New York Books

John Gardner wrote many good works, the Sunlight Dialogues being by far the best. In it he captures the range of hope and anxiety that made the 1960s such a thrilling and tormenting time to be alive. Using the small town of Batavia, New York, Gardner plunges the reader into the life of a prodigal son of the most prestigious family in town and that of the dedicated police chief. And do the intellectural sparks fly! The illustrations by John Napper are reminescent of those from the Yellow Book in the 1890s, by Aubrey Beardsley. There is a lot of subtle humor ("take a gun of, say, x caliber...") as well as dead-on observation of what makes people do outrageous things for perfectly logical reasons.
It's a roller coaster of a novel, so hang on and enjoy the ride. You might even want to go back for a second trip. I did.

The Sunlight Dialogues_ is truly John Gardner's magnum opus, equaling and perhaps overshadowing _Grendel_, the book for which he is best known.

Grossly over-simplified, it is about the tide of discontent and change that came about in the 1960s, exemplified in the stories of a handful of people who live in the small New York town of Batavia. All of these characters' stories occur at roughly the same moment, and to a certain degree overlap each other; they all come into contact with one another at some point during the novel, and may even influence each other, but every member of the book's huge cast has his or her own story and denouement.

The primary one of these stories is the one that concerns Police Chief Fred Clumly and a haggard, maniacal drifter known as "the Sunlight Man", and the happenings of this particular storyline are the catalysts for the rest of the stories. "The Sunlight Man", whom we later find out is Taggert Hodge, the black sheep of the wealthy and powerful family the members of whom comprise roughly half the other characters in the novel, is the one who sets all of these denouements into motion with his seminal return to his hometown as a magician, hippie, murderer, and poet. His has been a life of disillusionment, loss, betrayal and unattainable wants, and he returns to Batavia to set into motion a sort of romantically juvenile plot to take revenge on the world and to mewl out his disappointment with the way things are, the latter of which he does through Fred Clumly(thus is the origin of the title.)

Gardner is remarkably adept at character development; Taggert Hodge, Walter Benson and Fred Clumly are among the best painted characters of fiction I know of. The author has a gift for articulating neuroses and flaws of characters, from miniscule ticks in their everyday behavior to major personality faults. And with a cast of roughly eleven major characters, making each and every one entirely unique in their drives and hamartias is no task to be scoffed at. However, the ability of John Gardner's I perhaps envy the most is that of taking a very normal, even pretty environmental setting, and turning it nightmarish and haunting. In the novel, the dense forests and century-old barns of Batavia are made into artifacts and ruins of an almost Lovecraftian caliber of queerness, and yet it does not serve to displace the small New York town from the realm of believable reality, but rather forces you to evaluate your reality on the same dark and weird basis as his authorial voice.

The sheer scope of the novel (that of several stories cycloning around a unifying theme and plot catalyst) at times threatens to tear it apart, however; the reader at times is left wondering why the author has switched point of views when the scenario he was describing previously had yet to be resolved. This is a mere annoyance, however, and is not really something for which I believe the novel should be faulted, for the rewards of its pages are vast ones.

Due perhaps to its relatively young age, it has yet to receive the proper "classic" status it so rightly deserves, and, sadly, it may never, for "Grendel" seems to be John Gardner's only remembered and widely read work, and is perpetually overshadowing the rest of the author's material, most of which are just as powerful and memorable as tale of Beowulf's tragic nemesis. In fact, some may even be better, as I propose The Sunlight Dialogues is, but until the higher-ups at Norton and the like get around to looking at this master of fiction as a master should, I advise any and all of the people reading this to purchase this book from whatever obscure publisher it has currently been tossed to.

Back in the 70s, I became fascinated with John Gardner, starting with The Wreckage of Agathon and Grendel. When The Sunlight Dialogues came out, I was hooked. I picked up a paperback copy and just fell into the story. After that, each new Gardner was purchased in hardcover, which I could ill afford back then.

About 10 years ago, I tracked down a fine condition copy of TSG and re-read it. Bad move, though, donating the paperback to the library.

I welcomed the arrival of a new trade paperback edition of the novel, and of one or two others by Gardner until I actually had the opportunity to hold them. The reprints were done without the original illustrations, which are integral to the books. Unbelievable!

For old times sake, I bought a used Ballantine paperback copy and am re-reading it. I have no intention of buying this new edition.

So, five stars for Gardner and the book, with a one-star demerit for this compromised reprint. The new introduction doesn't add much to the book.

I recently met a recent graduate of the State University of New York: Binghamton, an English major. He had never heard of John Gardner, author of the one American post WWII novel that stands comparision in scope and quality, if not import, with Middlemarch.

This novel is unabashedly symbolic, it's many characters each representing the dichotomies of order/chaos, love/hatefulness, light/darkness. But don't think that the work is heavy handed or didactic because of the obviously metaphorical quality. Rather, it is like other great metafiction, the reading of which is akin to entering a complex microcosm, and best of all, having a bird's eye view into the lives and minds of all the many characters. The multiplicity of narratives, some dramatic, others hilariously banal, is nearly perfectly balanced so that when one character might get tiresome, we are transported into another new and fascinating life. Most impressively, all these narratives are eventually woven together in perfect and beautiful harmony. Once you enter this work, you will not want to stop. I don't advice reading this unless you have some free time, otherwise all your other responsibilities will suffer.

The 1998 Yankees championship team, which has to be seen as one of the greatest teams of all time, produced two quick paperback books by NY sportswriters after the season was over. This one, by NY Post beat reporter George King, is the superior one and the one to read if one wants to re-experience the 98 season with the freshness of how perceptions were at the time. I've gone back to it many times in the years since, and those who want to write an account of the 98 Yankees from a distance in years to come will have to utilize this book for needed reference purposes.

It makes you re-live, one-by-one, all those magical moments from the best baseball team ever (125-50).

I am not an avid reader but i read this book for school. I love the yankees and i loved this book. It was very fast reading and i would recomend it to everyone. Yankees Rule!

George King has captured the true essence of this great team. Without ever having managed,coached or signaled one player within the lines, Yankee fanatics everywhere can sense that King communicates the day to day heartbeat of this great team.

Let me just say that I picked it up and it was awsome! I didn't put it down, and know, a year after it happened, it still remains one book that I will re-read untile I basiclly knew it from memory!

This book is full of fascinating stories and discussions of the dioramas and their impact on animal drawing and animal conservation movement.
The pictures are excellent. Good for children just becoming interested in the field as well as adults. Highly recommended. mj

My father introduced me to the wonders of the American Museum of Natural History at the age of five.The Hall of African Mammals was the highlight of my first interest in the 1930`s.The dinosaur exhibit and ocean life can capture the imagination and fascination of any child.
Windows on Nature is a must have in the library of any one with an interest in Natural History.

This was a gift for my mother who visited this museum years ago. It brought back great memories we had when we went. The book was very well done.

Stephen Christopher Quinn, Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History (Abrams, 2006)

Dioramas are amazing things. Looking at them may not make it seem so, but that, more than anything, is testament to the artistry practiced by the men and women who construct them. Windows on Nature goes behind the scenes of the construction of the dioramas at the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

This is a coffee-table book, so there are a large number of excellent pictures of the dioramas themselves accompanying the text on how they were created. Both are as fantastic as they are fascinating. If you're a fan, this is a must-have. ****

There is nowhere beneath a roof, anywhere on earth, that means more to me than the great diorama halls of The American Museum of Natural History. It is stunning (and, really, rather sad) that it has taken this long for a popular book to be written about these magnificent works of art and science, but at least it has been done well. (It is also gratifying to see the book getting such good--and well deserved--reviews here.)

For many millions of people habitat dioramas have been their first taste of the beauty, calm, and nobility of wild creatures and wild places. More people are familiar with nature documentaries these days, and since I love good documentaries too I can't really complain about that. Nonetheless there are some things that habitat dioramas, when done well, can convey that the flickering image, even on an IMAX screen, just can't. No medium portrays the spacious calm of wild country, and the simple dignity of wild animals, better than dioramas. It's also important to remember the valuable record dioramas can provide: many of the dioramas in this book are of places no longer wild.

Stephen Quinn's credentials for writing this book are probably as good as anyone alive. He started as an artist for the museum and has been an important force in helping keep the medium alive through the dark years of the 60s to 80s, when across the U.S. it was frequently neglected, if not despised, by curators though not, blessedly, by the general public. Things are at least somewhat better now, and Mr. Quinn is now project manager for exhibitions at the museum. He has done a fine job with this book. The text is engaging and informative and the photos are big and beautiful.

I do have a few quibbles. He sometimes uses the word "captured" for animals collected (read killed) for the dioramas. I'm sympathetic with why he felt he had to do that, given what he's trying to do with the book and given the cultural forces with which he must contend. The moral issues behind hunting and museum collection are complex and beyond what a book like this could be expected to cover. Nonetheless, animals are never "captured" for taxidermy.

I should hasten to add that animals do not need to be killed specifically for taxidermy. Many if not most animals mounted for museums in the last few decades died in zoos, were hit by automobile traffic, etc. That generally was not a realistic option at the time these dioramas were created.

My other reservation is deeper, but harder to articulate, and I don't have a real solution to it. I also know that a lot of readers will be unsympathetic with it. I'm not completely comfortable with "behind the scenes" stuff in anything other than technical manuals, trade magazines, etc. The people who made these dioramas were of course just people but had high ideals (ideals that Mr. Quinn without question shares) and they wanted the dioramas to be about their _subjects_. His behind the scenes writing will engage people more with the medium and is interesting in itself, no argument. But how much does it really help to have people thinking "I wonder if that rock in Diorama Z is the one that employees used to go to make out behind on their lunch hour."?

I don't know the answer, and so I can't really fault the author. I also recognize that many of the reviewers here loved that aspect of the book. My hope, and I'm sure it's the author's as well, is that it will all stay in perspective. Let's hope that's right. It would be very sad to see dioramas become the subject of the kind of psychologizing and trivializing that permeates the world of "fine" art.

That said, this is a beautiful and well-written book about a noble, if often neglected, realm of art and natural history. If you've read through a long review like this one about a book on this subject, I promise you won't regret owning it.

This was given to me as a present. I had never heard of the book before, and indeed, when I told people about it, I always got strange looks. But the 52 capsules of people's lives--not all of them well-known but they're people you should know about--are fascinating. Some personal favorites are the guy who invented the U.S. zip code and the founder of an AIDS group in a small town.

An enjoyable collection of obituaries written my Robert McG. Thomas Jr. These short (2-3 page) obituaries will make you smile and wonder what would be written about yourself. Some of the people you will recognize, most you will not, but you'll gain an understanding and appreciation for their time on this planet.

Recommended

When this book was first recommended to me by a friend, I must admit I was a little put off. A book of obituaries? Now there's a fun read! Although I know there are "die-hard" obit enthusiasts out there, I certainly don't count myself among them. All of this is leading to the further admission that I ordered the book with some trepidation. I needn't have worried. This book is an absolute joy. To say that it is well-written would be an understatement of Homeric proportions as Mr. Thomas had a subtle way with words that hints at Twain (I know! I know! They're "just" obituaries, but this gentleman could turn a phrase with the best of them!). Far from being ghoulish or depressing, these 52 McGs are fascinating celebrations of everyday extraordinary lives. Most importantly, each humorous account is filled with such warmth and respect that you don't get the feeling you're snickering at some poor dead guy "behind his back". 52 McGs falls into the category of "little discoveries that you can't wait to share with other people." Heartily recommended as an addition to your library or as a gift to anyone that enjoys highly skilled writing.

Regular readers of The New York Times will have noticed that while the paper's style has a certain consistently, some of its writers stand out anyway. Robert McG. Thomas was one of those writers. He made his mark not with flash, but with grace, and he did it in the most unlikely place of all: the obituary pages. Thomas (who died in early 2000) had an eye for detail, and an amazing touch in telling not just a life story, but the story behind it. Many obit junkies picked up on and actively sought Thomas's obits between 1995 and 1999; one was Chris Calhoun, who has pulled together this excellent collection of 52 of McG's finest offerings. They aren't stories of the most famous figures who passed on during his tenure. Quite the opposite, these are often people you hadn't heard of, but who, thanks to Thomas's style, won't want to forget. He could be serious, and he could be funny. He's as good writing about the South Vietnamese officer who famously executed a Viet Cong prisoner on camera as he is with "The Goat Man." He's as insightful on the woman who helped create soap operas as he is on the Greenwich Village icon who created nothing but a hipster reputation. Every miniature profile here entertains and informs, as the cliché goes. This is a great little collection; one could only wish for more.

Read 52 MCGS: THE BEST OBITUARIES FROM LEGENDARY
NEW YORK TIMES WRITER ROBERT MCG. THOMAS, JR. . . . this
is a quirky, fascinating compilation of obituaries about unsung
heroes, eccentrics and underachievers . . . among the inclusions were Edward Lowe, the inventor of Kitty Litter ("Cat Owner's Best Friend"); Angelo Zuccotti, the bouncer at El Morocco ("Artist of the Velvet Rope"); and Kay Halle, a glamorous Cleveland department store heiress who received 64 marriage proposals ("An Intimate of Century's Giants").

Thomas never got to put these pieces into book form. He died, but a fan of his work decided that his work should live on . . . and I'm glad this was the case . . . Thomas had the gift of being able to find something worth writing about--regardless of the subject . . . my only regret is that all obituaries in loca papers aren't as interesting . .. but as long as I don't come across mine, I won't complain!

There were several memorable passages; among them:
[in an obituary about Francine Katzenbogen] Her neighbors were
not amused that she planned to house 20 cats in a converted
two-story garage she had refurbished at a cost of $100,000. The
luxurious cat complex included tile floors, climbing towers,
scratching posts, skylights and cozy, low-lying window ledges
where the cats could stretch out and watch the world outside
their air-conditioned lair.

Not content to recognize a Brooklyn accent, Mr. Berger drew
on his broader knowledge of American speech and history to
develop a theory of just how the signature "Toidy-told Street"
evolved. It was, he theorized, a result of the close commercial
connections with the pre-Civil War South in which upper-class
southern speech, primarily from New Orleans and Charleston,
SC, was imported and hammered down to a lower-class
Brooklyneese.

A man given to gross exaggeration when simple embellishment
would suffice, Mr. McCartney also claimed to have visited every

state except Hawaii: His goats couldn't swim that far, he
explained, and if they could, they'd just end up eating the grass skirts off the hula dancers anyway.

It's a nice book, well written and with a nice alternating between anedocts and game recaps with box scores and precise recollection of the Mets most important games over their history. I wish the author had expanded a bit more the final part of the book dedicated to players profiles. But overall it's a nice reading for baseball fans interested in the recent history of the game, not only Mets fans

I loved this book. If you are a baseball fan, half the fun is reliving great moments. Blatt puts you back on the field only the way a seasoned sportswriter can. There is also plenty of stuff from off the field. I love baseball and this book does it for me. Even after reading it, it's a book you can pick up and enjoy all over again. Buy it.

I just finished reading Howard Blatt's book, Amazin' Met Memories. I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane with the Mets. This book had terrific accounts of over 40 of the greatest games in Met history. My whole family have been fans of The NY Mets for many years. Since we don't live in New York anymore we can't attend the games, but this book made me feel that I was sitting on the third base line at Shea. I will keep this book in the company of every Met yearbook I own, since '62. Mr. Blatt, keep the Met books coming!!!

After realizing that Howard Blatt couldn't possibly have spent 40 years in the Mets' lockerroom, I became aware of the fact that his amazin' book only makes it seem so, and that he has astounding knowledge of both the Mets and baseball in general.
This is an enjoyable and fascinating chronicle of 40 sometimes great, often frustrating years.
Perhaps my biggest kick, however, came from Bud Harrelson's wonderful and honest introduction. It alone makes the book a great buy, and brought back for this original Met fan many fond memories of the '69 Miracle Mets.

Might this be the best Mets book -- ever? I'm old enough to recall the Mets first win in 1962, and here's that game again, one of dozens of games -- from the good years and the wishful -- with dozens of box scores (box scores! Why don't baseball books have more box scores like Blatt gives us?) and excellent game stories, with the best quotes, scene-setting and analysis you could want. I just pick this book up, read any game at random and next thing I know I'm reading three games, four, and the writing of each game-story is so crisp, evocative, witty and intelligent that nothing about it tires. It's like sitting next to a great afficianado who's seen it all and makes you feel as if you're seeing it fresh in the thrill of the original nights and afternoons. Like a time machine, you're placed in the game's seasonal situation, the immediate dugout calculations, and the cultural implications for the Blue and Orange. And then there are the chapters on best/worst trades, best players (complete with stats and rain-delay musings) and like the song says, "I don't care if I ever get back." And the topper is that he even includes "bonus" games, plucking the extraordinary from the ordinary (if there is such a thing as ordinary in baseball). Any old book can give you the World Series games but Blatt gives you it all, from the Aprils to the warm summers to the October chill. It works on every level. Not only is this a book for the deepest, most passionate fan but also the perfect volume to introduce and explain to your girlfriend, wife or kids why the Mets matter, why this is not just the Mets history but our own. Just as you can love and appreciate Wrigley without being a Cubs fan, or appreciate Jordan without being his team's fan, you can love this book even if you're not a Mets fan. If you value great baseball writing you'll become a Howard Blatt fan. As do all great authors and their classics, this book transcends its particulars to become something any fan will find fascinating and historically compelling. This book will become as dog-eared as your first scorecard and just as precious.

Many players played for the Pied Piper(Holcombe Rucker).No one was has great as him though.He was a great man and founder of the Rucker Tournament.Most people who ended up playing in the Rucker Tournamet was better then most players in the NBA.They first started playing just in Harlem,New York then went to playing more teams in New York then more and more teams.They played as far as Mississippi.

this book talks about problems the players and coaches had with racism.Most players got started in the Rucker Park Tournament.After the park tournament they went on to college ball even some went to the NBA!
Asphalt Gods by Vincet M. Mallozziwas a great book about players before professional ball games.This book is a excellent book to pick up and read.

An excellent book. Well worth the read. Great read on the history of the fabled blacktop and the man who dedicated himself to making a difference in people lives. Great read on some of the characters to grace the early days of the tournament. you won't be dissapointed getting this book

Asphalt Gods is the best book on the planet.If you love basketball you should read this book.It is a true story which took place at Rucker Park.Rucker Park is named after the brother named Holcombe Rucker.Who was born in Harlem on March 2,1926.He was raised by his grandmother.It is interesting because Mr.Rucker brought some of the best players ever to play there.

I've read Heaven is a Playground, City Game, and seen On Hallowed Ground, for anyone that is a "real" basketball fan this is by far the "BEST" story of the best streetball.

Great subject, great storytelling. By the way, I played with Rucker legend Billy Rieser (aka White Jesus) and he was hands down the most incredible basketball talent and the most compelling personality I have ever been around. His story is worthy of a volume in itself.

I Just returned from 1 week business/pleasure visit to New York and I found this guide full of good recommendations and descriptions were accurate. Better than Lonely Planet or Time Out's, which I also bought. Quite a useful guide with plentiful restaurant, watering hole and sight-seeing suggestions. It's replete with valuable information about attractions, hotels, eateries, shops, spas, etc. Beyond this, however, the layout is terrific, and the book is remarkably easy to use as a result. The maps, in particular, are helpful.I'd definintely purchase an Avant Guide guidebook again. I am happy to say that this book was by far the best single-city guide I used.

I am a big fan of the Avant-Guides. I used this book almost exclusively for a trip to NYC in the spring of 2002--thus some of the information had changed. Otherwise I would have rated it at a 5 star. The information on the museums and where to get the best deal on theater ticket was very helpful. I have since ordered the guides for Las Vegas, New Orleans and Toronto in hopes of finding the same cool, underground type of information provided for NYC. PLEASE--do guides for Montreal, Washington D.C. and Seattle.

I love to travel and I love guidebooks. This one is the best series Ive seen. it makes me laugh, has a great senseability about the places I like and really feels like it was written by a friend. I never write these reviews, but Im inspired to write this one because the book is so good.

Honestly, I've been living in New York for the past two years, and I think I have a reasonably fair grasp on its nighlife, restaurants, whathaveyou. Not only did this book have a listing of some of my favorite spots, but it talked about some places I wish I'd known about earlier. Some good stuff here.

when we first scanned this guide we thought perhaps we were too old to appreciate it {my husband and I are in our fifties]. However, we loved every bit of it and were especially helped in terms of what not to do or where not to eat.

Ms. Sheridan really brought this book into my heart. She knew exactly how to make me feel for these brave men and after I was done reading I really wanted to know more because I truly felt connected with them. Excellent book and I do recommend anyone wanting to read a book about the FDNY to read this book first!!!!!

This is a truly heart-wrenching story of the pipers and drummers pf the FDNY pipe band. Written in a strong journalistic style, the suthor really conveys the strength of these men and their close relationships.

While she gets a few details of uniform (shawls for piper's plaids) and piping (puffing on their pipes) wrong, she's really captured the feelings of these men who face danger and death on a daily basis.

From the first page, I was hooked. I felt like I was living that day all over again. This time, I wasn't sitting in my home in Seattle in shock and horror, I was in New York with an emotional connection to the families mentioned in the book and those not mentioned. I have a new found respect for all fire fighters. I already have a great deal of respect for those who put there lives on the line for any job but now it's impossible to put into words the level of respect I have for them.

This book WILL take you on an amazing emotional journey.

This book is very powerful. I picked this book up and thought it would be an interesting read then I could not believe how moved I would become. It is well written and allows the reader to get close to the men and their families. The readers anxiety grows as the date of September 11 approaches. I had to put the book aside a few times and remind myself of the gratitude I feel toward the brave men who gave their lives to save others and inspiration from those who survived and went back to look for family members, friends and complete strangers in order for those who were murdered to be laid to rest properly. The unity and brotherhood of the elite group of bagpipe players is inspirational. Thank you to the author for allowing readers to gain a new perspective of the days following September 11 and what the FDNY suffered. I felt as though I knew these men personally.

Bagpipe Brothers: The FDNY Band's True Story Of Tragedy, Mourning, And Recovery is the true story New York City's Emerald Society Bagpipe Band, who used their instruments to mourn in the and show their respect at the funerals for the victims of the 9/11 attacks, including the 343 firefighters who died and those who were unearthed from the rubble at ground zero. The band itself lost one of its own from the attacks, as well as the brother of a member; Bagpipe Brothers recounts in vivid detail the emotions, experiences, terrible grief and striving to help any way one can in the wake of tragedy. A profound and powerful tribute to both the lost and the survivors struggling to cope.

Battling For Souls: The Vaad Hatzala Rescue Committee In Post-War Europe by academician and historian Alex Grobman tells the story of the men, women, and rabbinical leaders of the Vaad Hatzala Rescue Committee, who strived to keep and nourish the spark of Jewish spirit in the hearts of survivors in the wake of the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust. A mission that sustained itself despite lack of funds and even in the face of open hostility, from both local populations and other Jewish organizations, The Vaad Hatzala Rescue Committee battled tirelessly for nothing less than Jewish souls. An eye-opening true story of group dedication, determination and purpose.

In all the sectarian arguments about who did what after the Nazi assault on the Jews, Alex Grobman has written a book guided by truth. He tells it as it is, and we are all in his debt.

Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, Editor, The Jewish Observer, official English-language publication of the Agudath Israel World Organization, New York, NY.



Battling for Souls gives us a new perspective on the history of the post-WWII period and the activities of Orthodox Jewry in America and in Europe. Dr. Grobman's research reveals new aspects of the Vaad Hatzala's activities and those of other relief organizations that have never been available to historians before. This unprecedented presentation helps us understand some of the residual misgivings different populations have about each other in today's Jewish community. These misgivings were based on conclusions from false assumptions. This book clears the air.

Dr. Grobman has written an incisive book on the little known and, until now, much maligned role of the Vaad Hatzala in the rescue of Jews in the dark days of the Shoah and subsequently. Battling for Souls is a riveting exposition of the emotional and spiritual damage-control effort of a small group of selfless people determined to return to the surviving victims that which was ripped from them by the Nazi beasts; their faith and religious self-esteem. For the first time in print, Grobman documents the yeoman efforts of the Vaad to provide spiritual sustenance to the survivors, something that was "overlooked" by other rescue organizations.

Rabbi Yale B. Butler

In this fascinating and well-written book, Alex Grobman chronicles the important work of the Vaad Hatzala during the Holocaust and its assistance to Jewish survivors after Liberation, in particular the DP Camps in the American Zone in Germany. As a small child, who was raised as a religious Zionist and survived the Holocaust, I passed through several DP camps including the Neue Freimann DP Camp, where I experienced first-hand the religious support that the Vaad gave to surviving children and adults. Alex Grobman brings to life the Vaad's main activists and presents the chronology of important events, important locations, and numerous photos.

tao lin's bed is prolific in a way that separates him from the traditional style of today's modern contemporary authors. his loosely structured almost stream of conscious syntax and innovative diction emphasize the jaded apathy of his generation, characters who have at young ages resigned all hope of finding passion, and seem to exist only in the perpetual motion of living. they are accepting but child-like and seeking consolation in the seemingly insignificant, barren corners of insipid daily routine. with just the right balance of sardonic humor, numbness, and melancholy, tao lin's bed speaks to the beginning of a new literary movement.

Bed is NOT a hospital bed, it is much much more than that. The goal it has tried to achieved is the usefullness of an adjustable bed coupled with the luxury of a top quality mattress. Bed is powered using the latest in German technology. What this means is Bed is very quiet when adjusting to it. Bed can be adjusted to for any number of purposes, I suppose people with medical conditions are in mind, but that said Bed would be ideal if you like to use your laptop in bed. Bed features two seperately adjustable single mattresses combined into one frame. This means you can adjust to Bed in one position while your partner can have it in another.

I feel like a jerk for being surprised that such a young writer could do what Tao Lin does. The beginnings of the stories in Bed make me feel like I am an ant being picked up and dropped in a swimming pool in New Jersey. The middles and ends of the stories in Bed make me feel like I am an ant not quite dying for some reason, in a swimming pool in New Jersey, hearing muzak being piped in from underwater speakers. They are all slightly different from one another. They are all good.

I was looking for the garden, but I guess since I am here I will tell you about this book. This book is unbridled imagination. If imagination were a horse, this book would be a pretty white horse in the middle of Mall of America, shy and blushing a little, alone and unable to handle the existential anxiety of free will. The horse would headbutt a Jamba Juice stand, then apologize, then accidentally do something beautiful, then listen to sarcastic punk music (almost like that Vandals song, People Who Are Going to Hell) until the horse's brain is a calm white sphere with red dots.

I heard there were tomatoes in the garden. Where is the garden? Thank you.

i enjoyed this book. buy this book as a present for another person or yourself. buy it, do it, do it. you will feel good and surprised, maybe, to have it arrive in the mail. to feel really good you ought to buy it from an independent publisher because then you'll help decrease suffering, i think. this book makes me want to be nice to everyone, especially people who i think i don't like, which is silly because not liking other people is like not liking yourself, which is also possible but self-defeatist, um why does not being self-defeatist matter, uh i feel confused right now.