Music to read by
Current mood: sassy
Category: Music
Here's a playlist I put together to enhance and encourage your enjoyment of my new book, THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE (YEP, THAT WOULD BE ME). A couple songs are mentioned in the book, but I mostly just picked songs that reminded me of high school. (BTW, the last song on the mix -- TO TURN YOU ON by Roxy Music is the sexiest song of ALL TIME on the sexiest record of all time -- in fact, if you wanna make out with someone and you put on AVALON, the album by Roxy Music that includes this song and you're not making out with that person by the time that song comes on, call it a night, 'cause it just ain't gonna happen.)
Currently
listening
:
Back in the High Life
By
Steve Winwood
Release date: 1990-10-01
My first hate e-mail!!!
Current mood: refreshed
Category: Writing and Poetry
Check it out! I woke up this morning and this was waiting for me! I'm wearing it like a freaking badge of honor! I evoked a response! I made someone angry (oooh, scary). I made someone misspell "legitimizes." All I can hope is that Joe Schmoe's (FYI, I would've spelled it "Shmoe" and left out the "c") daughter is not only kind, beautiful and wonderful, but that she has a sense of humor.
Here's the e-mail. It's subject line was: You suck
We have a couple things in common. We're athiests (well, I'm agnostic, but whatever) and we both hate George Bush. My wife and I have a 15-year-old daughter who checked out your Center of the Universe book from the library. I happened to pick it up during a bored moment.
I guess you think you're really something. Lots of anger, rebellion, cursing, alcohol & pot, teen angst, etc. etc. I actually had a similar experience growing up--but it doesn't have to be that way. Your book legitamizes bad behavior and perpetuates the notion that parents are clueless dolts who must be manipulated. How sad.
Our kid is the kindest, gentlest, most wonderful girl we (and others) know. She's one of those heroes you talk about on your MySpace page. I'm not going to censor what she reads, but I am going to ask her what she thinks of your book and hopefully she'll talk about it.
I just want you to know that not everyone thinks you're wonderful. Have a nice life.
Thanks, Joe. I will.
Currently
listening
:
Call Me Joe
By
Joe Shmoe
Release date: 2000-03-28
I Heart Book Chic
Current mood: chipper
Category: MySpace
My new VBFF is Book Chic. There's an interview with me posted on Book Chic's blog right now. Go check it out. Also, I'm doing a guest blog for Book Chic that will be posted by tonight. Check that out, too. Befriend Book Chic. I'm all about Young Adult now. I'm totally retro-Anita.
Does anyone care?
Current mood: overstimulated
Category: Writing and Poetry
Well? Does anyone? Raise your hand. I have a book coming out in a week. A WEEK! And I just wanted to know if anyone cared about that. I'm not asking for a medal, but… well… a medal would be nice. Or a Barneys New York gift card. Or an iPhone. Wow. I'm really materialistic, aren't I? And kinda snobby. And greedy. But at least I'm self-aware.
The new book has already received the following review from Kirkus Reviews: In this first offering for young adults by performance artist Liberty, a pastiche of formats is employed to create the cynical fictional memoir of a supremely angst-ridden teen during her final two years of high school in New York City. Diary entries, a scorecard of parental infractions, amusingly and creatively defined SAT vocabulary words, sarcasm-laden advice and really bad poetry are on hand. "Why is it that no one seems to understand / how hard it is for me . . . / to be nice?" asks Liberty, as she chronicles each perceived slight to her teenage self in fights with friends and boy troubles, and as she negotiates her relationship with her parents. Toward the end, readers will realize that despite all efforts to the contrary, Liberty has found herself enjoying a reasonably happy existence, providing some relief from her unrelenting acerbity. Whether teens will find her particular brand of bitter commentary wickedly funny or profoundly annoying depends largely on taste, but this is an undeniably authentic and original tale of adolescence. (Fiction. YA)
It's a fine review. I think the reviewer liked the book. But then you get to the words "profoundly annoying" and it's like, "What?" Who wants the words "profoundly annoying" in a review of anything one has created? In context, the reviewer isn't necessarily suggesting that the book is "profoundly annoying," but the words are there just the same. Ya know how publicists pull out quotes from reviews to make them sound better? What if you were just to pull "...profoundly annoying..." (Kirkus Reviews) and slap that up at the top of my book's next edition? Do you think it'd sell copies? Hard to say. I might buy a copy of a book that promoted itself as "profoundly annoying" just 'cause it would strike me as such a confident and savvy anti-marketing move.
In other news, it appears that I've moved out to Los Angeles. I came out here three months ago and I'm kinda enjoying it. I just am. The weather is nice. And it's quieter. And if you want to avoid humanity, you can. And I do. So I am. Although the downside to the Los Angeles lifestyle is that I'm covered in rat mite bites. We're staying at a friend's house up in the Hollywood Hills and, apparently, there are a lot of rats. Roof rats. Who live on the roof. And eat fruit. And carry mites. And those mites occasionally hop off those rats and find their mite-y way into the house and onto me. At night. And I get bit. And those bites itch like crazy. So far I like LA. But I have to say I find rat mites profoundly annoying.
Okay. There's finally a petition online that you guys can sign and pass around the link and have other people sign and I don't know how effective it's gonna be, but at least it's something.
Also, for anyone who lives in Los Angeles or New York City, you can always come walk the picket line with us. Numbers matter and you'll probably get to see a lot of celebrities. Well, there's me. And you know that's gonna be a thrill. But there are also a ton of actor-types walking in Los Angeles. And yesterday in New York, I walked with Nora Ephron, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, Robin Williams and a bunch of other people who looked famous but I couldn't place them. For places and times, you can check the WGA website (LA) and WGAEast website (NYC).
I have a cold. I got it by nuzzling up to my fellow writers for warmth on the line yesterday. I usually don't leave my home and now I'm out in the world being exposed to all kinds of germs. Please do your part so I don't get sick!
amused
sassy
refreshed
adored
chipper
overstimulated
productive
pissed off
cold
