Patterns And Shapes:Ā On Reading Nabokov And Henry Miller
BMR is happy to share with you our senior editor (who also happens to do the illustrations and co-design the book),Ā BrianĀ Hischierās, new blog. He is just utterly amazing. Up on our website now:
David Bowie Tribute: Starman Gets His Own Constellation
DDB Brussels has detailed a fitting tribute by the Belgian music station Studio Brussels and MIRA Public Observatory for the late rock star David Bowie. As the music legend responsible for popular hits including Starman, Space Oddity, Life on Mars? and Hallo Spaceboy, itās clear the universe was a great inspiration to Bowie. Now a constellation has been registered to honor him, recorded at the time of his death. It is delineated by seven stars that shine in the shape of the iconic lightning bolt seen on the cover of his Aladdin Sane album.
David Bowie now has a symbolic home among the other 88 existing constellations. Philippe Mollet from MIRA Public Observatory explains the star selection process in more detail:
āIt was not easy to determine the appropriate stars. Studio Brussels asked us to give Bowie a unique place in the galaxy. Referring to his various albums, we chose seven starsāSigma Librae, Spica, Alpha Virginis, Zeta Centauri, SAA 204 132, and the Beta Sigma Octantis Trianguli Australisāin the vicinity of Mars. The constellation is a copy of the iconic Bowie lightning and was recorded at the exact time of his death.ā
So now is Alan Rickman (who probably wouldāve done a bang-up job playing Bowie), too.
Shit goddamnit shit.
And also the familiar, oft-repeated refrain:
Fuck cancer. Times a thousand. Times a million. Times infinity.
Art at its core is, I think, driven by death. Itās there to help us look away from death. Art is there to help us understand it. Art is there to romanticize death ā or to stare it square in the face.
And death is also something that motivates artists.
When weāre born, weāre guaranteed two things: one breath and death. Everybody who lives gets those two certain narrative beats to their story, birth, death, born, died. It is not a morbid fantasy to note that Iām going to die and so are you. Itās not a threat. Itās a promise earned by life ā that grim balancing of the scales is not reserved for one person over the next, for you but not for me, for the under-served but not the privileged. We all have wildly different journeys but when our time is up itās like game design: we are all funneled toward the same ending, the same inevitability. Some of our life is about ignoring death and pretending it isnāt there. Some of our life is geared toward trying to prevent death ā or, for some, running headlong toward it.
The fear of death can destroy you.
But the epiphany of it can also motivate you.
People ask why I work so hard or why Iāve been so single-minded to be what I want to be and thatās because I donāt want deathbed regrets. I donāt want to get there and then look back over my shoulder and look at all the closed doors I wanted to open. I donāt fear death; I fear purposeless death. My work, my writing, is very explicitly motivated by the reality that I could get gored by a moose tomorrow, I could get crushed by a bulldozer in ten years, I could get prostate cancer and die in my 60s like my father, I could get pneumonia (again) and die when Iām 99. Itās coming. I know it. And so I cleave to the act of creation both to spite and to make sense of the ineluctable destruction. I donāt know what happens after we go. Thatās an adventure either of realms beyond life or becoming food for trees and worms (both of which sound very nice in their own special way). Concentrating on whatās past the mortal gates, though, is a very bad way to live.
As such, Iāll say here what I said on Twitter this morning:
Everybody dies.
Love those that you have while you have them.
And do what you love while the world has you.
Bowie did that. Rickman did that. Be like Bowie. Be like Rickman.
You may have also noticed, however, that people who are standing in line at the airport reading are having a much better time than everyone else. The good news? You can be one of those people! To help ensure you have the best possible traveling reader experience, I've decided to give you my guidelines for what literature has worked for me during my many travels (as well as what hasn't worked) so you can make the most out of your down time on standby, riding in the middle seat of your family's volvo, or sitting next to a man with a flatulence problem on the bus
When you're taking a long trip by yourself (2 weeks or more)
Long trips are the rarer sort of traveling, but they are the ones I've made mistakes with most when it comes to choosing reading material. I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to use a long trip as an excuse to finish Moby Dick and failed. What should you read?
1. A novel you've read before that will get you through the lonely times: Even introverts get lonely traveling on their own for extended periods of time. In those conditions, books you've read before are like old friends. My old friend is On the Road. Not only is it a study in the thrill and isolation of traveling that I can relate to at a moment's notice, but I read my favorite underlined passages over and over again and find new mysteries every time. Never. Boring. The familiarity feels like getting a McDonalds cheeseburger and fries in Italy or Kyrgystan but without the crushing guilt over America's imperialistic homogenization of culture.
2. A book that everyone is reading: Granted, this suggestion is for extroverts like me because it's a great way to strike up a conversation with a stranger. If you're not concerned with making new friends and insist you want to read your pop fiction book in peace, you'll still get a friendly, "I love that book!" from a stranger. Even in a country where the first language wasn't English, I managed to make friends over my copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Reading pulp fiction may not feel like you're broadening your horizons, but you'll have more fun in the long run.
Note: classics can work in this category if they are really eternal (like the original Pride and Prejudice), but you're more likely to attract annoyingly pretentious people rather than the ones who will buy a round and invite you over to their table for a chat.
When you're taking a short trip by yourself (1 day to 2 weeks)
Short trips have their own unique set of headaches. Unlike long trips where one delayed flight or missed train won't destroy your holiday, short trips have a strict schedule to keep or you may end up ruining half your vacation. The following suggestions are made as a safety net for any maddening, unintentional down time or to last you through that one hour flight you just booked.
1. A book of comedic essays: Laughter is the best medicine for a bitter situation. A good batch of comedic essays will remind you to see the humor in even the most miserable moments. I try to go for authors who I've already found funny to avoid a collection of jokes that fall flat, so my fall back is something by Dave Barry or Kelly MacLean. Risks can pay off though; I still remember stumbling upon Tina Fey's autobiography Bossypants at a train station kiosk. I read it cover-to-cover on my solo 5 hour ride. Much like the favorite novel you've read before, comedic essays are like friends. Except instead of the life-long friend who is there for you when you're having an emotional breakdown, they're the friend who shanghais you into a Tuesday night bar crawl and convinces you that tequila shots should be your drink of choice that night (which happens to be one of the best of your life). Suddenly that guy who cut in front of you while you're waiting in line to change your canceled flight will seem like just another humorous villain to include in your memoirs one day.
2. A book of poetry (note: stay away from epic poems): A good poem is that horizon you're chasing: beautiful but always just out of reach--and you want it all the more because of that. When I travel alone, most of my time is spent in my head, so why not have something worthwhile to mull over while you watch the clouds go by beneath you? It'll certainly take your mind off of whether or not you left the oven on at home. Anthologies of poetry are my jam. If I don't mix up the tone or style every once in awhile, all the poems start to bleed together. I wouldn't say that anthologies are the way to go for everyone, however. If you never get tired of reading one Emily Dickenson masterpiece after another, more power to you.
3. A special interest magazine: Passing time at a short lay-over? Taking a two hour bus ride to visit your old college roommate? For the short-short trips, nothing beats a special interest magazine that you, personally, are interested in. My fallback is the lastest issue of Vogue. Not only do they have some truly talented staff writers, but they often feature contemporary women authors I've never heard of before and almost always love. Great for getting me to branch out a bit more in my literary taste. But that doesn't mean Vogue is your magazine of choice. Find something that engrosses you, whether that be Motorcycle Cruiser or Dean Magazine.
When you're traveling with friends (for any amount of time)
I consider traveling a true test of friendship and I've traveled with enough friends to know it's never a bad idea to have something to read. Especially on road trips. Because no matter how anti-social imagining your nose stuck in a book may feel, it's been a lifesaver of many a friendship.
At least two books that everyone is reading. I only have this one recommendation when it comes to traveling with friends, particularly if you're with two or more other people. This suggestion is like my second one for traveling alone: popular books are great for discussing with other people. However, unlike traveling alone, bringing two books is very important. At some point, one of your friends is going to want to read your book. By having two books, you can lend one to your friend and read the other. Leave your friends to fight over the book you've offered while you're left with an enjoyable pasttime and still manage to come out as the good guy. Remember that Tina Fey book I mentioned? I brought it with me everywhere for over a year to hand out to bored friends while I got to enjoy other books they'd already read, like The Hunger Games
When you're traveling with family (any amount of time)
Granted I come from a family of readers so I may be biased in this, but reading on family trips can actually be turned into a bonding activity. Even in my family, where the "sharing" trait can't be found anywhere in our genetics, I've found a few options that have worked pretty consistently over my lifetime.
A collection of short stories: No matter how much you love reading, chances are you won't be reading 100% of the time when you travel. Short stories are a great solution to family trips because you can read a story to the end, hand it over to a family member to read for one story, and continue like that for the entire trip. Note: the type of short stories you should bring differs by the family members you're with (for instance the Ecco Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction is a good choice if you're with your college professor aunt, but if you're eleven year old son is in the car, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is probably a better way to go).
Harry Potter, but only if you're reading it aloud: Unless you come from one of those families that believes that reading about witchcraft is the gateway to the devil, Harry Potter books are the ultimate people pleasers. It truly spans generations as an entertaining read. Why read aloud? Beacuse I can't tell you how many bloodbaths I've endured while someone jealously waits for you to finish the book or chapter so they can read it after you.
As Blue Monday Review moves into its third year of production, itās hard not to feel amazed at everything thatās happened this past year. Moving from two to twenty-four staff members, from zero to four brick-and-mortar retailers, and hosting our first three events (with another on the way!), weāve seen growth like nobodyās business. Itās truly gratifying to see the positive response from readers and writers alike about what weāre doing at BMR.
From the bottom of our hearts, weād like to thank you for your support -- whether you bought a subscription, borrowed a PDF issue, attended an event, or stole a copy from your local store, we appreciate your eyes on our pages. It means more than you can imagine and it is what keeps us publishing the best storytelling we can get our hands on.
And if you like what you see, share the love. Connect on social media, show off the book or PDF, and encourage your friends to grab a copy or send their own work -- or all of the above! Small publications like BMR thrive on the enthusiasm and word-of-mouth from our readers, so we hope youāll take a moment of your time to pass the word along.
Be sure to check out āPassing,ā by Steve Werkmeister, our Kansas City Creator for this issue, and as always, keep reading.
Does it bother anyone else that there are parts of your life you donāt remember? You have done and said things that you donāt even know about anymore. That means you donāt even have the right perception of yourself because you donāt even fully know who you are. However, something that youāve forgotten about could be a prominent memory in somebody elseās mind. It trips me out.
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