JY: I recorded myself reading four poems, Classic Water by David Berman, Some of my Happiest Moments In Life Occur on AOL Instant Messenger by Tao Lin, an untitled poem by Roberto Bolano from the Romantic Dogs and For Grace, After a Party by Frank O’Hara.
Listen here to James’ reading and introduction about why these books were life-saving: .
James Yeh (b. 1982) is a writer and founding editor of Gigantic, a magazine of short prose and art. His fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in PEN America, elimae and the anthology 30 Under 30. His humor, nonfiction and interviews have appeared in Gigantic, The Morning News, Yankee Pot Roast and The Faster Times. He is at work on a novel-in-stories called I Love and Understand You and Would Be Perfect to You Now and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
AP: I can’t honestly claim a book has saved my life, as I’m not the sort to carry a thick Turgenev in my vest pocket to absorb dueling balls, but… Several years ago I was expected at a wedding of two people for whom I didn’t have any huge feeling, and I was in my hotel room reading the last ten pages of Georges Perec’s “Life: A User’s Manual.” As the denouement approached, the beauty of the whole book sort of overwhelmed me, and I found myself in tears at Perec’s accomplishment. Well, not tears, but certainly misty-eyed. I went to the wedding (which I’d sort of been dreading) in a burst of good feeling, including deep affection for the participants. I honestly credit Perec.
Arthur Phillips is the author of several national and international bestsellers, including Prague and The Egyptologist. He has been a child actor, a jazz musician, a speechwriter, a dismally failed entrepreneur, and a five-time Jeopardy! champion. His fourth novel, The Song Is You was just published by Random House. More info, and an excerpt of the book here.
In honor of Banned Books Week this week, and our little blog’s 1 year anniversary, we’ll be posting authors, editors and our own celebrations of books that lay claim to a little piece of ourselves. Coming up: Arthur Philips’ metaphorical bullet-proof vest.
We’ll also be posting links to a series of articles that articulate an ongoing conversation about the meaning and method of Banned Books Week itself.
Ask and you shall receive: while avoiding writing I was dreaming up fun things to do with my iphone and found this, an app from IndieBound released this summer that includes a search function to find independent booksellers near you. I just moved to a new neighborhood so it already helped me find FIVE (count ‘em) comic book stsores near my house. Apparently I live in heaven.
Great article today in the NYT about reading in the subway. It piggybacks on a conversation I was having last night about how many journalists live in NY, who then write about their city, which then feeds into the city’s self-mythologizing.
But for those of us who have mastered the one-handed read (that sounds dirty), the article vocalizes the usually silent conversation that goes on between reading riders on the subway. I envy the author her assignment, who wouldn’t want license to ask why the woman in the business suit chose to read The Hobbit?
JY: I recorded myself reading four poems, Classic Water by David Berman, Some of my Happiest Moments In Life Occur on AOL Instant Messenger by Tao Lin, an untitled poem by Roberto Bolano from the Romantic Dogs and For Grace, After a Party by Frank O’Hara.
AP: I can’t honestly claim a book has saved my life, as I’m not the sort to carry a thick Turgenev in my vest pocket to absorb dueling balls, but… Several years ago I was expected at a wedding of two people for whom I didn’t have any huge feeling, and I was in my hotel room reading the last ten pages of Georges Perec’s “Life: A User’s Manual.” As the denouement approached, the beauty of the whole book sort of overwhelmed me, and I found myself in tears at Perec’s accomplishment. Well, not tears, but certainly misty-eyed. I went to the wedding (which I’d sort of been dreading) in a burst of good feeling, including deep affection for the participants. I honestly credit Perec.
Censor, by 
Great article today in the NYT about 