Frequent readers will know that I’m a bit of a Ben Tanzer fan. He simply doesn’t disappoint. So when I was asked to make this World’s First Author Blog a stop on his recent blog tour for his New York Stories collection from CCLaP, I jumped at the chance. Equally, I’m jumping at the chance to host a stop for New York Stories illustrator Laura Szumowski. Laura has a style that pairs perfectly with the domestic, somewhat detached characters of Ben Tanzer’s work. Smooth lines, intense borders, unabashedly cartoonish, Laura’s work elicits a simple nostalgia, the type of times-remembered that Tanzer’s characters seem to always be chasing. New York Stories isn’t the first book illustrated by Szumowski. She’s the author/illustrator of a lot of cool looking books, my favorite of which is Cycling: A Guide to Menstruation. Though I haven’t read it, I can’t imagine it disappointing. Head over to…
Posts By Caleb J. Ross
Caleb began writing his sophomore year of undergrad study when, tired of the formal art education then being taught, he abandoned the pursuit in the middle of a compositional drawing class. Major-less and fearful of losing his financial aid, he signed up to seek a degree in English Literature for no other reason than his lengthy history with the language. Coincidentally, this decision not only introduced him to writing but to reading as well. Prior this transition he had read three books. One of which he understood.
The guys at Solarcide do wonderful work. One could argue that I say this only because they've been kind enough to interview me about, among other things, my penchant for domestic grotesque fiction. That One doing the arguing would be wrong, however, as Solarcide has been a refuge for great literary content for long before I tainted them with my talk of familial morbidity. Solarcide extends their great work into the world of anthologies with the publication of Nova Parade, a FREE .pdf download collection of stories from some fantastic writers, many of whom I shared space with in the Warmed and Bound anthology, in addition to Nova Parade (my story "Vertigo Unbalanced" appears in Nova Parade). Here's a table of contents for you. Click over to Solarcide to download the free collection. Richard Thomas – On A Bent Nail Head Martin Garrity - Walking On Water Bryan Howie –…
House of Leaves is easily one of the most impressive novels, both in terms of story and in terms of execution, that has ever been written, and likely, will ever be written. So when doo-doo heads like this mollyflower Amazon reviewer write things like: my immediate reaction is to dismiss this person as an impatient moron. However, when I then realize this person gave a glowing review to The Best of Mr. Bean DVD, I go from angry to compassionate. I mean, how could I hate someone with water on the brain? (all caps courtesy of mollyflower; he/she is damn serious about the perceived hilarity of Mr. Bean) Like House of Leaves, Blindness by Jose Saramago is simply an excellent piece of literature. It challenges, but also ensures a strong story with interesting characters, while delivering a unique writing style, something wholly unique to Saramago. However, if you only read…
(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series) In the Family Guy episode titled "Love Blactually" (Season 7, Episode 1, Aired Sep 28, 2008) Stewie picks up a copy of Horton Hears Domestic Violence in the Next Apartment and Doesn't Call 911, an obvious riff of Dr. Suess's Horton Hears a Who. Well, the title is a riff, anyway; Horton Hears a Who, content-wise, contains slightly less wife-beating. This isn't the first time a Seth McFarlane cartoon has referenced Dr. Suess.
The Lit Pub just posted an amazing write of of As a Machine and Parts (thanks to Eddy Rathke for the kind, kind words). Here's a bit: "Something I've always loved about Caleb's writing is how visual and gripping his images are, and, here, he's married his language to concrete visuals, pushing his storytelling past what I thought it could be." Excited? Click over to Amazon (or anywhere else) to purchase a copy of As a Machine and Parts.
Over at LitReactor.com a thread has been started in which visitor post pictures of their reading environments. I figured, why not make a quick, impromptu episode of the The World's First Author Video Blog, recorded where I do most of my reading. Also, I mention my newest burgeoning love, Don DeLillo's novel Cosmopolis, the close to finished Four Corners project, and the as-yet-unpublished new novel from Phil Jourdan.
The fine fellows at Booked Podcast, Robb Olson and Livius Nedin invited me over to discuss the reissue of Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters. Here's a bit from the episode description: Booked reviews Invisible Monsters REMIX by Chuck Palahniuk, with special guest host Caleb J. Ross. It’s more of a book discussion than a review this episode, since this is not technically a new-new book, and there’s a good chance that lots of people listening will have already read it. So we talked a bit about the book, Palahniuk, and (of course) felching. As you do when you talk about Invisible Monsters. Click here to listen to the latest Booked Podcast episode, featuring Caleb J. Ross.