March 26th, 2009 / 12:32 pm
Haut or not

Haut or Not: 3 balls in a sack

bookstacksmall1

Ravi Mangla

Thing Things They Carried: all the crap on the floor because there wasn’t a table. Catch-22: there’s no table and all the books are on the floor. A Farewell to Arms: how about a farewell to crap on the floor? Independence Day: forget about pastoral America, first get your shit off the floor Ravi. The Tipping Point: it don’t matter if anything tips over cuz everything is already on the god damn floor. Introducing Derrida: are you serious Ravi? You actually care about post-structuralist linguistic theory? Dude, here’s a pre-structuralist theory: If Ravi gets his ASS to IKEA and gets himself a fucking table, he can put his lame shit books on it one day and not be such a carpet whore.

Rating: Not

mk01-copy

Mike Kitchell

Mike sent in a gigantic pic of a gigantic bookshelf whose books were all, like, ‘extremely intense’ in that PhD awful existence kind of way. Though the cropped portion (you’re seeing about 1/10th of his collection) was the most offensive, trust me when I say his entire collection (enough to cover a wall) had the same ‘head-fuckness’ to it. I’m all for an occasional dose of theory but man, can you imagine trying to have a beer with this guy?

“Mmm…nice hops.”

“The medium is the message — if by ‘hops’ you, as the author and co-conspirator of these words, mean the semiotics which represent (or more accurately re-present) the post-colonial ideals of ‘exotic spices’ merely propagated by your semantic shell of a being.

Bro.”

I didn’t know Derrida (who is so obvious I call him Derri-duh) was the rage all of the sudden. It’s ironic how the post-structuralists said, basically, there was no ‘absolute’ — how everything was a semantic construct — and that that was…um…the absolute. They relied on the very medium (language) which they attempted to usurp in order to convey its critique. Ironic, or just French? Mike, let’s grab a beer, not the words which form the construct of ‘let’s grab a beer.’

Rating: Not.

peakhautornot

David Peak

There’s a certain ‘best of’ feeling to this, like David is more interested in having read an author’s ‘most notable work’ than her/his oeuvre. There’s a fickleness towards the authors that concerns me; it’s like Joyce’s Dublin and Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County are incomplete. David Peak reads like a tourist, without curiosity.  Tossed in are some sorta kitschy ‘nerd’ paperbacks. Man, I didn’t know the french fruitcakes were so in all of the sudden. And then there’s the lovable ‘magical realist fiction’ anthology. One can imagine Italo Calvino snuggled comfortably in there. Mmm…If on a winter’s night a tourist

Rating: Not

Tags: , ,

81 Comments

  1. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      These are great.

      The funny is back.

      I appreciated the sober interludes, but prefer the funny.

  2. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      These are great.

      The funny is back.

      I appreciated the sober interludes, but prefer the funny.

  3. scgarz

      very funny! lol, as the kids say.

      but what about the Millhauser? Is the Millhauser not haut?

  4. scgarz

      very funny! lol, as the kids say.

      but what about the Millhauser? Is the Millhauser not haut?

  5. Jimmy Chen

      millhauser was the only haut thing, but weighed out by the nots.

  6. Jimmy Chen

      millhauser was the only haut thing, but weighed out by the nots.

  7. Jimmy Chen

      yah i think the whole point is to be made fun of.
      no more sobriety.

  8. Janey Smith

      I liked the carpet.

  9. Jimmy Chen

      yah i think the whole point is to be made fun of.
      no more sobriety.

  10. Janey Smith

      I liked the carpet.

  11. David Erlewine
  12. David Erlewine
  13. Nathan Tyree

      I prefer shag. Orange shag.

  14. Nathan Tyree

      I prefer shag. Orange shag.

  15. sara

      Is there a possibility that Ravi’s books are on a shelf, but a really bad taste carpeted one? The window is kinda close to the floor otherwise.

  16. sara

      Is there a possibility that Ravi’s books are on a shelf, but a really bad taste carpeted one? The window is kinda close to the floor otherwise.

  17. darby

      maybe they are giant books

  18. darby

      maybe they are giant books

  19. Jimmy Chen

      nice try, but look at the baseboards.

  20. Jimmy Chen

      nice try, but look at the baseboards.

  21. KevinS

      C’mon now. Even if Ravi’s stack is on the floor, it’s def hot. Sightseeing, Padget MFing Powell, Hannah, Pancake, Hobart, The Little Prince, McGuane, B-Graham, Ben Marcus, James Tate. It’s pretty guy-heavy but it’s hot. Nice stack, Ravi.

  22. KevinS

      C’mon now. Even if Ravi’s stack is on the floor, it’s def hot. Sightseeing, Padget MFing Powell, Hannah, Pancake, Hobart, The Little Prince, McGuane, B-Graham, Ben Marcus, James Tate. It’s pretty guy-heavy but it’s hot. Nice stack, Ravi.

  23. Ryan Call

      is that a diana hacker i see in ravi’s pile!?

  24. Ryan Call

      is that a diana hacker i see in ravi’s pile!?

  25. ben

      1) For a second I thought that by ‘nice hops’ you meant that he was good at jumping, as I mostly think of ‘hops’ in the context of basketball.

      2) Derrida/post-structuralist linguistics totally opened up a way of thinking language and writing that is super-influential to all sorts of the hautest fiction. Lutz, Marcus, all of the Oulipo people, etcetc. totally owe that thought, whether or not they are directly influenced by it.

  26. ben

      1) For a second I thought that by ‘nice hops’ you meant that he was good at jumping, as I mostly think of ‘hops’ in the context of basketball.

      2) Derrida/post-structuralist linguistics totally opened up a way of thinking language and writing that is super-influential to all sorts of the hautest fiction. Lutz, Marcus, all of the Oulipo people, etcetc. totally owe that thought, whether or not they are directly influenced by it.

  27. jereme

      this was good. i like it when jimmy isn’t care bear. he is funny.

      david peak, you did not need an entire book to know that fulci is the only italian horror director worth knowing about.

      the rest bite his asshole.

  28. jereme

      this was good. i like it when jimmy isn’t care bear. he is funny.

      david peak, you did not need an entire book to know that fulci is the only italian horror director worth knowing about.

      the rest bite his asshole.

  29. Nathan Tyree

      ummm… Argento?

  30. Nathan Tyree

      ummm… Argento?

  31. Mike Kitchell

      Secret: of the selection of my bookshelf you cropped, I have only read 6 of those in their entirity, and 3 of them art Barthes. I have only read 1 of the Derrida titles, because, well, I am entirely addicted to buying books & will perhaps read them eventually. I lol’d though.

  32. Mike Kitchell

      Secret: of the selection of my bookshelf you cropped, I have only read 6 of those in their entirity, and 3 of them art Barthes. I have only read 1 of the Derrida titles, because, well, I am entirely addicted to buying books & will perhaps read them eventually. I lol’d though.

  33. keith n b

      ben, could you explain a little more about how post-structuralism opened up new avenues for literature, or point me to something that discusses that idea in more depth. i’m curious to know more about that relation. thanks.

  34. keith n b

      ben, could you explain a little more about how post-structuralism opened up new avenues for literature, or point me to something that discusses that idea in more depth. i’m curious to know more about that relation. thanks.

  35. Mike Kitchell

      i think my lack of spelling ability attests to this

  36. Mike Kitchell

      i think my lack of spelling ability attests to this

  37. ravi

      It’s a nice carpet. I’m proud of it. Tables are overrated.

      And there are a few gals in the stack – Paley, Munro, Hecht, Homes, Beattie.

  38. ravi

      It’s a nice carpet. I’m proud of it. Tables are overrated.

      And there are a few gals in the stack – Paley, Munro, Hecht, Homes, Beattie.

  39. davidpeak

      Jimmy is right. Tourism. I am on vacation right now.

      Jereme: Argento. Lado. Bava. Soavi.

      This was fun.

  40. davidpeak

      Jimmy is right. Tourism. I am on vacation right now.

      Jereme: Argento. Lado. Bava. Soavi.

      This was fun.

  41. Adam Robinson

      Now wait a sec here keith — are you always joking when you ask these questions? I feel duped.

  42. Adam Robinson

      Now wait a sec here keith — are you always joking when you ask these questions? I feel duped.

  43. Mike Kitchell

      Polselli & Cavallone are better than both.

  44. Mike Kitchell

      Polselli & Cavallone are better than both.

  45. Nathan Tyree

      I’m tempted to argue that, but it is awfully close.

  46. Nathan Tyree

      I’m tempted to argue that, but it is awfully close.

  47. alan rossi

      i like the bust down the door and eat all the chickens hiding in your stack, david. that’s funny.

  48. alan rossi

      i like the bust down the door and eat all the chickens hiding in your stack, david. that’s funny.

  49. Janey Smith

      Do you think the word SHAGGING derives somehow from the word SHAG as in carpet or rug?

  50. Janey Smith

      Do you think the word SHAGGING derives somehow from the word SHAG as in carpet or rug?

  51. Janey Smith

      Keith? Please read: Acts of Literature by Jacques Derrida. It’s like a greatest hits of Derrida’s stuff about writing and literature. Also please read Maurice Blanchot’s The Space of Literature and Michel Foucault’s collected essays in Aesthetics, Method and Epistemology 1954-1984. There’s a lot more stuff than this, but I am hungry so it’s hard to concentrate right now.

      To see how post-structuralism and deconstruction informed literature and writing please read Kathy Acker and Dennis Cooper–to name only two.

      There is actually a lot of stuff written about post-structuralism and deconstruction’s effects on literature. If you want, I could come up with a list for you?

      janey.smith.is.baby.robot@gmail.com

  52. Janey Smith

      Keith? Please read: Acts of Literature by Jacques Derrida. It’s like a greatest hits of Derrida’s stuff about writing and literature. Also please read Maurice Blanchot’s The Space of Literature and Michel Foucault’s collected essays in Aesthetics, Method and Epistemology 1954-1984. There’s a lot more stuff than this, but I am hungry so it’s hard to concentrate right now.

      To see how post-structuralism and deconstruction informed literature and writing please read Kathy Acker and Dennis Cooper–to name only two.

      There is actually a lot of stuff written about post-structuralism and deconstruction’s effects on literature. If you want, I could come up with a list for you?

      janey.smith.is.baby.robot@gmail.com

  53. Matthew Simmons

      Antrim, too. Love that book.

  54. Matthew Simmons

      Antrim, too. Love that book.

  55. Matthew Simmons

      And MEANS! I missed the David Means.

  56. Matthew Simmons

      And MEANS! I missed the David Means.

  57. Matthew Simmons

      Dubus. And Bestial Noise.

      The books are holding up the window.

  58. Matthew Simmons

      Dubus. And Bestial Noise.

      The books are holding up the window.

  59. keith n b

      adam, i’m confused. what do you mean? always ask what questions? and duping? i’m trying to think and can’t really come up with what you mean. help me out here.

      janey, thank you kindly. i’ll take you up on your offer. but we’ll have to find a way to narrow it down to a cliff notes version so my head doesn’t explode.

  60. keith n b

      adam, i’m confused. what do you mean? always ask what questions? and duping? i’m trying to think and can’t really come up with what you mean. help me out here.

      janey, thank you kindly. i’ll take you up on your offer. but we’ll have to find a way to narrow it down to a cliff notes version so my head doesn’t explode.

  61. keith n b

      adam, do you mean i’ve been asking a lot questions? i just realized now in the past few days, i have been i guess. i don’t know anything about lit theory or history of lit or have read much lit except some stuff that’s impacted me over the past 10 years, and i’m wanting to become a little more informed so that i can get a sense of the past trajectory and current atmosphere, to hopefully gain a sense of perspective, and maybe see different possibilities for the continuing direction of the trajectory. i like patterns. i really like seeing patterns. i miss psylocibin.

  62. keith n b

      adam, do you mean i’ve been asking a lot questions? i just realized now in the past few days, i have been i guess. i don’t know anything about lit theory or history of lit or have read much lit except some stuff that’s impacted me over the past 10 years, and i’m wanting to become a little more informed so that i can get a sense of the past trajectory and current atmosphere, to hopefully gain a sense of perspective, and maybe see different possibilities for the continuing direction of the trajectory. i like patterns. i really like seeing patterns. i miss psylocibin.

  63. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      The word “beaver” as a euphemism for vagina derives from hats. No joke. That’s actually a good idea for a poem, now that I think of it.

  64. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      The word “beaver” as a euphemism for vagina derives from hats. No joke. That’s actually a good idea for a poem, now that I think of it.

  65. Nathan (Nate) Tyree
  66. Nathan (Nate) Tyree
  67. barry

      ravi, my man, i see the virginity pledge in that pile, if that aint hot jimmy then…. then… i dont know. what the fuck.

  68. barry

      ravi, my man, i see the virginity pledge in that pile, if that aint hot jimmy then…. then… i dont know. what the fuck.

  69. David Erlewine

      Ravi, I like your stack. I also have that carpet in my basement. I’ll be looking at it tonight, getting drunk, plotting all kinds of shit.

  70. David Erlewine

      Ravi, I like your stack. I also have that carpet in my basement. I’ll be looking at it tonight, getting drunk, plotting all kinds of shit.

  71. ben

      these are good suggestions.

      i am also thinking about donald barthelme, because right now I am reading his essay collection, and it is clear that he very heavily influenced by/aware of the theory of his time. his essays are very approachable and excellent. he is the best.

  72. ben

      these are good suggestions.

      i am also thinking about donald barthelme, because right now I am reading his essay collection, and it is clear that he very heavily influenced by/aware of the theory of his time. his essays are very approachable and excellent. he is the best.

  73. pr

      David is 31.

      Ravi is 28.

      Mike is 30.

  74. davidpeak

      Nope. 25.

  75. davidpeak

      Nope. 25.

  76. Sean

      Are these read?

  77. Sean

      Are these read?

  78. Mike Kitchell

      Mike is 22

  79. Mike Kitchell

      Mike is 22

  80. ravi

      14

  81. ravi

      14