The Book Shopper

Pynchon Post Party

Back in August, A Cappella Books hosted a little coming out party for Thomas Pynchon’s latest book, Inherent Vice. I didn’t make it to the late night festivities, but I did stop by and pick up a copy of the book. It took me almost three months to read it (no reflection of the book), but I did finish it.

As a Pynchon fan, who likes most of his writings, Inherent Vice, a crime noir set in the seedy section of LA called Gordita Beach in the late 60s, is solid Pynchon. The book is certainly a worthy addition to my dream of a Thomas Pynchon book club, along with my other Pynchon favorites Gravity’s Rainbow, The Crying of Lot 49 and Against the Day.

The main character of Inherent Vice, Larry “Doc” Sportello, is a perennially stoned private investigator who at the request of his ex-girlfriend looks into the disappearance of a millionaire real estate mogul. Doc isn’t a gumshoe; he’s a “gumsandal” and hardly a tough guy but a persistent one and somewhat fearless since his faculties for making good decisions are often impaired.

 “Pot jokes” are usually as lame as “fart jokes,” but the marijuana and drugs in Inherent Vice is really tertiary. It’s a fun book that playfully satirizes the detective story and is suitable for those (like me) who rarely read that genre.  There are many cultural references: TV and movies (Godzilla’s Island), beach music (see the playlist) and of course, California traffic patterns (“The kindest thing anybody ever called the parking lot in Gordita Beach was nonlinear.”)   The book is peppered with those hip Pynchon one-liners as well (“Her hair was styled by someone who was trying to give up smoking.”) that I can easily drop into my own vernacular.

 

Wichita Connections

Last weekend, I was in Wichita to visit my longtime friend, Bruce Woods, and do a reading at a local independent shop,  Watermark Books.

As an author you think you’re on the road to “sell” your book, but on a good trip that task becomes a distant responsibility – you’d rather just talk books. Over a two day period, Bruce introduced me to members of the 20-years-and-running book group he founded as well as other Kansas readers. My job was made easier since he purchased books for many of his book colleagues and all I had to do was provide individual inscriptions. (I told Bruce that I’m setting up a policy that I will stay at the home of anyone who buys more than twenty books.)

A couple of the more influential books Bruce introduced me to over the years are David Shi’s A Simple Life and, more recently, Clive James’ Cultural Amnesia. We don’t always agree (Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow comes to mind), but there is plenty of common ground. His friends are fascinating as well and in a future posting I’ll provide an account of my time at Eighth Day Books another wonderful independent bookstore in Wichita.

  In the photo, Bruce and I pose after the Watermark reading. Notice that I am holding a trophy, which served as a gag prop I used that evening. Of course there is a story behind it, and if you didn’t make it out you can read about it here (See Chapter Two).

A Week in Preview

Thomas DePietro, a former contributing editor of Kirkus Reviews wrote about The Book Shopper: A Life in Review last Friday in The Barnes & Noble Review. This kicks off a busy week for me as I travel to Wichita, Kansas to visit old friends and do a reading at Watermark Books on Friday, October 16 at 7 p.m.

I lived in Wichita in the early 80s and my older daughter was born there. Watermark Books was a place I spent considerable time and money and it’s good to see that they are still around and going strong.  (There are several anecdotes about those Wichita days in The Book Shopper.)

Great Lakes' Book Shopping

Over the weekend I was in Cleveland for the 20^th Annual Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLiBA) Trade Show to promote The Book Shopper: A Life in Review. I will spare you the details of my experiences as an amateur carny, but it did give me an opportunity to learn more about booksellers and publishers alike.

One trend I noticed is that many independent bookstores in the Great Lakes region sell used and new books under the same roof. This trend is certainly prevalent here in Atlanta with Eagle Eye, A Cappella, Bound to Be Read all offering some mixture of new and used books. (See Comment).

 Of course as a book shopper, the show gave me a glimpse of what publishers are pushing for the fall and holiday season. Here’s a few that caught my eye: