New book of stories, reviewed at the NY Times. Bausch is one of my favorite short story writers, so this collection should be good.

I bolted awake at 5:30 this morning with that realization.  Less revelatory, “stand up” is also redundant.  I’ll get back to you with the ultimate meanings and implications of this realization, if there are any.

Update: Now that I’ve had my coffee, I can think more clearly.  I suppose the hyphenated “sit-down” (noun: a meeting) is acceptable, and to use it as a verb – “to sit down with someone” – implies a meeting, business of sorts, where as “to sit with someone” just means to sit near them.  I still maintain that telling someone to “sit down” is redundant, because saying “sit” would mean the same.  However, in the phrase “sit up,” the “up” is necessary, as “sit up” does not mean the same thing as “sit.”

The same applies to stand: the “down” is necessary in “stand down,” but the “up” is implied in “stand up.”

Over at The Rumpus:

That’s now true of literature. Just as bands sell copies of their live performances, I foresee a day when authors will sell copies of the original work they just read. I also foresee a day when best-selling authors finally realize that they can make their own books and, by avoiding the gross inefficiencies of corporate publishing, make a lot more money.

Almond put out a book of flash fiction and essays that he only sells at readings. That seems to work for him, but he’s already cultivated an audience and carved out a niche for himself. I’ve never met him, but he seems like a personality, which would bode well for hocking your own book. I’m not sure how the unknown should get an audience together. Harass people into joining a Facebook group?

(Hat tip Sarah.)

Bookninja points to The Onion:

Another human dream was crushed by the uncompromising forces of reality Monday, when the restaurant day job of 29-year-old former aspiring cartoonist Mark Seversen officially became his actual job.

“After four years of washing dishes to support my drawing projects, I’ve made the transition to washing dishes to support myself,” Seversen told reporters after punching out at the end of his shift at Tres Café. “Let’s face it, this is it. This is my job. I’ll never forget that moment when I transformed from an aspiring underground cartoonist into a non-aspiring restaurant worker.”

Tyler Cowen points to this Guardian article where a bunch of writers weigh in with rules for fiction writers. It’s about what you would expect, though there are some gems:

Roddy Doyle: “Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.” [uh-oh, guess I should pull that photo of Hemingway off my wall]

Jonathan Franzen: “The most purely autobiographical fiction requires pure invention. Nobody ever wrote a more auto biographical story than The Meta­morphosis.”

Annie Proulx: “Proceed slowly and take care…To ensure that you proceed slowly, write by hand.” [woo-hoo]

What it is:

House’s second novel is part of a trilogy he’s written about a family in eastern Kentucky. This novel is set around WWI, and is narrated by Vine, a Cherokee woman who marries a man in a nearby holler. The novel is a beautiful account of their marriage and events that shake their lives.

Why it’s interesting:

This is my favorite of House’s novels (I haven’t read Eli the Good yet), partly because I think the writing is his strongest and partly because the narrative just sunk its teeth into me. Maybe it’s partly too because I’m in my first year of marriage, and I find it moving the way House captures the essence of a new marriage. House has a real gift for writing about plain people without sounding patronizing, or stereotypical, and even though the plot has its melodramatic moments, it doesn’t feel like it.

Further Reading:

Bret Lott’s The Man Who Owned Vermont and A Stranger’s House, Patricia Henley’s In the River Sweet, and Silas House’s Clay’s Quilt and The Coal Tattoo. I haven’t read it yet, but I think Robert Morgan’s Gap Creek would pair well with this novel as well.

This study is good for those who prefer Miller Lite to milk.