Dr. Frank's What's-it

Mike bought King Dork in Dubai

Your Daughter is Our Biggest Fan

It is, it turns out, a fairly short leap from "What is YA?" to "What is Punk?"

Too Punk

This, sent to me via myspace mail, is the kind of message Dr. Frank gets in the bizarro world:

att. dr. frank:

how come you always write pop-punk songs? You're obviously intelligent enough to step outside of standard pop-punk structures and ideas. I understand that punk is probabaly what you 'dig'. Do you not listen to any other type of music? Or do you just not care enough to experiment with different styles of music...?

Life Goes On...

John McNally experiences James Frey's website:

It's kind of like walking into a room and seeing dozens of shrunken heads floating inside glass jars while the host talks about the weather.

Tidy

Stepping off from this article on adult readers of YA lit, Leila and her commenters have begun to assemble a "list of Young Adult books that adults will appreciate (and hopefully love)"

(As for the original article, do you buy this explanation: that "grown-up" readers have turned to YA in order to escape the untidy resolutions of "adult" books? If so, maybe I picked the wrong ghetto to try to crossover from!)

UPDATE: The debate continues with this petulant post in the "literary fiction" blog Elegant Variation, with the subsequent comments thread featuring contributions by Cecil Castellucci, Gwenda Bond and others. Original title: "When the Bar has no Lower to Go..." (subsequently emended to "Choices.") Excerpt from the post's author's follow-up comment:

I believe that it is the very conventions and requirements of the genres in question that forever prevent them from reaching the very highest levels. I don’t think any art of any kind can reach its full flower with any kinds of restraints – happy endings, clear villains, three acts, whatever – on them. I understand that this comes down to what you read novels for, and not everyone wants what I want. But I seek out the great depth that only novels can offer, the interiority of character, of being able to travel infinitely deep and I think that these types of books – out of honest and fair consideration of their readerships – don’t go there.

UPDATE UPDATE: I like this comment on the EV thread by Lauren McLaughlin:

Self-obsessed, lamebrained, terminal psychoanalysis is exactly what I suspect drives readers screaming from the "serious" literature section and into the arms of Genre where, freed from the devouring needs of endless self-analysis, ideas both Big and small have room to breathe.

One Day, Perhaps...

Lookout Records was kind enough to add a news link on their website about how King Dork is up for a Quill Award.

Just to be clear though, the official name of the subcategory for which the book has been nominated is "YOUNG ADULT/TEEN."

Not "Best Punk Rock Book Ever."

UPDATE: They have now corrected the item, but here's the original pop-up, for posterity. Good times.

King Dork, rock, roll, 9/11, and so forth...

I keep meaning to mention: Random House presents The King Dork Band Name Generator. Submit!

And speaking of band names, Chris Parker, transatlantic King Dork reader and TV writer (for such shows as Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, and East Enders) sends along this story:

In September 2001, my wife and I were on a three-week Amtrak trip across the US. On 9/11, we were staying at the Hotel Triton on Grant Avenue, San Francisco. In our panic and confusion, we looked for the quickest way out of the city and headed for the BART. A lady picked up on our outsider vibes and invited us to come and stay with her, driving us from North Berkeley BART to her beautiful split-level home on Kerr Avenue in Kensington, whereupon she gave us her house keys and went about the rest of her day... We sat around and watched CNN, shell-shocked, until the lady's husband came home from work. He told us about the band his teenage sons were involved with. I asked what the band was called.

"Um... The name kind of changes, I'm not sure it has one right now."

"What's the last name it had?"

A pause. Something weary in the man's eyes said there was no good way out of this.

"Umm... Alfred Bitchcock."

Pressiness

I believe I've gotten more feedback on the basis of this review in the American Airlines in-flight magazine than from any other recent King Dork press. I guess people really do read these things... (Nice piece, too.)

And here's a review and a Q&A from teenreads.com.

Ms. O.

That's Jeff, who recently mailed me his copy of King Dork to be signed, along with a letter, some snapshots of his trip to Italy, and a page torn from his English class journal.

Here's the page from the journal, with commentary from English teacher Ms. O. ("she has a studded belt"):

come back now before I start forgetting your name

Tony found this letter in the Mission a couple of years ago. Transcription:

March 10, 1998

Mark [last name not transcribed] my dear Man,

Hi pumpkin pie-head! So how's the life of the emotional abuser? Don't worry I'm stable for now. Today is tues. I just walked to work and they sent me home. (hooray!) I didn't feel like working I needed a day off.

So anyway, I feel sad I'm looking through my phone list trying to find a replacement for monday. I wish you were coming in on friday it would make life so much easier, I miss you so terribly I don't even know what to do. Hurry home! I feel like you've been gone so long I'm actually getting use to you being away which isn't good. I don't like that at all.

I just got coffee at Arabica and a slice of spinich quish from Co-op it was a great breakfast. (yum!) I can't wait until your sleeping right next to me agian. It's so hard to imagine you every night next to me, I can hardly wait. Maybe we could make-out sunday night if your not too busy.

Mark I really am feeling very strange lately with my family, and close friends being so distant I just don't want you to be one of them anymore. Your supposed to be my lover, my companion across our long journey into the cruel world, we must face our destiny together. Come on, come back now before I start forgetting your name!

I wish that we were independently wealthy and could travel to many foreign lands exploring different cultures, and human behavioral patterns. Hey, we gotta make a quilt, remember. Go develop the film I gave you so we can do transfers. Maybe we could work on that, and relive our experience doing it, it would help us remember and talk about our memories. I think I need to talk about everything I saw and did. I can't wait until your back and I can float on some of those thoughts with you. It's so hard to talk about any of it with anyone at all! I keep thinking about our collaboration and I'm not able to think of anything except missing you sweet, warm kisses, I can't help but to think of how I miss you dearly.

I go to sleep everynight with my 2 pillows (one of which you always slept on) feeling sad and lonely in my heart, where is my Mark? Not here that big jerk, he'd better come to sleep soon! Cuddling is a large part of our love and, we are lacking in that area. When you come back let's just stay in bed for weeks straight. I bring some bread, water, and a toaster in my room. O.K. lover?

I love you Toad-head

Love,

Kathleen

The Young Adults

Get with us. We're like dough in your pockets.

I Would Like to Thank My Parents, God and L. Ron Hubbard

So it turns out that King Dork has been nominated for a Quill Award.

Al Roker apparently announced the nominees at noon today (EST) on a live webcast on MSNBC, but I couldn't get the webvideo player to play. It seems to be "for real" though.

It's a sort of American Idol-esque readers' choice kind of deal. If you feel like helping me out, you can vote for King Dork on the web in two categories by clicking on these links:

Young Adult/Teen;

and:

Book of the Year

The voting goes from today through 30 September, and the winners are announced on 11 October. Then there is an awards ceremony thing in New York that is going to be on TV and everything.

There's some stiff competition, but it would be pretty cool to win, so if you can bring yourself to vote for King Dork I would really appreciate it.

(My buddy Lane Smith is also nominated - so vote for him in the Children's Illustrated Book category - as well as Als Gore and Franken, Calvin Trillin, Stephen King, Stan Lee, Lemony Snicket, Joan Didion, Tim Russert, Pablo Neruda, Maya Angelou, Garrison Keillor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, EL Doctorow, David Mitchell, Julia Child, Barbara Ehrenreich, Frank McCourt, and The Dalai Lama. So it should be a pretty good "black tie affair," though if the Dalai Lama doesn't have to wear a tuxedo, I'm not wearing one either.)

How Much of Your Book is Autobiographical and What Are Your Influences

The reading thing at Pegasus Downtown went pretty well, I thought. Carla and Kendra have more.

Armor of God PJs

Inspired by Epeshians 6:10-18:

(via Relapsed Catholic, by way of David Weigel at andrewsullivan.com.)

Come to this thing tonight.

Beautiful Teenage Boy

Geo Kayes is my neighborhood bar, and there is a book club that meets there called The Master Readers' Drinking Club. They have been reading King Dork, so they invited me to their meeting last night. Usually they meet in the bar, but for this occasion they moved to Sushiya, a Japanese restaurant across the street. I'd never "done" a book club before. It was fun. I ate sushi for the first time ever, and drank some sake with a name that translates into English as "beautiful teenage boy." Or so I'm told.

Large Big Huge Mustaches

From time to time, this blog presents a Google-ympics, in which interesting search strings that have brought people to this site are categorized and listed. At the end, a winner is proclaimed. This is one of those times, so here we go:

Philosophical:

what's the real world like

the meaning of whatever

what mrs means

disadvantages of being close-minded

what is it when people explode

Practical:

is there a problem with a man that paint his toe nails with finger nail polish

what's the best way to get rich

how to shoot a gun

when a guys says ur thick what's that mean

what's that hard thing when fingering girl

organic way to treat for black widows

Lyrical:

doublemint gun theme song

looking through gary glitter's eyes

lucy in the sky with diamonds what it really means

songs meaning i'm sorry

yummy yummy i got love in my tommy

Unlikely:

palindromes with only two letters

what's war all about?

show me trimming own hair

what am I going to do

what is it what's it what it is

how to describe my awesome boyfriend

Computer, show me some:

cute japanese things

girls in morgues

funny sentances

monkeys dressed as literary figures

unitard covered ass

gay men with large big huge mustaches

art that makes you feel warm

And the winner is:

JK Rowling large breasts

Complicated and Teenagerly

Erin and Cailin discuss the "make-out fake-out."

Eat Your Heart Out, Mel Gibson

(via Andrew Sullivan.)

Home of the Ridefinder

Hey, sorry for the last-minute heads up, but I'm going to be on KALX tonight (Mon. 8/14) between 7 and 9:30, spinning records with Kendra and trying to plug this event-y show-y book-y thing:

That's tonight on KALX Berkeley, 90.7 FM, 7 - 9:30PM. And the bookstore thing is on Thurs. 8/17, 7:30 PM at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 649-1320.

Curriculum Ridiculum!

Some very kind words on King Dork from Steven Rubio, who has assigned the book to his fall course (along with Megan McCafferty's Sloppy Firsts and the movie Dazed and Confused.) Thanks, Steve!

Good thing I didn't play the one about Hitler's girlfriend...

Sasha's phone:

(By the way, when I played that song at my recent appearance at Amoeba in LA, this guy who was offended by it went around the store hassling various fans. He complained to the management and accused them of being just as "insensitive" as me. Then he told them he was going to wait for me outside and beat me up when I came out. He didn't though, for whatever reason.)

Art?

This object was placed in the stairwell-vestibule of my apartment building about a month ago and has been there ever since:

Critical

Jennifer Reese, the Entertainment Weekly book critic who gave King Dork an early boost with her unexpected, spectacularly prominent review, is interviewed at the National Book Critics Circle blog.

Nous Sommes Tous Peninsulans

This picture arrived with the following note:

As a graduate of Hillsdale High School (Hillsdale Knights) in San Mateo, class of '83, and as one of the few punk rockers, I can honestly tell you that you nailed every detail of being the odd man out in a public suburban high school. Me and my friends formed our first band in 1980 (the Dangling Genitals) before any of us played an instrument. We simply assigned who would play what. I was the last to pick and was elected to be on guitar. A few months later we were making noise in the garage and changed our name to Wig Torture. We played at lunch in the "great court" of Hillsdale in 1983 and the reaction from the normal people was as described in King Dork. Our lunchtime gig a year later at San Mateo High wasn't any better.