Ben Tanzer's Blog, page 199
February 23, 2011
February 22, 2011
Wherein we get the attention we deserve. We think?
While we so cannot totally decide if we are being mocked in the incomparable Mickey Hess's recent blog post "Three writers who get exactly the attention they deserve," though yes, clearly we are, this confusion should not be confused with our great love for the post and Mickey himself, or our thrill at being coupled, or is it tripled, with the also incomparable Mel Bosworth and Kim Gek Lin Short."Ben Tanzer: runs This Blog will Change Your Life, which I think is a pretty great name for a blog. He writes a lot of books too, and some of them look like the kind of stuff I like to read, but I haven't been reading much lately outside of super-old academic medical journals, like War Medicine, which are pretty crazy, really, the way they used to think about treating diseases. Being from Chicago, Tanzer is in a city with a good literary scene, which could mean that he should get more press coverage than he does, but maybe he gets more and you just have to live in Chicago to hear about it. I saw he got interviewed by a magazine or website called The Chicagoist, so there's something. In short, I would say Tanzer seems like a nice guy and a hard-working writer, and a lot of links come up when you google his name, so I'd say he's getting his due. If I were him, though, I'd probably feel differently."
Mockery? Love? Entertainment? All that and more we think.
While we so cannot totally decide if we are being mocked in the incomparable Mickey Hess's recent blog post "Three writers who get exactly the attention they deserve," though yes, clearly we are, this confusion should not be confused with our great love for the post and Mickey himself, or our thrill at being coupled, or is it tripled, with the also incomparable Mel Bosworth and Kim Gek Lin Short."Ben Tanzer: runs This Blog will Change Your Life, which I think is a pretty great name for a blog. He writes a lot of books too, and some of them look like the kind of stuff I like to read, but I haven't been reading much lately outside of super-old academic medical journals, like War Medicine, which are pretty crazy, really, the way they used to think about treating diseases. Being from Chicago, Tanzer is in a city with a good literary scene, which could mean that he should get more press coverage than he does, but maybe he gets more and you just have to live in Chicago to hear about it. I saw he got interviewed by a magazine or website called The Chicagoist, so there's something. In short, I would say Tanzer seems like a nice guy and a hard-working writer, and a lot of links come up when you google his name, so I'd say he's getting his due. If I were him, though, I'd probably feel differently."
February 20, 2011
Check it. Ludlow. Dogzplot. And the alt.punk.
There are a number of books we are looking forward to reading these days, Volt by Alan Heathcock, Daddy's by Lindsay Hunter and The Bee Loud Glade by Steve Himmer, among many, but there are few books we are as excited about as alt.punk by the quite stellar Bay area rocker and author Lavinia Ludlow, who happens to have just been interviewed at Dogzplot by another author who has a book coming out we are also much excited about, Barry Graham and Nothing or Next to Nothing. Nice how that all comes together, yes? Yes.BG : For me, ALT.PUNK is a tale of brutally honest, fatalistic, twenty-first century American Naturalism. I can't help but feel that Hazel's entire existence is preordained, that her germophobic, socially inept personality and her narrow, semi-elitist world view were shaped well before she was conceived, and a job at Safeway and her frustrating habit of returning again and again to the same deadbeat boyfriends are all part of her inescapable destiny. Tell me why this is or is not a good assessment?
LL: You couldn't have assessed the protagonist in a more anal, undignified, and dysfunctional manner. It was dead-on. I've always wanted to write a story about a bitter and jaded suburbanite putting down the unproductive complaining and taking action. My intent was to instill melodramatic teenage angst into a character that was well into adulthood, and put her in the middle of a dark-humored fast-paced entertaining novel. In this story, Hazel tucked balls into her big girl panties and got the hell out of her dead end lifestyle. Naturally, without meticulous planning, everything blew chunks in her face.
February 19, 2011
There is new piece, "Smiling to Himself," at the Atticus Books. And there is celebration.
Yo, quite happy to have a new piece, "Smiling to Himself," up at Atticus Books. It is part of group of pieces we've been working on set in contemporary Chicago, the first of which was "Taking Flight" which ran at Metazen. We hope you dig it, big thanks to Atticus, and for you viewing and preview pleasure some excerpt.
"When exactly did doctors become younger than me thought Pete? Pete could accept that almost every professional associated with his children's lives was younger than him, the teachers, the speech therapists, the nurses at the pediatrician's office, not to mention the pediatrician herself. But his doctor too, when had he become his dad?
It wasn't that the new guy wasn't good or thorough or professional, but he looked like a high school student or maybe a cast member from Glee. He certainly didn't shave. Was he even old enough to drink?
"Hey doc," Pete asked, "are you old enough to drink yet?"
The doctor smiled. Jesus, was he wearing braces? No, thank God.
"I am not old enough to drink," the doctor replied, "but I will be old enough to vote when Obama is up for re-election, so that's cool."
Cool. Pete said cool all the time, but were doctors supposed to say it?
"Okay, Pete," the doctor said, pulling on a rubber glove, "you're forty now, buddy, and I need to check that prostate."
"Really, you couldn't have given me warning before I got here?" Pete asked. "A post card maybe, or a text, how about a comment on my Facebook page, isn't that how you guys communicate with each other?"
February 18, 2011
The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live, all Eco and full of Fredd.
The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live and all Eco. We have a new story Eco-fiction by D.E. Fredd, which we are way excited about, and, (almost) as always, photo action from Adam Lawrence, music curation from Jason Behrends and deficit busting prose love from Pete Anderson. We hope you enjoy this edition and we appreciate all shout-outs and links. Finally, please note, we are hoping more of you will submit comix, and music, and art, and video, yes, video, and combinations there of. And most finally, we are you, so thank you for that.
February 17, 2011
February 16, 2011
More embarrassment. More awesomeness. You Can Make Him Like You. Pre-order madness.
And there it is, The Hold Steady-inspired You Can Make Him Like You from Artistically Declined is ready for pre-order to be shipped on or before April 11th, and that includes free shipping might we add, hence the ongoing embarrassment and the awesomeness. We know some of you already have copies, others know all this, and some of you have even already been hyping it, thank you, but with the pre-order officially on, we would really appreciate it if you would tell every person you've ever met, ever, anywhere, life coaches, bus drivers, gym teachers, therapists, etc., about this, maybe plugging it on your blogs, the Facebook and Twitter, and adding it at Goodreads as well if that's your thing. Thanks in advance for the support and interest, and for your reading pleasure we have included a brief synopsis below, as well as, a recap of some of the early reviews. Big thanks. And big hugs.Synopsis
You Can Make Him Like You, Tanzer's third novel is an adventure in being a grown up, in facing relationships and jobs, friendships and parenthood. A true exploration of what it means to live in our world, saturated with pop culture in the midst of real life struggles.
Reviews
"The always awesome Ben Tanzer knocks it out of the park yet again with his upcoming April release You Can Make Him Like You. The novel, published by Artistically Declined Press, beautifully captures the chaos and confusion of marriage, friendship, family, and the decision to have a child." Lori Hettler, TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog
"It makes the incredibly difficult process of developing and maintaining a character arc look easy and graceful." David Kiefaber, Banners of Death
"Tanzer, in a manner most mysterious to me, somehow harnesses the power of straight, conventional writing without the usual level of pandering or expositional obtuseness. The words say exactly what they mean, no more and no less, and thus his books drive us forward - we become propelled." J.A. Tyler, Red Fez
February 15, 2011
"Ben Tanzer knocks it out of the park yet again." You Can Make Him Like You gets TNBCC's The Next Best Book Blog'd. And likes it. A lot.
Sweetness, and big thanks to Lori Hettler and her whole fab crew at TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog for their ongoing support and most kind review of You Can Make Him Like You. Big drinks on us some day and somewhere soon, maybe, yes.
"Set during the Obama/McCain election, Tanzer allows much more of his own personality to shine through as he sites lyrics from some kick ass contemporary rock bands and laces up his main characters shoes as he forces him to hit the pavement. This is what an "adult" coming of age story would look like, if there ever was such a thing. A big, long, sloppy, wet kiss goodbye to what they used to know, and a timid and frightening hello to unknown, and sometimes unbelievable, new territory."
February 14, 2011
"His books drive us forward - we become propelled." You Can Make Him Like You gets Red Fez'd. And likes it. A lot.
TBWCYL, Inc. favorite and old friend J.A. Tyler has written a quite kind review of You Can Make Him Like You at the Red Fez and we are most appreciative, and quite humbled, big thanks bro, and coffee on us for sure when next we meet.
"Tanzer, in a manner most mysterious to me, somehow harnesses the power of straight, conventional writing without the usual level of pandering or expositional obtuseness. The words say exactly what they mean, no more and no less, and thus his books drive us forward - we become propelled. The long answer is what I can't articulate, because sometimes books just run as rivers, end in a place we aren't looking for but simply arrive at. Story-tellers do this, around campfires, at dinner tables, in the car on long-drives. Tanzer does this in his books, and Artistically Declined Press was smart enough to pick up those words in You Can Make Him Like You. "
