This weekend marked the one year existence of Bergen Street Comics. On my walk over to the shop this weekend, I started thinking about how Tom and Amy’s vision for the store is just what comics–and really any community–needs.
Over the past year, I have gone from being a non-comic book reader to someone who is a regular at a local store. Under slightly different circumstances, my journey could have ended just as quickly as it began. Just one year ago Stacked was a relative toddler in the book blogging world. The original idea was that I’d read 100 books in a year. It was during dinner one night that Rik, Ryan, and Rafi suggested that I just read a bunch of comics in order to make my goal. Comics in my mind were those floppy little magazine like things with silly superheros and that poor Archie having to decide between Betty and Veronica. As they all waxed poetic I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to give the genre a try for a book or two. After all, what few “graphic novels” I’d read to date were really good–any type of literature has it’s exceptions that break the stereotypes. Right?
I was definitely a snob. What I’d read I thought to be rare examples of great storytelling despite the fact that they were comics. But I still viewed comics as a whole as being nothing more than a bunch of WHAM! and POW! After all, I’d seen Daredevil. And Ang Lee’s The Hulk. I knew what I was getting into. In my mind comics equaled superheros and superheros were like the artistic and literary equivalent to beauty queens. The “Save the Cheerleader World” concept was the same as Sandra Bullock saying “…and world peace” in the pageant interview during Miss Congeniality.
So, okay, I started with Watchmen and OMG THIS IS LIKE A CRACK ADDICTION. I just wanted more. Where on earth was I supposed to start? Lucky for me, a new comic book shop had opened down the street. Ryan and Heather walked me around the store pointing out what they liked, what they didn’t, and I wrote it all down in my fancy little phone.
*****
SIDE NOTE: Months later I was speaking with the store’s owner, Tom, about this first experience. Turns out, he thought I was going to go home with my list and just order everything off of Amazon. Sort of like an early warning death knell for the shop. In actuality, I was just trying to keep track of everything they said since there was no way I was going to remember an hour’s worth of recommendations.
*****
Seriously, I went into Bergen Street Comics dressed like this.
After a few months of borrowing books, I was finally ready to buy my first comic. Actually, I was sort of itching to do so after a failed attempt to buy something for a long bus ride at Midtown Comics. After the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, my friends and I had gathered for drinks and dinner at our regular locale, which happened to be around the corner from Bergen Street Comics. While waiting for our food, I turned to Ryan and told him I wanted to brave the rain.
Dressed in blue spandex, sequins, glitter, and a wig…I bought not one, but two comic books. I really needed to find out what happened to Scott Pilgrim in his quest to win the love of Ramona Flowers.
Here’s the thing. I could have ordered a comic off of Amazon or just picked one up from the few shelves at Barnes & Noble. I could have gotten my first comics–and subsequent comics–anywhere. There was even that failed visit to Midtown Comics. Now, I’m sure that the store is great–they do have multiple large locations and people flock to them and their immense stock. But here I felt obviously out of place the moment I walked through that door. Most likely no one noticed me at all; reality and perception do not always match up and my perception was one of being judged and of being lost. Even their website is scary for the uninitiated.
If you don’t already read comics, if it’s not something you were brought up on, it is not an easy culture to jump into. For all the fun that is made of comic book nerds, it’s sort of an elitist community.
There’s a home-like feeling to Bergen Street Comics that keeps me going back. The design feels like being in your local coffee shop rather than some geek haven warehouse. As a result, the store is welcoming at first glance to those of us who are new, or have never read a comic before. When I go to the store, there’s no last minute decision to stop by and pick something up. A trip requires at least an hour because I know that Tom or Amy or Tucker is going to have something to recommend. If I go in with some vague idea that I want something funny or smart or profound, they’ll still manage to pull out three or four suggestions that bewilder me because, oh, now I have to make a decision. Their recommendations have changed how I perceive comics. Even if I go in knowing exactly what I want, I’ll still stand around talking with them because the store isn’t about feeding the need of a few nerds who like comics, it’s about building a community and the comics are just a starting point.
Tom and Amy have done an amazing job with the store. They regularly open the store late to book releases and parties to celebrate art. I’ve met so many different types of people there and they aren’t Captain Sweatpants. They are you and me and that hipster girl from down the street and the suit and tie banker guy who goes out of his way from Queens and the Park Slope soccer mom and her brood of rug rats. If it weren’t for this little shop, I most likely would have borrowed books a bit more and then slowly stopped reading comics all together.
It’s great to see that over the course of the year the store is thriving. Yesterday a number of people came and went–some searching for something specific, others browsing. Pretty much everyone bought something. And it’s been that way consistently each time I visit. When they have a party the place is packed and they have to kick people out at the end of night–only to have it move down the street to one of the local bars. I’ve even managed to land a few dates with people I’ve met in the store. The past two years haven’t been the best economically for New York. Having a local shop open and thrive in the midst of it all is fabulous and encouraging.
I’m so glad the shop exists. I’ve been able to explore and experiment with my tastes because I have a welcoming place to go. Happy anniversary–here’s to many more years to follow!
Yesterday, Levar Burton pointed out on Twitter that Funny or Die had finally gotten around to spoofing Reading Rainbow.
I don’t recall being a huge fan of the show as a child, but I do know I watched it fairly regularly. These three videos are pretty funny to watch; they blend clips of Burton as he introduces the children’s recommendation portion of the show with a special “banned books” series featuring more “adult” recommendations. The newly shot portion blends perfectly with the original and the jokes pretty much write themselves, particularly for the 1st and 2nd reviews.
I’m sure someone out there will find the reviews completely inappropriate, but I think the writers were rather clever in their approach to the books and the likely resulting child’s view of them.
I wanted to share with you a projects of sorts that a coworker of mine is doing. Project isn’t even the right word for it. Raymond was infected with polio as an infant and is now mobile through the use of crutches. This April, he will be one of the few disabled participants to ever “run” the 250-kilometer Marathon des Sablesthrough the Sahara Desert, and possibly the first ever polio patient to attempt it on crutches. His friend Vladimir will be walking along to provide encouragement and company.
This race is not about us, but about helping our fellow citizens of the world who, for whatever reason, are challenged by a physical disability. We are committed to making this a successful fundraiser and see this event as a unique opportunity to help make the lives of many people with disabilities a little better.
Raymond and Vladimir are partnering with the following organizations: Challenged Athletes Foundation (grants to help people with physical disabilities be active in fitness and competitive athletic activities), Shriners Hospitals International (where Raymond was a patient), and Handicap International (assists people with disabilities in over sixty developing countries to learn how to become more independent and help themselves).
During the marathon, they’ll be updating their blog–saharaoncrutches.blogspot.com–with their progress and thoughts as they trek through the desert.
Last night I braved the wind and rain and had my umbrella stolen just so I could bring you back a little news about what is going on in the book world. Rarely do I actually write a post on readings I’ve been too. Rather, I wait until after having read said book to mention the event in my review.
The reading last night, however, serves as an example that I would like to bring to the attention of other authors and publicity agents. You are in the market of selling your book. Why on earth would you expect me to buy your novel/memoir/collection of Hummel poetry if you yourself cannot get excited over the material when you do a reading?
Too often I attend readings where the author speaks so softly or in a monotone that is better suited for my white-noise machine than the packed back room of a bookstore.
One of my favorite authors to have heard read is Heather Armstrong–who is as rambunctiously fun in person as she is in her book and on her website. After hearing her at Barnes & Noble a few months back, I now hold her as a golden standard of how being excited about your own book and learning to read-aloud well will make an audience antsy to buy your book and spread the word. Jane Rubino and her daughter, Caitlen Rubino-Bradway joined the ranks of great readers last night and offered a different take from the standard ”set up excerpt and read” format most authors follow before a Q&A about inspiration and whether or not that dashing hero/heroine is based on themselves.
Rubino and Rubino-Bradway, ironically writing about a mother and daughter, tackled reading in a difficult setting. Based on previous events I’ve attended at the Center For Fiction, the audience is not just avid readers, but intellectuals. Add to that rabid Jane Austen fans and any author has their work cut out for them. Their book, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter is a reworking of Austen’s “first” and unpublished* novel Lady Susan from the epistolary form to a narrative.
The ladies began with Rubino discussing how the idea for Lady Vernon and Her Daughtercame about through a love of Austen, consideration in using an Austen character for one of her mystery novels, and eventually into the format it is now published in. She described the research and approach required to stay true to Austen based on the original published canon and Austen’s habits of reworking her own novels as well as capturing an 18/19th century voice in the 21st century. Following her portion, Rubino-Bradway then read one of the original letters from Lady Susan, the narrative re-working from their own book of the same scene, and an original letter she and her mother wrote for the novel. She managed to capture the auditory voice of Austen in the reading, something that would go a long way in a quality audio book (hint, hint).
The passion bothwomen feel for the subject matter (which is to be expected when dealing with Janitesand having worked on the novel for five years) comes across in their presentation and their obvious knowledge during the Q&A. That the two had worked out an approach to their readings and prepared material came across. More authors need to take this active role of presenting their work to an audience as they must have an active role in promoting their books these days. Speaking with Rubino-Bradway after the reading, she admitted to me that she had, in fact, rehearsed the letters and excerpts she planned to read–if not aloud in front a mirror, at least in her head working out a voice that would do justice to the material.
Escorting the women was their son/brother–who happens to be the director for their book trailer. In line with inspiring your audience with a good reading, a book trailer should do the same. The majority of book trailers on youTubeare very amature in quality. Similar to the advertising adage of keeping the client out of the commercial, Huffington Post writer, David Colbert, states that the author should be kept in the attic when producing the book trailer. Some pixelated still shots of the cover only work if you are Richard Stevens. Poor music choice and sound quality will also turn potential readers away. Similar to a movie trailer, a book trailer should excite our curiosity–not lay out a flat summary (or worse yet, read the summary on the back cover). The family obviously had tremendous creative talent–the trailer is one of five in this week’s Huffington Post poll for best book trailers. It currently ranks in second place–just behind its cousin in contemporary Austen, Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters. (Should you have already read Lady Susan, you might compare the title character’s behavior to rank along side that of the Sea Monsters…) I like that while presenting an appropriate setting the focus of the trailer still affords much room for the viewer’s own imagination while reading–an excellent job in furthering the role of storytelling.
*Lady Susan was not published during or shortly after Austen’s lifetime. It is often published now in collections with other unfinished or early works such as her Juvenalia, The Watsons, and Sanditon.
NOTE: Yes, I stole the first image from the book’s Facebook page. It’s a still from the trailer. I didn’t ask permission–it was just so lovely and I have no scruples.
I’ve had a difficult time deciding where to go with this post. The Sexual Life of Catherine M. isn’t really a banned book and I ended up more on a tangent of what next week’s ALA-sponsored Banned Book Week is about than actually reviewing the book.
The more I think about Banned Book Week and what I’ve decided to read this month, the more I’ve realized that, in the United States at least, there really is no such thing as a banned book anymore. Even the Wall Street Journal confirmed it with a poignant article on the subject.
I started my college career majoring in journalism and the lessons on censorship have always stuck with me. Mitchell Muncy points out the definition in the start of his article: censorship is government repression–it comes in the form of a politician threatening a newspaper to keep certain details quiet or preventing a printer from running copies of a book that makes the authorities look bad. And it’s happened the world over as governments have tried to control their image and their people.
So when a parents’ group writes to the local library trying to get rid of a book, it’s not censorship. Muncy goes on to explain that, as much as librarians hate it, the ability to question access to books by the public is actually very important in the process of democracy. I often see articles bemoaning the lack of parenting that goes on, so why are we condemning the parents who are taking an active role in their children’s education?
Ultimately, yes, there are certain books that clearly do not belong in a school library. But a public library is a different matter. When the New York Times ran an article on the Brooklyn Public Library and their decision to pull TinTin au Congo from the general shelves, many people overlooked the fact that it was not done on the whim of a librarian. The decision was made by many people and the book is still accessible, just not out in the open. Dealing with challenged books is something all libraries have to do at some point or another and it is not always an easy decision to make.
There was a link in small print included in the article; you could see complaint and response letters that addressed various themes and the access of certain books. On first reading, the liberal minded laugh at how sensitive people are. But with a further look, there is material that is offensive to different races, genders, and religions and material that is inappropriate for children. I still believe these books should be accessible, but the people who the material hurts are just as entitled to their indignation.
I grew up in Vermont and during the late 90s the state became the first to allow civil unions between same-sex couples after the State Supreme Court decided that same sex couples were entitled to the same benefits and protection as heterosexual couples in the case of Baker v. State. While the decision to do so was being discussed by politicians, a group of protesters camped out front of the capital in an attempt to prevent the law from passing.
Except the protesters were from the Westboro Baptist Church…in Kansas. Vermonters scratched their heads wondering why on earth people from Kansas had any right in telling us how to live. Similar to the recent protest in front of Brooklyn Tech, Westboro Baptist only sent five protesters who were outnumbered by counter protesters. In both cases, the counter-protesters advocated love and tolerance over hate and discrimination.
Similarly, local communities know what is best for them and what belongs at their public library. Librarians are not omniscient–there are too many books out their and it is not right for the power of deciding which books are appropriate and which are are not to lie in the hands of just the librarians (see also the response regarding libraries labeling books with a rating similar to movies). The ability to submit concerns brings awareness of controversial material to the librarians awareness and make decisions based on the community’s needs.
Through this awareness, books can be moved to safer places. I wrote a letter to the Brooklyn Public Library asking about The Anarchist Cookbook, a book with much controversy around it. One must ask the librarian to see it because it is an at risk book, just like the nursing text books that one must also ask for. These books are regularly prone the theft, keeping them in the library and requiring requests for them is a compromise to allow accesses without incurring the financial liability of replacing them.
It is also with diligence of community members that books inappropriately shelved can be moved to safer area. In the letters linked above, a father was outraged that a comic featuring an incestuous and abusive relationship with rather detailed drawings was housed on a new books shelf rather than being placed in a more sexually themed area. The cover and title belied the content within and while helping his daughter choose a book came across the book.
Banned Book Week seems less a celebration of books that should be read despite, and sometimes particularly for, their controversial content. It seems at times to have created an angry mob intent on storming the walls of anyone who dares to question the content of a book anywhere. There are places where some books are simply not appropriate, but no book is truly banned in this day of internet shopping. Even those on a small budget can purchase used copies for relatively little.
It may be different elsewhere, but for those of us living in the United States, let’s be happy our process works. We as individuals dislike when someone tries to belittle our beliefs, so why should we harangue others for theirs? What we find acceptable may not be the same as someone else. They are entitled to have their voices heard.
Which is exactly what Banned Book Week is to me. It’s getting suppressed voices out there–whether it be the community members who feel a book disparages their religion or an author who felt the need to write about her sexual experiences in detail. The ability to say what we want without repercussion is a relatively new phenomenon. For centuries government and/or religious institutions controlled the press. We should celebrate our ability to have our dissenting voices heard without being drowned out by those who believe differently or succumbing to pressure from other self-interested groups.
My former co-worker, Jackie, and I used to get together at least once a week to chat books and make recommendations to one another (like the Pink Carnation series which we both felt was a “delightful romp”). After Jackie left, I had no one to talk to regularly and am always thrilled whenever I get a little IM window or phone call from her. One day she called with big news. I never would have guessed it of her and asked if she’d share her experience with you. She’s a fantastic writer (you can read more at DivulgencesNYC), and thankfully she agreed!
Ok, so I ordered a Kindle 2 from Amazon a few months ago. I tend to use the Amazon.com site as a quick reference for books in print, and was repeatedly bombarded by banner ads telling me to “Say Hello to Kindle 2.” Then, whenever I looked up a book or author, the price of their Kindle downloads was displayed, always under $10 (a nice list of traditional novels are free)–which even by my questionably meager math knowledge is measurably less than the going coin for print versions. Used books might be an option; however, buying pre-owned books purchased off the internet is a crap shoot. I anxiously hope that the splendid first edition of This Side of Paradise doesn’t smell like the musty basement where it’s been stored since the publishing in 1920. So, on economic principles alone, how could I not buy one?
Pondering expenditures, I’ve sat through innumerable cost analyses in my corporate life, and I think that publishers, authors, and publicists alike, have to appreciate the ease, price, and time savings of this electronic medium. I’m sure someone on the interweb has scrutinized numbers on the business end of things and they probably would agree there is cost benefit here from a business and sales perspective.
While I waited for delivery, I invented other reasons to justify my purchase–reasons which were not part of the original decision making, like the dragging weight of books when I travel or commute. Also, as a voracious reader, I have to wonder how much of the environment has been destroyed to sustain my addiction to the written word. Once I learned that magazines and newspaper subscriptions were also available, I mused that maybe I had found a newspaper which didn’t turn my fingers black.
My greatest concern was the immensely embedded tactile pleasure offered to me by books. I speculated my longing for the sense of a real book in my hands, the smell of ink and paper, the ability to show off or discuss what I’m reading on the train, and the anticipation, rustling, and feeling of physically turning a page. Indeed, I have an extreme romantic attachment to books, one that I didn’t imagine would be easily shaken.
When the Kindle arrived, it seemed and still seems like a simplistic device, hardly the cultural revolution touted by society’s pundits and techies. Although who’s to say? Look at the upheaval bread mold caused Pasteur. With a bit of futzing time, I learned how to fairly operate the gadget, but do have to say, I did not find it as intuitive as I expected; and admittedly, I still don’t know how to unfailingly bookmark or flag a section, and have since abandoned attempting it all together.
Downloading, also known as shopping, is easy. Off the bat, I purchased several books and snatched up all their complimentary classics. The actual reading of the first book was an uncomfortable struggle, and I wasn’t sure if it was the material or the mechanism through which I was reading it. The book, Pygmyby Chuck Palahnuik, was agreeable, but my time with the Kindle needed some acclimation. Being too lazy to add a hardcover to my daily carry load, I opted to keep trying; during The Girl with the Dragon Tattooread, I became hooked on Steig Larsson and Kindle. Something about how it fit into my life made sense, finally.
I realized on a recent trip to Europe that Amazon’s wireless service, Whispernet, has limited reception abroad–likely why curious Spaniards stared at the apparatus, confused.
I’m not convinced that the name Kindle was the best choice; the name is rather ghastly, actually. Or perhaps it is somewhat fitting that the fire of e-books will not be put out.
UK Production company Ealing Studios has released the trailer for next month’s release of Dorian Grey. Currently there are no US distributors, which is a shame as Oscar Wilde’s A Picture of Dorian Greyranks towards the top of my favorite books, and I would love to see Colin Firth in the role of “bad guy” playing Lord Henry Wotten. Comments elsewhere express the same mindset and have stated they see Johnny Depp or Rupert Everett as more likely candidates and are curious about Firth’s performance as he is such a talented actor.
There to seem to be some changes to the original story which are already getting traditionalists who want strict adherence to Wilde’s story up in a rile. Apparently they’ve introduced Lord Wotten’s daughter Emily as a main character, which could be an interesting twist and I’m interested in seeing how they explore that relationship. I could easily see Grey becoming acquainted with her out of a sense of revenge for Lord Wotten’s encouragement of debauchery.
It will be interesting to see how closely they stick to the original themes and key moments of the story and how they will treat the end now that changes have been made.
While you wait for the movie to hit theaters (or for a US distributor to pick it up), check out the beautiful still photography of the film on TrendHunter.
It’s a weird thing to collect in this day and age, but I have a stash of etiquette books. I love them. I love that it’s possible to be a unique individual but to follow certain rules in order to make social experiences run smoothly and eliminate rudeness.
On the heels of last week’s bookish diorama of Alice in Wonderland, this week, I present the Etiquette Dress. Currently, the Danforth Museum of Art is showcasing an exhibit of artwork made by members.
Included in the exhibit is the “Dress of Etiquette” by Virginia Fitzgerald. The strapless gown is a free-standing sculpture made from the pages of an Emily Post etiquette book that the artist had received as a wedding gift. The pages are still legible despite being torn from the book.
The work seems more sly and tongue in cheek than derisive. The inside of the dress is tea-dyed in spots. An image of a man – perhaps the groom – is in the inside just below where the heart might be if one could wear this dress. (Taunton Gazette)
Anyone interested in viewing the dress (and the rest of the exhibit) can visit the Danforth Museum of Art, located at 123 Union Ave., Framingham. Hours are 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Quirk Productions is known for its…well…quirky choices in material. These are the same folks who brought us that rollicking good time with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Greene. Now they have re-teamed with Ms. Austen to bring us…Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters with Ben Winters. I’ve known about the book and have every intention of purchasing a copy when it comes out. But The Book Pirate found the trailer on YouTube and I thought it so brilliant that I just had to share with you all.
Ask any reader and they will tell you that a well crafted story is a work of art. Fiction or non-fiction, every book must tell a story and the arrangement of words and details can turn into something so powerful and beautiful (even when gruesome).
Once in awhile, however, you see books used as physical objects in works of arts to make a statement, often about intelligence, materialism, or censorship. Last week, Boing Boing posted about one of the most disturbing and amazingly breathtaking pieces of book art I have ever seen:
Web Zen is created and curated by Frank Davis, and re-posted here on Boing Boing with his kind permission.
I quote and link because I have not asked for permission to post the photo. And I know I break that hot-linking rule all the time with book covers, but I will not do so with someone’s art. You really need to click through and view–it is stunning!
I say disturbing because there was this flash thought of “They totally destroyed that book!” –I’m rather proprietary over how books are handled and cared for. My 13-year-old cousin drives me batty when I see her using one book as a bookmark for another or dog-earring pages. This book, meanwhile, has been razor cute. Just look at how exquisite it is! The tiny detail, it’s just so gorgeous and I can’t take my eyes off it and contemplating how tedious the work must have been.
To make it even cooler, the tea table IS in a book of Alice and Wonderland on the pages talking about the Mad Hatter’s un-birthday party which I think adds to the beauty of the piece. It would definitely make a great conversation piece in someone’s home.
Just out of curiosity, two questions: 1) What do you think of defacing books in this manner? and 2) San Diego ComicCon premiered the trailer for Tim Burton’s interpretation of Alice in Wonderland (see below). Are you planning to see it when it opens?
Christina recently watched the first season of StarTrek: The Next Generation for the first time and reviewed episodes in conjunction with Wil Wheaton's book Memories of the Future
You can check out all the original posts and new reviews at the new AMNESIA OF THE FUTURE site.
Donate
Yes, we feel weird asking you for money. But if you have a dollar or two to spare - we've got some big projects coming up and your donation will go a long way in making sure we can provide you with quality content.
Rubino and Rubino-Bradway, ironically writing about a mother and daughter, tackled reading in a difficult setting. Based on previous events I’ve attended at the 
