Interview One; Ben Greenman and His New Book Please Step Back

Ben Greenman and His New Book, Please Step Back

Ben Greenman is the Non-Fiction Editor of The New Yorker and the author of the new book Please Step Back. He is a major player in the literary world and an overall creative mind. He is the author of Superbad, (McSweeneys, 2001) Superworse, (Soft Skull, 2004) A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both: Stories About Human Love, (Macadam/Cage, 2007) Correspondence,(Hotel St. George, 2008) and Please Step Back. (Melville House, 2009) He is a contributor to Moistworks,McSweenys and Fictionaut. If you haven’t read his pieces about Twitter or Alex Rodriguez you’re really missing out on two gems.

I was lucky enough to hear Mr. Greenman read twice (Once at Rider University and once at Brickbat Books) over the past year and speak with him each time. Below is a little Q&A between Ben and I. If you have any follow up questions, post them as a comment and maybe we can do a follow up interview with the help of our readers.

- What is your favorite baseball team and player?

Now, it's hard to say. Probably the Cards and Pujols. But of all time? Chicago White Sox when Frank Thomas was great, which was almost always.

- When visiting Rider University you spoke of “Correspondences,” a piece based largely on your own life. What non-fiction aspects did you incorporate in “Please Step Back?”

Well, that book is very autobiographical, too. Even though it's about a rock star in the sixties and seventies, I used many of my own experiences, particularly when it came to managing creativity and marriage.

- In mid-May you made a playlist for the New York Times, which included a variety of songs from past decades, and on the popular music/literary blog "Moistworks" you frequently contribute pieces accompanied by older songs. With that in mind, what contemporary music do you find yourself drawn to?

Oh, I like most music. I like hip-hop when it's good, country when it's less commercial, garage-band revival acts, space rock, geezer rock, anything.- In your interview with Time Out New York, you stated that the 1960s have become somewhat clichéd, but to the contrary, the '60shad a district personality.

- If anything, what did you do in "Please Step Back" to break the stereotypes of this time period?

I tried to think about how someone living in the sixties would actually experience it: in other words, which events would be a big deal, which might pass unnoticed. How people would understand the war, for example, or the assassinations of great leaders, but also smaller events like personal upheaval, drugs, individual cases of civil rights.

- What did you do to bring to light the personality of the1960s that many parents typically have trouble articulating?

I think it's hard to imagine how compressed major experiences were --how closely linked pop culture and politics and race relations were --especially from the vantage of the present day, when things have become relatively Balkanized.

- Can you see the influence of Sly Stone in any of today’s musicians? If so which ones?

Sure. He influenced nearly everyone: Ice Cube, John Legend, Outkast, Lenny Kravitz, everyone. Sometimes it's direct, and other times it's through intermediaries.-

- The art work for “Please Step Back” is vibrant and abstract. Were there other designs that you considered and if so, how did you know this was the right one for you?

I had some suggestions and ideas for the publisher, and they went away, worked with their designer, and returned with the book. I was very pleased with it from the first time I saw it.-

- Throughout your career you have used a variety of publishers. There was Hotel St. George for “Correspondence,” Soft Skull for “Superworse” and McSweeneys for “Superbad.” Is their any reason for this? Is their any advantage?

It has something to do with the nature of the projects, and something to do with the nature of publishing. I expect that the next book will be with another publisher, because it'll be different. I could be wrong, of course, but I'll probably be right.-

- What do you have planned next?

There are a few books: a novel, a collection of stories, a collection of essays. And then books beyond that.

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Thank you to Ben Greenman, Dr. Mickey Hess and Lauren Cerand! This was a really great experience and I appreciate all the time you guys took to help create this interview. I am very lucky to have met and become friends with all of you.

Also - Please scroll down a bit and take a look at the new creative writing piece we have from Brian Long, Kiley "Keeks" Rummler and a mystery writer ~ oooo spooky ~ (It's not Michael Jackson) Leave a comment if you have some time.

Annnd - Check out this song, it has NOTHING to do with writing but who couldn't groove to this during these humid summer days? Gibson Brothers - Cuba. (circa 1979)

Sorry this is kind of lengthy but they don't call me Brian LONG for nothing...hopefully this story is better than that joke:


Demolition

Robert opened his orange, green, and white lawn chair onto the hot sidewalk. The sun's heat was causing the pavement to boil, it was hot enough to cook an egg or whatever cliche you prefer. This would not stop Robert from enjoying this moment; he sat in the chair with his red cooler by his side. He stared at his toes that were sticking out from his sandals that left tan lines of various shapes on his feet, as he worked his lower body into the ass-grove that he had spent years forming in the chair he pulled two cans of beer out of his cooler and placed them in the holders on the sides of his novelty hat. Beer dribbled from his mouth as he drank from the tube connected to the cans on his hat staining his "Ed's Lamb Ribs Shack" t-shirt. He checked the battery of his video camera and made sure he hat set the alarm of his wristwatch correctly.

About three blocks from Robert's chair was Staple Factory. Founded by William Staple in 1908 Staple Factory was the city's leading supplier of paperclips. The irony of the name was lost on its founder due to his notorious lack of a sense of humor which was as often been cited as the cause of his second divorce. Recently the Staple factory had fallen on hard times due to the controversial redesign of their product which caused a local nursing home resident to suffer a heart attack because of his inability to handle change to the quote: "one thing that had been a constant in his life" due to the stipulations of the lawsuit we can not reveal anymore details of what followed but the factory was closed and the city decided to tear it down in the most dramatic of metropolitan ways: an implosion.

Robert eagerly checked his watch every few moments, he was a former disgruntled employee of Staple Factory. He hated the buzzing lights, he hated his co-workers, he hated his cubicle which was the furthest from the windows and the closest to the coffee machine which sounded like a rusty rake scrapping against a chalkboard. His official position was quality control manager, a job which basically meant filling out reports and mailing surveys to clients but the quality control supervisor would always force Robert to do his jobs. So, once at the beginning of the week he would visit the factory, watch the workers as they watched the machines bend each paperclip into its appropriate form and then write a report on his findings which was due at the end of each week. When he received word of the factory's closing he silently walked out into the parking lot and proceeded to yell at the top of his lungs in what can only be described as tongues.

The high beep of Robert's watch snapped him into focus, he turned on his video camera and pointed it and focused on blue sign that read "Staple"

"This is gonna be good," he said to himself. The countdown rang throughout the city like a voice from the heavens.

5...4...3...2...1

The thundering boom knocked Robert out of his chair, he looked up in time to see the building being swallowed in a cloud dust.

"YAHOO!!" he cried as he leaped to his feet and then took off towards the blast site faster than a child chasing an ice cream truck driven by Santa. He reached the fences surrounding the wreckage in a manner of seconds. Standing near the gate was his friend Al from the blast crew when he saw Robert running towards him he opened the fence and waved his friend inside.

"Alright man make this quick then get outta here," Al said.

"Al, you're a wonderful human being!" Robert had made a sacred promise the day he discovered that the building was being demolished and thanks to the help of Al he would be able to fulfill it. He climbed a pile of wreckage wearing a white breathing mask until he found the blue "Staple" sign.

"Here's to 20 miserable years," he said. Robert unzipped his fly and urinated on the big blue "S"

Robert awoke the following to the sound of a knocking at his door. Severely hungover and wearing nothing but leopard print which he wore during, as he put it, "prime party hours." He crawled out of bed, stop at his washer machine, threw up in it, and then opened the door.

"Good afternoon sir," a delivery man handed Robert a fruit basket with an envelope attached. Robert drew an illegible scribble on the delivery man's clipboard for a signature and walked into his kitchen. He opened the card that read: "For twenty years of faithful service." In the card was a large severance package check which Robert folded up and placed in the elastic of his underwear. He stared at the fruit basket, feeling what he assumed was sadness that he could never return to the office he began to miss, to the smiling faces that greeted him when he entered the building, and the pleasant soothing sound of the coffee machine. He unfolded the check and saw that it was made out to William, his supervisor. Robert placed the basket on the ground and did what he always did when things seemed like they couldn't get any worse: he took a piss.

A (Peace) of Prose

The sky is that perfect brilliant blue. The kind of blue you imagine oceans surrounding far off islands look like. Clear. Pristine. The sun is an electric burst high up in the sky. Blinding almost. Almost. You're lying down on your favorite towel. As wide as Texas and covered in a green and blue pattern that doesn't make sense unless you concentrate on it. But, you're eyes are closed and you are smiling. In the distance you can hear little kids shrieking while playing tag with the waves. Not the mean kind of waves, but the kind that roll lazily -- as if the heat affects them too. For a moment you see it -- like visions of gravity -- and relax. You aren't floating or flying. You're just being. In this instant you know everything -- everything -- is where it's supposed to be. The real world of finals, jobs, student loans, falls away. No, not fall, but crumble. Bit by bit, like a soggy cookie that disintegrates in milk. This is the kind of moment that people who take drugs try to achieve. You see it. You feel it. And absolutely everything is o.k. and everything matters.

Marlboro Reds & Duck Shit

So this is a story I wrote for Dr. Hess's class. I really like it but I want to know what other's think about it. *sorry I haven't posted anything new. I'm trying to make time to write*

As usual Adam was smoking a cigarette – a Marlboro Red – and silently blowing the smoke out in tiny circles that reminded me of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. We weren’t old enough yet to buy cigarettes so he would ask the Mexicans that would sit in front of 7-11 to go in and buy them for him. I was always embarrassed while we stood behind the convenient store, near the dumpsters, waiting for whoever was getting them. It would make me feel homeless and dirty. I never got used to that feeling. Adam never cared. He thought it was all anarchy-esque, like he was beating the system by having some unsuspecting Mexican buy him smokes for six dollars a pack. I went along with it though because this was the boy had I lost my virginity to and was certain I loved. It’s funny what you think love is at fourteen years old.

We were bored teenagers looking for something, anything to do. It was too hot for the beach but too nice to be inside. I called it an In Between Day because there’s nowhere you can be that’s comfortable. We had been walking around for almost an hour when Adam and I decided to stop at the park so we could cool off. We spotted a willow tree, the kind with those long, flowing branches that look like tired fingers, and sat underneath it. The shade was a welcomed transition from the scorching heat. When the wind blew it felt more like an April morning rather than an August afternoon.

            “You know what we should do?” Adam exhaled a steady stream of smoke and turned to look at me.

“What?” I looked back at him. We were sitting on the ground trying not to move around too much because landmines of duck shit were scattered recklessly around us. We had some how found unmarked territory.

            “Burn ourselves with this cigarette to have matching scars. Right on our wrists or something,” he looked at me intently and I could tell by the way his eyes were focusing on me that he had been thinking about this.

            I hesitated, but only slightly,

            “Yeah, it’d be like ‘our thing’,” I replied and immediately wondered why I was agreeing to this. I didn’t want to tell him that it was a dumb idea; I wanted to impress him with my ability to go along with anything. Like the burning hot tip of a cigarette was no match for my coolness.

            He took two more drags and then held it out to me.

            “You wanna go first?” Same intense look that made his eyes squint together. Like he was concocting some kind of master plan or maybe it was the sun that was now streaking through the branches.

            “Sure,” I gently took the cig that he had almost completely smoked down to the filter. I switched it over to my right hand and turn my left wrist up towards me. Adam could tell I was nervous. He leaned in closer to me and whispered,

            “I love you. This is just one more thing that will keep us together. These matching scars. We’ll always have them.”

He always had these one-liners that seemed out-of-place coming from a fourteen year old. It’s not that I didn’t like them but I felt like I wasn’t quite ready to understand what he really meant. Now, they make me think of cheesy romance novels; the kind that are on display at the counter of a Shop-Rite or something.

            I looked back at him but didn’t say anything. For a second I actually thought about chickening out and not doing it. But the next second I was pushing the burning tip of the last Marlboro Red in his pack against the desolate white skin of my teenage wrist. It instantly burned me and I wasn’t ready for that. I thought, on some level, that it would take a minute for me to actually feel it. Instinctively, I pulled my hand away. In my head I was hoping that I hadn’t held it down long enough for a scar to actually form, maybe just a tiny red mark that would go away before the summer ended.

            Adam grabbed the cigarette out of my hand and held it to his right wrist for a solid minute. I stared at him in complete shock. I couldn’t understand how he could hold it against his skin for so long and not be crying. With the cigarette still pushed against his wrist he turned to me,

            “See, this is how much I love you.”

Review for "YOU or the Invention of Memory"

I'm very, very, extremely sorry I'm so late at posting this. I'm insanely busy (as most of you know) and I'm trying to do this as best as possible. This is my first review ever, so please bare with me.

Provoking. This is the first word that comes to mind when I finished this book. It provoked me to think about all my memories of love and if they were actually real. 

"YOU or the Invention of Memory" by Jonathan Baumbach dives into the meaning of memory and love and how the two are intertwined. Baumbach does a fantastic job of making the reader confused at the beginning, and I don't mean this is a bad way. He boggles your mind, then, while continuing on, you begin to get a firmer grasp on what is happening. It's not the usual straight-forward type of book that we read everyday (if you do read everyday) but a book that will be impacted in your memory. You'll question things about yourself and experiences you've had while at the same time, try to figure out if what you are reading is actually plausible. 

Baumbach's writing is impeccable and fresh. It's something we can all learn from. Most everyone can relate to this story on some level because we all deal with memory, whether it's something that has in reality happened or something that we think may have happened. 

I suggest everyone pick up a copy of this book if they are looking for something different that will challenge them.

Kean University's Mastery of New Jersey Arts; The Helen and Carl Burger Gallery Opening

Kean University's Mastery of New Jersey Arts; The Helen and Carl Burger Gallery Opening

Someone once explained to me that given a regional geography there is a corresponding method to gardening. Different weather patterns, varying rock densities in soil and the inevitable squirrel-like intruders, mean each location has a distinct way of planting, nurturing and protecting their harvest. In Argentina they build each plant up on a hill of soil, and then dig around the hill. This allows rain water to roll down the supporting mound and into the surrounding divot, thus additional water goes directly into the roots. It made me think: How important is the growth of a person, or a state for that matter, to that which surrounds it?

New Jersey is often overlooked; with New York to the east and Philadelphia to the west, often we pass through, perhaps acknowledging each other only as “faces in the crowd; petals on a wet, black bough.” (Ezra Pound) Like the Argentinean method of gardening, New Jersey welcomes the influences of its surroundings because - it is what surrounds us which nurtures and allows us to thrive.

Last Saturday, Kean University opened an exhibit titled “Six New Jersey Masters.” As a flourishing University, “Six New Jersey Masters” displayed the works of real people from New Jersey. This is a tribute to the people of New Jersey. The exhibit features Harry I. Naar, Malcolm Bray, James Kearns, Miquel Orsorio, Keith Smith, and Rhoda Yanow. The exhibit was curated by W. Carl Burger.

I got a chance to speak with Mr. Burger. His excitement for the arts was contagious. “I have this affinity for young people and the arts.” He said with his hand on my shoulder. “It’s great to see you kids out here.” He went on to explain that Kean University is creating a fertile environment for New Jersey's youth. It will truly be amazing to watch how our generation will build upon what was displayed at this exhibit.
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// The Spring Stream // Ink on board with watercolor // By Harry I. Naar //

- “The Spring Stream,” crafted by Professor Harry I. Naar of Rider University, is a unique piece as it incorporates hints of watercolor amongst the depth of the forest. Professor Naar explains, “You think you know nature, but then you take a closer look and it reveals even more to you.” The watercolor forces the viewer to look inside the piece instead of at it, consequently reinforcing the idea of depth and detail in nature. Harry I. Naar is a representational artist who practices traditional techniques while integrating contemporary theories. View his work and an extensive bio at his website.

// (photo two of) The Spring Stream // Ink on board with watercolor // By Harry I. Naar //

// Largo // Oil, charcoal on canvas // by Malcolm Bray

- This piece was a personal favorite of mine because it represents the variety at this exhibit. Malcolm Bray is linked the art work of the New York Abstract Expressionists. There is a level of organization and most interesting, Bray uses energetic strokes of charcoal. The charcoal adds depth and a contrast point at which the other colors are compared to.
See more of his work at Artnet.com.
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The Helen and Carl Burger Gallery will be featuring an exhibit titled “HEADLINE NEWS” from September 16 - November 3, 2009, which will feature Headlines from the 19th century. The exhibit will also feature information about the problems facing the print news media today. “Six New Jersey Masters” runs until July 16th in the Center for Academic Success Gallery on the campus of Kean University.

* For more photos, Click Here.
* See the stunning work of W. Carl Burger here.

Thank you to Kean University, W. Carl Burger and Professor Harry I. Naar for their help, generosity and overall enthusiasm for the arts

One more "You or The Invention of Memory" review, by Julie Morcate

“YOU

or

The Invention of Memory”

(…which is the most tenuous intangible tool available to human beings. It is easily modified, manipulated, and misunderstood. We believe our memories to be infallible when, in reality, they fail often. Of all the world’s creatures, we are unique in that we live our lives and make our choices based on our memories more so than on our instincts. That is, unless our memories originate, construct, and/or influence our instincts? After all, we learn to suppress or exorcise the ones we can’t stand to remember: they would prohibit our ability to function in daily life. These are the memories full of hurt, shame and regret; and by our natural instincts we reject what gives us pain. At the same time, we live our lives by the memories that give us pleasure. We return to the same behaviors, the same people and the same places in which we experienced love, and thus to which we assigned value, based on our positive memories of them…)

In this novel, Jonathan Baumbach takes us through a fascinating exploration of these two incredible, interactive, intricate phenomena: love and memory. From the first sentence, it’s evident that the book will be unusual, challenging and intriguing. Baumbach, a postmodern writer, employs the use of metafiction, realistic interpersonal tensions, and character flaws to bring his novel to life.

Unfortunately, not every character flaw is amusing; in fact, the only downfall of the entire book stems from a character trait of the narrator. To demonstrate, his most commonly used word was “embarrassing.” It’s easy to get frustrated with someone who allows his own perception of awkwardness, his own mental entanglements, to be self-defeating. Not to mention, it was nerve-wracking as a reader to watch helplessly as he screwed himself up (which happened often). It actually comes as a relief when the narration switched around. Oddly enough, from that moment until the end, the tale is enthralling.

The characters start out as “I,” the author, and “You,” the reader. Baumbach’s first act is to pull You (and us, the unacknowledged readers) through a rambling introductory chapter, as the one and only explanation for the sprawling nature of the narrative. Fittingly, it’s not exactly the most logical explanation in the world…but he gets the point across.

Baumbach’s clever, easy prose style and amusing witticisms make up for the fact that the sequence of events are a bit hard to follow in the beginning. The different scenarios that are supposed to involve the same man and woman seem irreconcilable. Of course, you (“You” the reader—after all, we the book-purchasers are nothing if not friendly eavesdroppers in this novel) are warned of this:

“If none of this meets with your view of how things started between us, it may be because I have a history of confusing the real word with the more compelling narrative of my fantasies. My story, I’m embarrassed to admit, is infinitely revisable.” This ironic confession, five pages into the novel, sets up Part One. In the first chapter of Part Two, Lois (“You,” finally defined) gets to testify in her own chapter. The next two chapters lead to the end of Part Two, in which the narrative resembles standard novel prose: he and she, characters’ names, and marriage therapy. Finally, Part Three—one chapter long—reverts to “I” and synthesizes some of the novel’s convolution. It’s a brilliant resolution and makes the rest of the struggle for a logical thread well worth the effort.

With “YOU or The Invention of Memory,” we readers can contemplate the purpose of relationships, the value of love, the fallacy of expectations, and the impossibility of long-lasting satisfaction. Or, we can simply enjoy observing the elaborate, complicated fusion of souls in an intimate human relationship.

Author Q&A: Maryann McFadden

By Dr. Mullin

Maryann McFadden is a native of Hackettstown, NJ, and is the author of The Richest Season, published in hardcover by Hyperion Books last year, and now has a second book being released on July 7, So Happy Together.
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Dr. Mullin: We're talking about your new book, So Happy Together. What really inspired that story?

McFadden: The first book that I wrote took me about three years to write, so I had plenty of time and it was inspired a little bit by my real estate career. When it was time for me to write the second book, which I had to do in a year, there was a lot of pressure, but I was also feeling a little bit of pressure in my own life – I kind of found myself in the so-called "sandwich generation" all of a sudden. So I decided to take that "sandwich generation" scenario and I applied it to a woman who is in her mid-40s who is a single mother, who has pretty much lived the entire past two decades of her life for her daughter and for her parents. She thinks its finally her turn, but she finds out quickly, as the rug is pulled out from under her, that if you’re a mother or you’re a daughter you’re never really free, you have family demands, and that was the genesis for the idea for the story. It’s a very different story from my own. It follows three generations of women – a mother, a daughter and the grandmother – as they try to find their way back to their earlier dreams, and then realize that the dreams might actually be the things that are holding them back.

Dr. Mullin: Let's move on to your writing career, which I guess is relatively new, right?

McFadden: Well, it is and it isn't. I was a freelance writer through college – I actually worked for the Hackettstown Gazette when I was in college – and when I got out of school I freelanced for ten years for a bunch of newspapers and magazines and did some corporate writing as well. And then I left writing completely when I got into real estate. I was just ready for big change, and it wasn’t until about a decade after I got into real estate – and I was doing really well at it – that I started to miss writing. My kids were leaving the nest and I wanted to write again but I really wanted to do fiction. I ended up getting into a masters program in 1997 at William Patterson – it was a creative writing program – and that’s where the book started. I actually finished my thesis project, which was The Richest Season, part of it, in 1999. 2001 was when I completely finished the book, but it was right before 9/11 so it was really bad timing, and so over the next five years I kept shelving the book. I’d try, but I wasn’t getting anywhere, and in 2006 I gave up and I self-published it, and that’s when I really got the attention of book sellers and newspaper reviewers, and finally landed a really good agent, who sold The Richest Season at auction to a really big New York City publisher, and along with that a contract to write a second book, which is now So Happy Together.

Dr. Mullin: About writing in general, what do you find most enjoyable, and what really attracted you to creative writing?

McFadden: I’ve always been a people person, I love watching people. I think in the same sense that an actor likes playing different roles, I like being different characters. And that’s my favorite part, is creating the characters, taking the idea of a character and bringing it alive, to me that’s the magic. When I started both of my books, the characters in the first draft are not real yet, you’re still creating them, but gradually they take on their own lives, they become real people. I get emails all the time telling me how believable the characters are. Even with the new book, it’s not out yet, but I’m getting emails from reviewers and early readers, and the praise is that these characters are so real and sympathetic, and that’s the thing I absolutely love. I also love playing with words. When I get to a layered draft, which is where I am now with my third book, and you finally get to put the layers on in the writing and start to describe things, play with the words, there is a magic to that too. But I have always loved writing, I have been writing stories since I was a little girl.

Dr. Mullin: What I find particularly interesting, especially with the first book, is what you achieved through self-publishing. A lot of people take the time to do that but end up not achieving the same kind of success. Is there anything different you might have done, something people might not usually think of?

McFadden: Well, it really comes down to two things. A lot of book sellers along the way have said to me that they get handed a ton of self-published books every month, and the majority of them are not well edited, not structured in the right way, and so they’re not really willing to invest the time to read a self published book, because they have so many books they get from big publishers trying to get their own authors – who are big – the notice they need so that those book sellers will order the book. I really worked very, very hard on polishing this book, editing again and again and again, so that I would have a quality piece of writing. When I went to the very first bookseller to ask them to read it and carry it, they agreed and I got a call within a week that they loved the book and they had made it a staff pick. The Richest Season went on to become a book club hit and a staff pick in many stores, and through the year 2006 actually outsold [Khaled Hosseini's] The Kite Runner in several independent book stores, which was phenomenal.

The other part of the equation is having the wherewithal to market the book. I realized when I self-published that my book was really available two places: on Amazon and in the trunk of my car, basically. I needed book sellers if I was going to see success with this book I needed book sellers on board, because I really wanted to build an audience, that was my goal. I felt that if I could build an audience who knew that the book was worthy, maybe I could get myself into a publisher to back the work. With my real estate background I had experience talking to people on this level, and I started calling and selling it to small independent bookstores, because a chain would not carry a self published book. Darrel at the Book Loft in Hackettstown was the first to carry my book, then Clinton Books, Sparta Books, Mendham Books, as well as a bunch of stores down south and some further north began to carry it and recommend it, and the next thing I knew I was meeting with book clubs and doing store signings. I had made bookmarks for the book, I had done email campaigns, and worked very, very hard from May to November 2006 to get the word out as much as I could. And what really helped is that people loved the book. I would get emails from people that were just phenomenal. A woman sent it to her cousin in England for her birthday because she loved it so much – emotional, heartfelt letters. I felt so positive that it was going to happen that by November, when I was, truly, exhausted – I had been working my real job and doing all that – I did an agent search again. I put all my reviews in, I put book seller quotes, reader quotes, and at that point I had sold well over 2,000 copies, which is a lot of books for a self-published book in that amount of time, and I got an agent right away, which was amazing to me. But [all that work] did the trick. I proved that the book was worth it. And that’s the difference. There are people who self-publish really because they have something they may want some people to read but they’re not really looking for a writing career. I was really looking for a writing career, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and I feel very, very blessed that it happened. I have a lot of people who were supporters who I have to thank. I really have a posse of angels, who’ve come on board and spread the word, and it’s been incredible.

YOU or The Invention of Memory: A Book Review by Glen Binger

YOU or The Invention of Memory: A Book Review by Glen Binger


If you’re here because you’re looking for some sort of guidance through a review on a book you might be interested in purchasing then stop reading this right now. Quit wasting your time. Here is what you should do instead: buy YOU or The Invention of Memory, Jonathan Baumbach’s latest novel, and indulge yourself in something different. Something fresh.

Jonathan Baumbach’s latest novel YOU or The Invention of Memory digs into the intellectual side of the modern relationship within human culture. He addresses the reader, You, portraying the image of a middle-aged woman as your shadow. Once passed the initial difficulty of understanding he isn’t really talking to you, the reader, the plot builds into a long time frame of thought processes broken into three parts; one of which is presumably the woman he has been addressing.

Each part builds on every single confrontation between the two. A little confusing and incoherent, which could be the weaker side of the novel, but still remains consistent in the concept. Due to this, parts of the novel seemed drawn out in certain conversations between the two parties. It makes the reader question whether or not he is addressing one single woman or several, especially towards the end.

To combat this, Baumbach breaks time frames into pieces and placing them back strategically out of order; definitely a strong point of the novel. He does a lot using very few words in each piece. It creates a sense of understanding in the chaos.

YOU or The Invention of Memory is worth your time as a reader. Jonathan Baumbach creates a fresh sense of storytelling and uses it as an advantage. While he may seem pretentious in the way his words come off, he remains in the mind of the character he built in the novel. Don’t let that bother you. Invest in some time well spent and read YOU or The Invention of Memory.

The Tallest Man on Earth

If you have ever had a chance to see The Tallest Man on Earth live then you know (but have never noticed) that he is a rectangle. His square toes shoes, rectangles, his boot-cut jeans, two long rectangles, his loose collard shirts, rectangles and his head - a rectangle. And if you’ve ever enjoy his unique sound then you also know (but might not have noticed) that his music builds (a stone mason’s crescendo if you will) into something quite beautiful. His harsh yet forgiving voice makes him accessible to his audience. On occasion you will see him smile down towards his guitar as if he is having an internal conversation that has manifested itself into the lyric that he is currently singing. It seems so ‘off-the-cuff’ however polished.

Below is a clip from Club 1808 in Austin, Texas. Thanks to hoovesontheturf.com for the video! Check out their site for some great info and great indie music!

The Tallest Man on Earth at Club 1808: Part 2 of 2 from hoovesontheturf on Vimeo.

Jonathan Baumbach, You or The Invention of Memory

You or The Investing Memory; A Book Review By Peter Richter

Investing these days is a tricky thing. Many people shy away from it. The market is untrustworthy. And while past generations found their answers blowin’ in the wind, we have little answers, just our 401Ks blowin’ down Wall Street. Maybe this has led us to become cynical. But I have to ask - Why don’t we invest ourselves into the great writers of today? Can we not trust today’s authors with our time? People shy away from books as if the song an author creates will not be satisfying. Is our self-worth so low that we cannot identify with the characters? Are we afraid of insightful beings who know themselves well enough to know you as well? Here is why you should invest in YOU or The Invention of Memory on a train, in a cab, on a bench and in bed.

Jonathan Baumbach’s latest novel YOU or The Invention of Memory is an inward experience directed at you the reader. The narration shows Baumbach at his best. He wastes no time with outside details and cuts the story down into magnified sections like a well focus telescope. His story centers in on the acceptance of love between two unwilling, yet inevitable partners. Some of the initial paragraphs are slushy (the story’s only flaw) but as the story progresses, each observation or pause or laugh becomes a glacier popping off the page.

The writing see-saws from tender to funny, insightful to the appropriately dry, yet YOU is always perceptive to the rhymes of life. For example – early in the novel he looks back on his first encounter with You. “Years later, when we were already friends, I never mentioned to you that I had been aware of you, had kissed you left knee (perhaps it was the right) in the imagination’s overheated bed room, long before we were introduced.” (p.6) The tenderness and poetic tone lingers and shows itself throughout the novel.

In prior interviews, Jonathan Baumbach explains that his writing is a private matter. It takes place alone in a room - materials and mind being dragged through the excesses of stories that fell short. It’s a search amongst the bogs, your hound and lantern in tow. The writing process can be chaos but YOU or The Invention of Memory organizes this abstract literary form and becomes relatable. Invest in YOU. Jonathan Baumbach is a writer you can trust.

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Dr. Mickey Hess has a new book. Check out Hip Hop in America

Japanther reviewed on Pop Tarts Suck Toasted

ANNNND Team Love Records as announced a short tour for August. Check it out!

And stay tuned for an interview with Ben Greenman of the New Yorker and the great new book Please Step Back.