yet. All eyes will be on that book (it's called THE TIGER'S DAUGHTER) but Roving Editor seems to have read it and apparently there is an actual tiger in it. Oh boy.
The Overachiever: Author Chris Adrian's other job is pediatric oncologist.
The Married Couple: Super day for the Safran Foer-Krauss hauss, or launch of a thousand after-dinner arguments? Just kidding, I'm sure they aren't that petty.
The First Mistake: Despite the Times calling out the "international" character of the list, at my extremely rough count, the list stands at 9 foreign-born, 11 American-born, which means your odds are still slightly better as an American. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
The Disappointed: Of all the authors who were too old to make the list, the Times singled out only Colson Whitehead and Dave Eggers as not making the cut. Strikes me as slightly unfair, since a lot of authors are also too old, although some are much too old and others are just slightly too old.
The Busy Summer: By my accounting I have a lot of reading to do, since I've only read books by five of them. Pathetic showing. Dare you do better?

Stacked

Be warned: Bookshelf Porn is completely safe for work (other than its name) but may inspire uncontrollable urges to redecorate. Or, in the case of these under-the-stairs shelves, move. It also led me to this paperback-themed wallpaper from Anthropologie, which I should hate but I can't! It's just twee enough. Alas, would have to also move to buy that.

Sondre Lerche Just Read JULIET, NAKED

The Norwegian singer also suggested novelist/screenwriter/director Peter Hedges to direct, not surprising given that they worked together on "Dan in Real Life." (If you've seen the movie, you can see Sondre playing with his band over the end credits.)

I like Ricky Gervais in everything, but who will play Tucker?

Every Monday should be a holiday

Books read over the weekend: 3.5
Books bought over the weekend: 3
Bookstores visited: 2
Literary-themed bars enjoyed: 1

While I was gone one of my roommates reorganized our kitchen and found a library copy of this P.G. Wodehouse book. It's not my late return; I actually have no idea whose it is. I guess I'll return it this week.

Cover: mearso