Pauline Oliveros

I had the opportunity last week to work with legendary composer Pauline Oliveros at Columbia University. I had a chat with her about books and what she has been reading.  Unfortunately I didn't have my video recorder during our conversation. Pauline said she hasn't had as much time as of late to read as much as she has in the past because of intense work commitments. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the Kindle, and one of the first that I have met since i have started this site. She is currently reading  Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, by Oliver Sacks, and highly recommends it.

Congratulations to Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie has won the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award.

New Book 112th and Broadway-8:37 in the AM

This morning i picked up this collection on the recommendation of a street-seller on Broadway and 112th. This man had a strong take on the genre of sci-fi which i wish i had captured on video. Perhaps another time. His main point: "science fiction's function should be to question what effect does technology have on humans." Indeed.

Harlan Ellison

Danzig's Library

Book Friendzy! with Peter Fonda

Book Friendzy! asks "The Easy Rider" Peter Fonda what he has been reading lately. Most importantly he tells us: "Don't stop reading"! Indeed....

Books Waiting For A Phone Call-Chinatown NYC

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discovered and photographed by Barnaby Clay  on Ludlow and Grand St. NYC

William Gibson On the Art of Writing

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I suspect I have spent just about exactly as much time actually writing as the average person my age has spent watching television, and that, as much as anything, may be the real secret here.
-William Gibson

Book Outpost on Avenue B

Birthday Books at Book Friendzy!

Book Friendzy! thanks his cherished friends for the biblio-birthday-gifts. Much love to you all!

J.G. Thirlwell on Book Friendzy!

Book Friendzy! with J.G. Thirlwell from jason p grisell on Vimeo.

La Peste-The Plague

I found this a few days ago uptown. I think it might be a perfect copy of The Plague. It looks as if rats have been eating it.

Sherman Alexie up for PEN/Faulkner

Book Friendzy! is rooting for Sherman Alexie in this years PEN/Faulkner award for the collection War Dances

Sherman Alexie … said he refused to allow his novels to be made available in digital form. He called the expensive reading devices ‘elitist’ and declared that when he saw a woman sitting on the plane with a Kindle on his flight to New York, ‘I wanted to hit her. “Why do you consider the Kindle ‘elitist’?”
Says Alexie, “I consider the Kindle elitist because it’s too expensive. I also consider it elitist because, right now, one company is making all the rules. I am also worried about Jeff Bezos’ comments about wanting to change the way we read books. That’s rather imperial. Having grown up poor, I’m also highly aware that there’s always a massive technology gap between rich and poor kids. I haven’t yet heard what Amazon plans to do about this potential technology gap. And that’s a vital question considering that Bezos wants to change the way we read books. How does he plan to change the way that poor kids read books? How does he plan to make sure that poor kids have access to the technology? Poor kids all over the country don’t have access to current textbooks, so will they have access to Kindle?”
In a posting on his website, meanwhile, Alexie notes that he has been innundated with email about his comments and says “While I still have serious qualms about the technology, I have been challenged and emotionally moved enough to take a long-requested meeting with the folks at Amazon and Kindle and listen to their arguments for the machines … I will do my best to enter the meeting with an open mind. And I definitely promise that I will not beat up anybody at Amazon or Kindle.”

Semiotext(e)

SEMIOTEXT(e)
My dear friend Justin Luke has been recently reading one of their releases All The Kings Horses, by Michèle Bernstein.

Momus-Book of Jokes

I saw this recently over at the Strand and will be going back to pick it up. Momus has wrapped up his fine Click Opera Blog and can now be found online at his website

On Deck

Spike Jonze, Lance Bangs, John Hodges

Spike Jonze, Lance Bangs, John Hodges, talk Where the Wild Things Are, Tell Them Anything You Want, Maurice Sendak at Barnes and Noble Union Square NYC.