books

“Nothing ever happens.”

This is the first installment of what I might call Litblogging Wis Frvr or something like that. Sort of an anthology-in-progress.

The Book: A Spiritual Instrument
by Stéphane Mallarmé

I am the author of a statement to which there have been varying reactions, including praise and blame, and which I shall make again in the present article. Briefly, it is this: all earthly existence must ultimately be contained in a book. READ MORE >

Excerpts & Film / 14 Comments
January 21st, 2011 / 7:34 pm

2010 in Books (+1 album, TV show, movie)

I read a little more than half a Louisville Slugger’s worth. Not included: the books I started and didn’t finish. Included below but not pictured: books I’ve given to friends. It was a great year, though, in that I read more books that I know I’ll reread than in any other. In mostly scattered order:

READ MORE >

Roundup / 28 Comments
January 5th, 2011 / 12:33 am

What do you expect to pay for a paperback book? What if it’s 700+ pages? Books are really cheap entertainment. Do you think they should cost more?

The Books of Kier Cooke Sandvik

More incredible work at Kier’s blog.

Web Hype / 4 Comments
August 31st, 2010 / 11:45 am

Have you checked in with The Laughing Yeti lately? Shome Dasgupta’s archive of thoughts on reading is becoming epic, and if the Internet lasts after the aliens come and go, it will certainly prove to be a worthwhile resource for the future historians.

Things & Stuff

There’s a deep and abiding chasm, I think, between materialism and consumerism. It has to do with the how and the why. And also, with shame. I have a fierce attachment to my things, and I’m frequently consumed by a desire for more things. I have walked into shops and trembled. I consider myself a materialist. I am also a consumer, vulnerable to marketing tactics, but when I give in to them, I feel embarrassed. There are certain objects that mean a lot to me, but probably wouldn’t mean much to anyone else. These objects are reifications of my experience, evidence that I exist: how would I or anyone know that I went to the bazaar, figuratively speaking, if I didn’t bring back the miniature tin kettle and cup and saucer, figuratively speaking, to prove it?

I like knowing that Walter Benjamin collected so many books, but didn’t read many of them. The collecting is greater than the book.

Random / 2 Comments
June 1st, 2010 / 11:47 am

!!!

The brilliant Noah Cicero and the brilliant Evan Lavender-Smith both have new books out. Check out (the long awaited) The Insurgent and (the massively praised) From Old Notebooks.

!!!

When was the last time you read a book you didn’t really want to read? How did that go?