FC Book Review

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Horses and Hotdogs

The first book in my McSweeney's subscription arrived a week or so ago: Yannick Murphy's Here They Come. With very little idea of what the book was about, much less who the author is, I read the novel -- the writer's third book -- in the last two days. It's excellent.

I encourage you to read a book you know nothing about -- or by an author you know nothing about -- soon. It's a different reading experience entirely, and you bring a different self to the read. You don't give a book more -- or less -- because you "like" the author. And that's refreshing.

I still know nothing about Murphy, so I can write about the book without context. Ostensibly set in the New York City of the '70s, this novel involves the story of a teenage girl and her family as they try to negotiate the ins and outs of poverty and a broken home. In some ways, it reminds me of Joseph Torchia's Kryptonite Kid, one of my favorite books ever, as the lead character discovers herself while searching for her father and coping with the travails of her life.

Until the heroine's father goes missing, there's little direction in the novel, but once that vector is established, purpose is solidified -- even though it doesn't take over the narrative. Even the end papers don't make sense until the very last chapters -- while the cover imagery makes sense and is continually established throughout the book.

Here They Come is an excellent New York book. There's a lot of place in it. The details -- frozen water in the toilet, accumulated garbage bags, sleeping on the fire escape -- are quite nice. And the portrayal of the "countryside" of Long Island is intriguing.

Next up: Javier Morales' Voyage Along the Horizon, which just hit the streets on the 28th. Thank you, McSweeney's!

The Reader Is Encouraged

Another pulp mystery from the big box, Carter Dickson's 1939 novel The Reader Is Warned might establish Dickson -- who also wrote under the pen name John Dickson Carr -- as my new favorite vintage thriller fiction author. A classic dark house murder mystery, the book involves a supposed psychic who predicts that a stodgy patron will die at a certain time. He does.

What ensues is a double mystery. Is the psychic truly psychic? Who killed the patron, if anyone? The reader is treated to the sleuth character Sir Henry Merrivale, who might also be my new favorite mystery hero. I also enjoyed how the various law officials interacted, the surprising revelation of who the killer is, the voodoo-like Bantu elements, the various romantic relationships that were revealed, and Dickson's other mechinations.

Be sure to seek out the work of Dickson. He was a talent. A total talent.

Clock Stopper

One of my best Ebay purchases has been a lot of vintage paperback books, primarily mystery novels. Among that lot was this title, George Harmon Coxe's 1957 novel One Minute Past Eight. It was a gripping read. A missing heir's brother goes on the hunt to Venezuela and becomes embroiled in a crime of passion involving several suspects.

Coxe penned more than 60 novels in his 80-plus year life, and this work falls roughly in the middle of his career. It's a classic hardboiled thriller. The foreign locale. The femme fatale. The love-inspired murder. The hard-edged law officials. The newspaper reporter of ill report. The Felix Leiter-like sidekick. Gambling debts. Affairs. A bounty hunter. The whole shebang.

It's been several weeks since I read this, so I fear I'm unable to share much more, but know this: Coxe is worth seeking out and reading. Excellent.

50 Verses

I'm a big believer in the value of buying books, used or new. And I'm a consummate impulse book buyer. In fact, I have to rein myself in, I buy so many books with little or no provocation. But when it comes to poetry books, I drop the reins. I think that one cannot buy too many books of poetry -- and that buying them is in fact a form of public service. So when my friend in Austin -- Amy -- mentioned that she was particularly fond of the poet Billy Collins, our poet laureate from 2001-2003, and pointed out the poem "Litany" in the collection Nine Horses, I snapped up the collection with all due haste.

Collins is a wonderful poet, one who uses simple words and simple images to communicate complex emotions and ideas. His work lacks pretension and is extremely human -- and humane. Of the 50 poems collected in this paperback, I am particularly fond of "Aimless Love," "Litany," and "No Time." While he works in everyday references to the culture of his time and life -- the book inspired this blog entry, which was taken from my notes in the back of the book -- his poems don't feel overly current and may very well be timeless.

What strikes me in my favorite poems? Collins' love of the basic and simple -- the things we see every day but might not recognize or elevate otherwise -- and his consideration of the lines between life and death. He also offers several verses about poetry, writing, and the writing life -- without becoming heavy handed or overly romantic about the use of words.

If you haven't read Collins before, start with "Litany." It's an amazing read. And if you aren't familiar with our current poet laureate -- Ted Kooser -- get thee to a bookstore, perhaps the recently bought Grolier Poetry Book Shope in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and drop some dime.

Do-It-Yours(h)elf Art

Got an interesting email from the curator of Maiden, Brooklyn, today:

Beginning on April 1st, we are turning the front room of our space at 252 Grand Street into an old school bodega.

As part of his on going Shopdropping project, artist Ryan Watkins-Hughes curates an open call exhibition of art placed on store-bought cans of victuals. Coming out of the tradition that is part a guerilla street art, part a culture jam, the Shopdropping places stimulating visuals in unexpected places. By covertly sneaking into grocery stores and supermarkets and replacing merchandise with altered soup cans, Ryan anonymously activates the visual space usually taken over by corporate branding.

For the show at Maiden, Ryan asked over 40 artists to contribute their art. After placing the submissions on standard 8oz cans, he will display them, NY Deli style, on narrow racks lining the walls of the store. Also, through the cooperation of the Grand Street storeowners, the project will continue in several spaces along the street. The visitors to Maiden, Brooklyn will be provided with a detailed map of the neighborhood spots where the cans can be found, dispatching them on an appropriately timed Easter Egg hunt, but for cans. Hilarity will ensue.

Awesome.

New Record Day II

Here's what's coming out this week that I think is notable:

• The Dresden Dolls, "Sing" single
  
• Morrissey, "You Have Killed Me" EP
  

What records are you going to pick up this week?

Update: This is what I bought.

Tales About Places

Share some stories about where you live. (Consumating login required.)

This is an experiment in cross-pollination.

Greenpoint of View II

Media Dietician Phil just emailed me the following photo, which he found on Gothamist:



To each their own opinions, I suppose.

Movies and Mashups

This is pretty darn cool.

[Thanks, Justin!]

Subscription Prescription

I love the idea of subscribing to books and records. If a publishing company or label is small and smart enough, chances are good you'll appreciate most everything they put out. That's why I subscribe to RE/Search (informally) and McSweeney's (formally, through their Book Release Club).

So I was pleased as punch to learn that Soft Skull Press is launching a subscription service. Kicking off with their poetry line, Soft Skull now offers an annual subscription that will include eight books for $50.

I've placed an order and encourage you to do the same. Support the small press. And support the idea of book subscriptions!

Newsletters of Note XI

Do you like digital photography? Do you like crafty projects like those featured in Make and ReadyMade?

Then check out Photojojo. This new semiweekly newsletter will teach you how to "turn a photo into a mural at home in 5 minutes, print your friends' faces onto cupcakes, or get a bottlecap that turns any soda bottle into a tripod."

Can't wait to see the first edition!