booklist update, Dave Eggers, BEDA 4

1. everything is illuminated
2. the average american male
3. inferno
4. life of pi
5. othello
6. all quiet
7. slaughterhouse-5
[8. wizards: a collection of short stories]
[9. a separate peace]

brackets mean currently reading. shorthand ftw.

Right. Second part: Dave Eggers.

Dave Eggers makes my heart sing. He's written a few books, but I've only read two because my library is made of fail. I need to read more Vonnegut, as well. Anyway. Mr. Eggers wrote What is the What, an original B2.0 book club book. It's sort of a fictionalized autobiography of the life of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Sudanese Lost Boys who was relocated to America. It's an amazing story, written very interestingly, and it comes highly recommended from yours truly. The other book I've read of his is A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which is Mr. Eggers's own memoir. After his parents die of different cancers, Dave becomes the caretaker of his little brother while still growing up himself. Some of it is fictionalized, but it's absolutely amazing and funny and heartwarming and just great. It also comes highly recommended.

Mr. Eggers co-founded the magazine known as Might, which, if you read AHWOSG, you'll know more about. It was marketed for twentysomethings and created in the 90's. It's no longer in circulation, but from what I've seen/heard, it's an absolutely lovely magazine.

Now, Mr. Eggers has two "projects:" There's McSweeney's and 826 National.

McSweeney's is an American publishing house.

Wikipedia:
"Apart from its growing book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the daily-updated literature and humor site McSweeney's Internet Tendency, the monthly magazine The Believer, and the new quarterly DVD magazine, Wholphin. The publishing house also runs two additional imprints, Believer Books and the Collins Library."


On the website, there are hundreds [or thousands] of writings and short stories that are immensely entertaining. There's the Open Letters to People or Entities Who Are Unlikely To Respond series, Brian Beatty's Jokes, and plenty of others. Overall, the thing is brilliant, and now my dream job.

Then we have 826 National, a nonprofit writing workshop for kids aged 6-18. The original location was 826 Valencia in San Francisco, thus the name. There are six total locations for the workshops, and one in Brooklyn, New York is located in a superhero supply shop. You walk in and there's a bookshelf in the back, and you pull on a certain book and there's the program. Seriously, how cool is that?? There's one in Ann Arbor(, Michigan), Seattle, Boston, and Chicago. Read more about it on the website, as well as wikipedia.

So my new plan is to move to either San Fran, Brooklyn, Ann Arbor, Seattle, Boston, or Chicago and volunteer year-round at the center. Then maybe I can get a job at McSweeney's and launch my own publishing company from there. It's perfect. Just perfect. I can't wait 'til I'm older. :)

BEDA day 4: pwned. This has been Katy. Have a nice day.

1 Response to "booklist update, Dave Eggers, BEDA 4"

  1. Sierra says:

    lol.
    to be edited after trip to teh library. you're cool.

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