Matthew Simmons lives in Seattle with his cat, Emmett. He is a blogger (themanwhocouldntblog.blogspot.com, htmlgiant.com) and the author of A Jello Horse (Publishing Genius Press).
(I started this a couple of months ago and put it aside. I have decided to see how things have changed for me. Not a lot.)
what are you reading now
Then
For Those Whom God has Blessed with Fingers by Ken Sparling, which is amazingly good.
Now
The Failure Six by Shane Jones appeared in my mailbox last night. I've started it and am enjoying it. I've also been reading The Jerusalem Syndrome by Marc Maron, The Book of Jokes by Momus, and Big Machine by Victor LaValle. I have a roving eye when it comes to reading. It is often my undoing.
Oh, and The Ask by Sam Lipsyte. Holy Smokes, The Ask. Fantastic.
classic you’ve been meaning to read
Then
The Idiot by Dostoevsky and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I hope to get them both read this summer.
Now
I didn't. Answer remains the same, though. Add The Third Policeman to it. I have that one on my night table.
last book to bring you to tears
Then
Dear Everybody by Michael Kimball. Blake mentioned one of his other books in his recommended reading list, and I have that one, and now I'm afraid that Michael will make me cry again.
Now
Same. Ablutions was a contender.
funniest book or story title
Then
Funniest book I've ever read is The Lecturer's Tale by James Hynes, which is both a satire of academia and a gothic horror novel in one.
Now
Or, wait. Did you mean the funniest title for a book? I'm pretty sure Eeeee Eee Eeee wins that one. Ricky's Anus is pretty good, too.
best american short stories, pen/o. henry prizes, or the pushcart prize anthology
Then
Best American Short Stories from 1990. Denis Johnson's "Car-Crash While Hitchhiking." Millhauser's "Eisenheim the Illusionist." Lorrie Moore's "You're Ugly, Too" "Typical" by the amazing Padgett Powell. "The Reverse Bug" by Lore Segal. Joy Williams.
Now
Same one. The one from 1990 is a hell of an anthology.
if you could subscribe to only one literary journal
Then
Toss up between New York Tyrant and NOON right now. But I also am obscenely loyal to my friends at Hobart.
Now
I am now just loyal to Hobart. I set up a swear jar in an effort to not be so obscene. And it worked!
best thing you’ve read online recently
Then
The fake Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken twitter feeds.
Now
Michael Martone's 4foraQuarter twitter feed.
most anticipated upcoming release
Then
Amelia Gray's upcoming FC2 book Museum of the Weird.
Now
Also, Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell. Kevin Sampsell's A Common Pornography. Everything here is the best thing ever by Justin Taylor. Reality Hunger by David Shields. Aaron Burch just won that Pank contest. Molly Gaudry's novella. Blake Butler's next two books.
I'd also like to see my friend Amy Minton finish the edits on her book of short stories so it can get out there and find a publisher. She's good, that one.
recommended reading list:
Holy Smokes 2009 Has Had Some Good Books
- Ablutions by Patrick deWitt
- AM/PM by Amelia Gray
- Fever Chart by Bill Cotter
- Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem
- God's Hazard by Nicholas Mosley
- Everything Matters! by Ron Currie
- Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler
- Last Days and Fugue State by Brian Evenson
- Ugly Man by Dennis Cooper
- On the Winding Stair by Joanna Howard
- Big World by Mary Miller
- MLKNG SCKLS by Justin Sirois
- Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch
- That Summertime Sound by Matthew Specktor
- Forecast by Shya Scanlon
- Misconception by Ryan Boudinot
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. Mike Young's chapbook, MC Oroville's Answering Machine. Brandon Gorrell's Muu Muu House book. Tao's new book. Too many, really.
31.10.09
26.10.09
Kevin Sampsell
Kevin Sampsell has run Future Tense Books, a micropress in Portland, Oregon since 1990 (latest release: Put Your Head In My Lap by Claudia Smith). He has worked at Powell's City of Books, the largest bookstore in the country, since 1997. He has written book reviews and essays for Associated Press. His short fiction has appeared widely and is collected in the books, Beautiful Blemish and Creamy Bullets. His memoir, A Common Pornography, is due out in January 2010.
what are you reading now
I usually juggle two or three books at a time. Right now, it's The Impostor's Daughter, a graphic memoir by Laurie Sandell, Scary, No Scary, a poetry collection by Zachary Schomburg, and More of This World or Maybe Another, a debut story collection by Barb Johnson.
classic you’ve been meaning to read
Kind of a forgotten classic maybe, but I have Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell in my to-read stack. I read a bunch of stories by him a few years ago and have always meant to go back.
most treasured book in your collection
My favorite book ever is Stories in the Worst Way by Gary Lutz and I have a signed hardcover of the Knopf edition, which I think is hard to come by. I'm lucky to count Gary as a friend as well as an author I've published on my press.
book you borrowed and never returned
Um, if you mean "borrowed" as in stolen, I borrowed a copy of the 1990 Poet's Market from a Spokane bookstore because it was expensive and I was a young starving poet wannabe looking to get published. I highlighted about forty places to send my stuff to (back in the days when you ONLY mailed submissions). I think I did okay with it. Landed some poems in about ten places.
favorite book from childhood
I don't remember having many books around at all when I was a kid. I don't remember my parents reading to me at all and, probably because of that, I definitely wasn't interested in reading when I was young. I do have an odd memory of joining some sci-fi book club where you order ten books for a dollar or something like that. I liked the cover art on those Dune books but never even opened them. Around the time I was in 8th grade, I do remember reading Brian's Song for some reason. I read it very quickly and it made me cry.
secret crush on a writer or literary character
It's not too secret--Miriam Toews knows I have a big crush on her, thanks to her novel, A Complicated Kindness (and its equally crush-worthy main character, Nomi Nickel). My real-life mega-crush is Frayn Masters!
last reading you attended
I go to readings all the time. Part of my job is to host readings at the store. I just introduced Jonathan Lethem. The last non-Powell's reading I went to was at Wordstock, the big lit festival here. I saw Blake Nelson, who wowed a crowd of teens.
book you’ve planted on a coffee table to impress someone
I think it's fun to have weird reference books around for people to look at. Back when I actually had a coffee table, I think I had this The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers on it. Maybe not to impress someone, but maybe to unsettle them. Hahaha.
if you could subscribe to only one literary journal
Probably NOON, which only comes out once a year but is consistently daring and interesting. I also really enjoy Keyhole and McSweeney's.
best thing you’ve read online recently
I regularly read HTMLGIANT, which is a great literary/culture blog. As far as fiction goes, I really liked Brandi Wells's controversial "Instructional" and "What Happened" by Elizabeth Ellen.
most anticipated upcoming release
I'm lucky that I get review copies of books at Powell's, so I'm always reading books that aren't even out yet. The other day I opened an unassuming package that had a copy of Sam Lipsyte's The Ask in it and I audibly said, "Oh my God" in a shocked voice. I'm so excited to read that.
recommended reading list:
Favorite Memoirs
Because I was working on my memoir so much the past several months and I hadn't really read that many, I started reading more of them, just to see if I was doing it right and to see what worked and didn't work. These are my favorite ones:
- Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett
- Stop-Time by Frank Conroy
- Rock On by Dan Kennedy
- Boy with Loaded Gun by Lewis Nordan
- The Film Club by David Gilmour
- Are You There, God? It's Me. Kevin. by Kevin Keck
- The Sky Isn't Visible From Here by Felicia Sullivan
- Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
what are you reading now
I usually juggle two or three books at a time. Right now, it's The Impostor's Daughter, a graphic memoir by Laurie Sandell, Scary, No Scary, a poetry collection by Zachary Schomburg, and More of This World or Maybe Another, a debut story collection by Barb Johnson.
classic you’ve been meaning to read
Kind of a forgotten classic maybe, but I have Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell in my to-read stack. I read a bunch of stories by him a few years ago and have always meant to go back.
most treasured book in your collection
My favorite book ever is Stories in the Worst Way by Gary Lutz and I have a signed hardcover of the Knopf edition, which I think is hard to come by. I'm lucky to count Gary as a friend as well as an author I've published on my press.
book you borrowed and never returned
Um, if you mean "borrowed" as in stolen, I borrowed a copy of the 1990 Poet's Market from a Spokane bookstore because it was expensive and I was a young starving poet wannabe looking to get published. I highlighted about forty places to send my stuff to (back in the days when you ONLY mailed submissions). I think I did okay with it. Landed some poems in about ten places.
favorite book from childhood
I don't remember having many books around at all when I was a kid. I don't remember my parents reading to me at all and, probably because of that, I definitely wasn't interested in reading when I was young. I do have an odd memory of joining some sci-fi book club where you order ten books for a dollar or something like that. I liked the cover art on those Dune books but never even opened them. Around the time I was in 8th grade, I do remember reading Brian's Song for some reason. I read it very quickly and it made me cry.
secret crush on a writer or literary character
It's not too secret--Miriam Toews knows I have a big crush on her, thanks to her novel, A Complicated Kindness (and its equally crush-worthy main character, Nomi Nickel). My real-life mega-crush is Frayn Masters!
last reading you attended
I go to readings all the time. Part of my job is to host readings at the store. I just introduced Jonathan Lethem. The last non-Powell's reading I went to was at Wordstock, the big lit festival here. I saw Blake Nelson, who wowed a crowd of teens.
book you’ve planted on a coffee table to impress someone
I think it's fun to have weird reference books around for people to look at. Back when I actually had a coffee table, I think I had this The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers on it. Maybe not to impress someone, but maybe to unsettle them. Hahaha.
if you could subscribe to only one literary journal
Probably NOON, which only comes out once a year but is consistently daring and interesting. I also really enjoy Keyhole and McSweeney's.
best thing you’ve read online recently
I regularly read HTMLGIANT, which is a great literary/culture blog. As far as fiction goes, I really liked Brandi Wells's controversial "Instructional" and "What Happened" by Elizabeth Ellen.
most anticipated upcoming release
I'm lucky that I get review copies of books at Powell's, so I'm always reading books that aren't even out yet. The other day I opened an unassuming package that had a copy of Sam Lipsyte's The Ask in it and I audibly said, "Oh my God" in a shocked voice. I'm so excited to read that.
recommended reading list:
Favorite Memoirs
Because I was working on my memoir so much the past several months and I hadn't really read that many, I started reading more of them, just to see if I was doing it right and to see what worked and didn't work. These are my favorite ones:
- Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett
- Stop-Time by Frank Conroy
- Rock On by Dan Kennedy
- Boy with Loaded Gun by Lewis Nordan
- The Film Club by David Gilmour
- Are You There, God? It's Me. Kevin. by Kevin Keck
- The Sky Isn't Visible From Here by Felicia Sullivan
- Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
10.10.09
Joseph Young
Joseph Young lives in Baltimore, MD. His book of microfictions, Easter Rabbit, is available now for preorder from Publishing Genius, with wide release December 15, 2009. His microfiction has appeared most recently in Keyhole, Caketrain, FRiGG, SmokeLong Quarterly, Grey Sparrow, Lamination Colony, and Wigleaf. E-mail him at youngjoseph21@hotmail.com and visit www.easterrabbit.blogspot.com.
what are you reading now
AM/PM by Amelia Gray. It’s a book of interrelated microfictions (several interrelations going on at once) that’s just beautifully well done. Funny and earnest and smart.
classic you’ve been meaning to read
I’d love to get back to Anna Karenina. I started reading it a few years ago and got sidetracked. Problem is, I’d have to start over, I think. Too many names there to just jump back in!
last book you finished in a single sitting
Not sure of any book I’ve read in a single session, none that I can remember. I finished Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in a couple days, a few years ago. It was like living in a waking nightmare, one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read. There’s pretty much no plot, just the man and his son trying to get to the ocean, but it’s intensely gripping. I read A Jello Horse by Matthew Simmons in a couple sittings not too long ago. A very moving book.
most treasured book in your collection
A Passage to India killed me. The last 30 pages or so are so incredible, nearly a religious experience. I actually gave it away, though, at a book exchange that was part of a friend’s art opening. But that it exists in another person’s collection makes me feel like I have it even more, somehow.
book you borrowed and never returned
This Is Not a Novel by David Markson. One of the most fascinating books I never finished. And never returned. I don’t think it requires finishing to be good. Or returning.
weirdest dream involving a book, writer, or literary character
I dreamt about Kurt Vonnegut once. We were somehow both involved in a flood, a little seaside town being overtaken by a tsunami. The whole town was covered in beautiful yellow sand. Not sure what Vonnegut had to do with the whole thing, but I know he put in an appearance.
most challenging book you’ve ever read
Probably The Sound and the Fury. It was a challenge worth the effort. By the time I got to Dilsey’s section I thought I’d never read something so impressive.
book you’ve planted on a coffee table to impress someone
Hmm, I don’t have a coffee table. I might have strewn books on the floor to impress a girl or something but I don’t remember what the books might have been. “Look at my impressive mess” was probably more what I was after.
if you could subscribe to only one literary journal
I subscribe to the Internet, does that count? So many good online journals. I feel too bad picking just one out, whether online or print. Is that a cop out?
best thing you’ve read online recently
Well, this is hard too, just because there’s so much. But I’ll pick one of the very most recent things, Mark Leidner’s poem “Lily Pad” at ACTION YES.
most anticipated upcoming release
This will probably sound like nepotism, but I’m really looking forward to Adam Robinson’s book of poetry, Adam Robison and Other Poems, coming out from Narrow House. These poems are just so effective, and affective. Funny, sincere, and heady all at the same time.
recommended reading list:
Judge a Book: Good Books with Good Art (On the Cover)
- Big World by Mary Miller
what are you reading now
AM/PM by Amelia Gray. It’s a book of interrelated microfictions (several interrelations going on at once) that’s just beautifully well done. Funny and earnest and smart.
classic you’ve been meaning to read
I’d love to get back to Anna Karenina. I started reading it a few years ago and got sidetracked. Problem is, I’d have to start over, I think. Too many names there to just jump back in!
last book you finished in a single sitting
Not sure of any book I’ve read in a single session, none that I can remember. I finished Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in a couple days, a few years ago. It was like living in a waking nightmare, one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read. There’s pretty much no plot, just the man and his son trying to get to the ocean, but it’s intensely gripping. I read A Jello Horse by Matthew Simmons in a couple sittings not too long ago. A very moving book.
most treasured book in your collection
A Passage to India killed me. The last 30 pages or so are so incredible, nearly a religious experience. I actually gave it away, though, at a book exchange that was part of a friend’s art opening. But that it exists in another person’s collection makes me feel like I have it even more, somehow.
book you borrowed and never returned
This Is Not a Novel by David Markson. One of the most fascinating books I never finished. And never returned. I don’t think it requires finishing to be good. Or returning.
weirdest dream involving a book, writer, or literary character
I dreamt about Kurt Vonnegut once. We were somehow both involved in a flood, a little seaside town being overtaken by a tsunami. The whole town was covered in beautiful yellow sand. Not sure what Vonnegut had to do with the whole thing, but I know he put in an appearance.
most challenging book you’ve ever read
Probably The Sound and the Fury. It was a challenge worth the effort. By the time I got to Dilsey’s section I thought I’d never read something so impressive.
book you’ve planted on a coffee table to impress someone
Hmm, I don’t have a coffee table. I might have strewn books on the floor to impress a girl or something but I don’t remember what the books might have been. “Look at my impressive mess” was probably more what I was after.
if you could subscribe to only one literary journal
I subscribe to the Internet, does that count? So many good online journals. I feel too bad picking just one out, whether online or print. Is that a cop out?
best thing you’ve read online recently
Well, this is hard too, just because there’s so much. But I’ll pick one of the very most recent things, Mark Leidner’s poem “Lily Pad” at ACTION YES.
most anticipated upcoming release
This will probably sound like nepotism, but I’m really looking forward to Adam Robinson’s book of poetry, Adam Robison and Other Poems, coming out from Narrow House. These poems are just so effective, and affective. Funny, sincere, and heady all at the same time.
recommended reading list:
Judge a Book: Good Books with Good Art (On the Cover)
- Big World by Mary Miller
- Fences by Ben Brooks
- The Contemporary Art of the Novella series, various books by Melville House
- The Drunk Sonnets by Daniel Bailey
- You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
- Less Shiny by Mary Miller
- Poemland by Chelsey Minnis
- How Some People Like Their Eggs by Sean Lovelace
- The Complete Collection of people, places, & things by John Dermot Woods
- I. by Stephen Dixon
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