Dr. Frank's What's-it

Dad's record collection

From Hez:

I brought Frank Portman's book King Dork on my trip. I read the thing in two days. It was really good. In the book, the main character makes up a band with his best friend. They change the band name every week. Baby Batter was one such name...while going through my dad's records I was surprised to see that it was a real album!

Tales from the Dorkside

Couple three items while I happen to be logged in:

1. King Dork is included among the "21 good books that need to be great films, like now" on this list from the Onion's AV Club.

2. This has been out for a while but I just heard about it. The novelist Adèle Geras, also known blogospherically as the wife of the Norm, fits some very kind words about King Dork into her essay on "Telling Tales" in the Time Out guide to 1000 Books to Change Your Life. Thanks, Adèle!

Oh, and remember a ways back when I met Judy Blume and she signed an Are You There God.. for me? Well, while she was doing that I signed a King Dork for her grandson. She had mentioned that, to her surprise, he had disliked The Catcher in the Rye when it had been assigned to him at school, so he seemed like a prime candidate for it. Turns out, he was into it.