Pinky's Paperhaus

The unreal JT LeRoy in LA

This weekend JT LeRoy was spotted in Los Angeles. Which was pretty confusing, since there really isn't a JT LeRoy, right? Discussion  ensued among those of us who heard the news: was it mastermind Laura Albert? Ex-husband and former co-conspirator Geoffry Knoop? Was he a co-conspirator or just along for the ride (until they split up)? Turns out it was the person who made the public LeRoy appearances -- the person who the NY Magazine called "Wigs and Sunglasses" -- who is, according to reports, Knoop's half-sister. She was not wearing a wig here in LA, from what I heard.

Two things fascinate me: that while JT LeRoy doesn't exist, s/he is not dead yet: a blog still lives, the narrative voice still cries out that it's real. Can the voice survive if the biography of the author is entirely untrue? I think so. But, since the stories were based on the biography, why on earth would anyone read what comes next?

The other thing that's interesting is that the body double, who in real life was once Savannah Knoop, is now identified as JT LeRoy. Even though LeRoy is understood (by most) to be a fiction, even though Knoop's contribution was only to pose as the front, she is now JT LeRoy, even when she's not in LeRoy drag. Whether she wants that identity or not, JT LeRoy is a second identity for Knoop -- which makes JT LeRoy almost more real now than before the hoax was revealed.

Tod Goldberg's word

I've come to expect that literary people may use "fucktard" -- a word that, as far as I know, was coined by the sweet-tongued author Tod Goldberg. So when it crops up elsewhere I'm tickled. This time I was reading Curbed LA which had written about a craigslist ad for "a smoking hot boy to share house" -- no fucktards allowed.

Radio days

On Wednesday the NPR show Day to Day broadcast a piece by the most excellent Jim Ruland, on how a flash on the TV screen -- well, the TV screen of the show Lost, in particular -- did wonders for one book (The Third Policeman) and its publisher (the Dalkey Archive). (via TEV).

This weekend I've got a piece on Marketplace Money on carsharing. If you don't live where you can hear the show, it's on the internets -- audio and now full text -- too. Did you know that owning a new-ish car costs more than $800 per month? Neither did I (but I do now).

BEA in the rearview

Two great things happened when I went to BEA.

1. I got to meet all kinds of wonderful litbloggers and writers. More about that in a minute.

2. I finally read Cloud Atlas.

For starters, without Mark's encouragement, I never would have adventured to BEA. Without Ed's uncanny sense of direction, I might never have found the convention center. And without Ron and Max keeping me company on the massive convention floor, I might have wilted away. It was cool to stop by the Melville House booth to meet Dennis and the Nightshade booth where Matt took charge when Jeremy charged off. I went to parties and wish I'd seen more of Wendi and Lauren and Megan and Kassia and Lizzie and Sarah and Budd, who returned to Brooklyn in the very midst of things. Gwenda and Gavin and I look like we're talking but it was all just a pose for the camera at the sauerkraut-smelling bar/restaurant Madam's Organ. There were more parties. I caved and picked up tons of books (close to literally), including an advance of the wowee Only Revolutions by Mark Danielewski; when I tried to check my bag to come home they told me it was too heavy. No shit, I'd been dragging it around. Oh well, a little redistribution and no books were lost in the return to LA.

And damn, Cloud Atlas is good.

Punker than you at BEA

Punk Planet rocking at their BEA booth.

Tommy Chong, without the long hair (or ganja)

Alice McDermott at BEA

Even late on Sunday, Alice McDermott had an enthusiastic line of fans.

Whatever you do, don't pick up the books

I was warned clearly by previous BEA attendees that picking up books was a bad idea. They have to be schlepped around the convention floor (growing heavier with each step), then hauled all the way back to LA. Get them shipped, I was told. But I caved yesterday, especially after picking up the most excellent tote bag (made from recycled tires) from worldchanging's booth. They've got a book coming out early next year that will be a kind of best-of encyclopedia from the site.

A few books that made their way into my new cute tote bag:

Chris Anderson has been all over the conference talking about The Long Tail, the book-length version of his article, but I haven't caught  any of his appearances. So I grabbed "the new Tipping Point" (that's what the blurb says) and will soon learn Why The Future of Business is Selling Less of More (that's the subtitle).

Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno from Punk Planet Books and Akashic Books (in stores in September). I loved the description by the folks at Punk Planet, but I don't think I'll do it justice until I've had a chance to read it myself.

Memorial by Bruce Wagner (on Simon & Schuster). Apparently it's not set in Hollywood. That's new.

La Porte, Indiana by Jason Bitner on Princeton Architectural Press. Bitner, one of the founders of Found Magazine, walked into a diner in Indiana and noticed some photos that had been tacked up. Turned out they were from a long-closed portrait studio and the diner had boxes and boxes of portraits in the back. The book are those potraits, and they're beautiful. The stories that accompany them are great; I heard a few and hope to get Jason to visit the Paperhaus with them.

Maul by Tricia Sullivan on Night Shade Books. I think it's time for me to start reading science fiction again.

The bound shooting script of Adaptation from Newmartket Press. Because if Charlie Kaufman is the greatest writer of our generation, shouldn't I have something by him on my bookshelf?

DC subway

One of the best ways to get around DC for BEA is the Washington DC subway.

But the government wants to remind you that any backpack could be cause for suspicion. Really, is this 1984?

And at one stop, there's a clear reminder that you're not using the coolest transportation in the universe.

Bat Segundo on the town

Bat Segundo, the host of the literary world's best podcast, made his first in-the-flesh appearance last night. He insulted partygoers, kissed Matt from Mumpsimus and did his best to create havoc. All at top volume.