“Tweeters are twats says Tory twit.”

Wuddup with the Brits? Their putdowns rule.

On the Guardian Books Blog today, Daniel Kalder posted about all the different kinds of marginal scrawls he encountered in the library books at the University of Texas. He explores the idea of book margins as tiny dialectics. “This invisible dullard was misreading it so he could brag to an unseen audience: ‘I know better.’”

Incidentally, I tried my boyfriend’s copy of the 33 1/3 Celine Dion book that he’s teaching next sememster, and I felt like I was arguing with him the whole time even though his notes were all lines and question marks. What’s up with that, Daniel Kalder?

Who: Old Town School of Folk Music
What: Live reading with Joe Meno, accompanied by the Astronomer
Where: Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall :: 4544 N Lincoln Ave.
When: Saturday, August 1, 8pm. Buy tix here for $15 (but per  an Old Town insider: “We are doing a friends & fam discount – mention the code word “Squid” before 7/29 for $10 tickets (regular price is $15).”

Here’s something new: This Saturday, the OTSFM is holding an event in which a writer (the tenderly funny Literago-fave  Joe Meno)  is backed by The Astronomer, who created new songs/scores for the event. Adding to this multimedia extravaganza is poster artist Jay Ryan and shutterbug Todd Baxter; their art will be projected in the room. Oh, and upbeat, Iggy Pop-esque Canasta opens. Now, as someone who studied with a Beat writer, I’m shamelessly drawn to the whole live-reading-with- music-ouevre but even for those less inclined, this sounds spectacular. It’s my birthday weekend, so the only question left is, who’s buying my ticket and which friends are going with me?

If your experience with accompanied live readings is limited to this scene from So I Married an Axe Murderer; fear not. Meno doesn’t smoke and I’m fairly certain he has zero affinity for Josie and the Pussycats.

Who: The Poetry Foundation
What: Fifth Annual Printers Ball
Where: Ludington Building, 1104 South Wabash Avenue
When: Friday, July 31, 5:00-11:00pm – free!

This year’s lineup for Printers Ball – the Poetry Foundation’s annual celebration of print, featuring hoijllions of magazines, books, and broadsides; all available free of charge – is kind of pornographically awesome.

We keep reading updates at Chicago Poetry Calendar, the Ball’s official blog, and humming that “Candy Man” song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – live readings. Rad poster by Dan MacAdam.  A library hosted by the Alternative Press Center and the Chicago Underground Library. One-stop subscription kiosk. Busy Beaver ButtonOmatic. Papermaking and bookbinding and silkscreening demonstrations. featherproof minibooks. “Hidden treasures” and swanky beer (not at once in one glass, we’re hoping). Music from DJ Carrie Weston and Baby Alright. Plus, OMG you guys, Ratso from Chic-A-Go-Go is coming!

The spectacle throws down at the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, and includes over 1,500 people; 200+ local, national, international literary publications and organizations; and two floors of magic. Full schedule here – we’re especially stoked for Opium Magazine’s Literary Death Match and the bilingual readings hosted by the Guild Complex and Palabra Pura.

Come stalk your literary crushes off the interweb; come applaud your hardworking insomniac literary friends; come gawk at all that’s literary and glorious in Chicago; and go buy a subscription to something you love. Oh, and come thank the Poetry Foundation for continuing to celebrate ink on paper. That’s kind of a big deal, these days. Thanks, Poetry Foundation.

We scooped the Trib. More accurately, the New York Observer scooped the Trib when, on June 23rd, they reported that The Baffler was going to resume a regular publishing schedule. We posted about this development two days later. It took the Tribune a full 34 days to regurgitate the same story. What gives? Maybe the Trib was too busy getting the full scoop on the scandal of the century.

Their late coverage of The Baffler just shows the struggling paper’s lack of concern for books in general. My question is, why bother assigning the article at all?

My triumph at our superior coverage quickly vanished with a visit to the comments page. There were upwards of 43 comments posted about the story. I got very excited, since I assumed that many, many people were as stoked as I was about The Baffler’s return (or that least one of them would reference our post or the story in the Observer). Nope! They’re all about how the stupid liberal media just gave us another Obama-worshipping supermarket rag. One person even called editor “Frank Thomas” as liberal as it gets. Others were belaboring the (inaccurate) idea that The Baffler was nonpartisan — one went so far as to suggest the journal is libertarian (ugh). This prompted me to leave my first comment on the Tribune website. Alas, nobody bothered to respond.

Cruel Chicago Tribune editors and commenters! Why do you forsake us?

Like many women I know, I have an unhealthy fixation on Target. I love their clothes, their accessories, their shoes — I’ve even been known to buy Archer Farms potato chips, and I don’t especially like potato chips. For me, going there to buy just detergent is like a pervert going into an adult video store to buy just a little porn. I cannot manage to leave that store without blowing $80. Ever.

So an article in yesterday’s Times concerning Target’s ability to make unassuming midlist books into mega-bestsellers came as little shock to me. What did surprise me was the banality of these titles. Take, for instance, The Wednesday Sisters (plot summary courtesy of Booklist): Set during the summer of 1968 in Palo Alto, California, Clayton’s novel chronicles the lives of five women who conduct a weekly writing group at their neighborhood park.

Sorry, I just fell asleep cutting and pasting that. Honestly, Target’s exciting (and affordable!) design-for-all approach dictates more adventurous choices.

Compare some snoozy book about women discovering themselves through a writing group with this pillow:

Pillow FTW! This is the Michelle Houellebecq of inexpensive pillows. Clearly, Target has some work to do before its book selection matches up to the rest of the store.

Have your dollars ready folks, the Newberry Library book fair is finally upon us!  And it’s the 25th anniversary of the event, so the library has some extra special things planned.  Plus, there’s a record 110,000 books available, and most of them are $2 or less.  Parking information and other particulars are available on the library’s page.  The schedule:

Thursday, July 23, 2009, from 12 pm – 8 pm                             
Friday, July 24, 2009, from 12 pm – 8 pm
Saturday, July 25, 2009, from 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday, July 26, 2009, from 10 am – 6 pm (Half Price Day!)

And don’t miss the action on Saturday, which includes a meet the author event with Alex Kotlowitz at noon, and the traditional Bughouse Square debates from 1-4.  Taking place as always across the street in Washington Square Park, this year’s oratory includes a reenactment of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and soapboxing by immigration reform activist Jorge Mujica, and the Parking Meter Geek expounding on Chicago’s recent parking ridiculousness, among others.  The debates are mediated this year by Rick Kogan, and prizes will be awarded to the best speakers & hecklers, so come out and speak your piece!  All Bughouse Square events are free, and with live music by Black Bear Combo, plus hot dogs and root beer for sale, it’s sure to be festive.

Regulator Books in Durham commissioned this adorable (and entirely accurate) video:

Seems to me that Regulator is living up to its name.

There have been exactly six books that, when I finished them, made me cry like I had just sat through a Lars von Trier marathon: A Tale of Two Cities, The Corrections, Random Family, Stuart, A Life Backwards, The Children’s Hospital and, of course, Angela’s Ashes. And so, I was very sad to wake up to hear a BBC reporter snarking about the career of the late Frank McCourt. I adore that book with a sentimentality I usually reserve for Easter-morning frittata or, like, actual important life events.

It’s hard not to root for a poor, filthy Catholic immigrant who, through the American educational system, managed to eke out a white-collar existence against all odds. He’s like many of my friends’ parents, actually, which might be why I feel so sad that he died.

You can see the little cutie on video here, being all sweary. Aww:

Who: Paul Buhle
What: Open House & discussion
Where: Alternative Press Center, 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave. 2nd floor
When: Sunday, July 12, 5:30-7pm

The venerable Alternative Press Center, publisher of the Alternative Press Index, has recently relocated to Chicago (!), and is already busy hosting a variety of events in conjunction with the upcoming American Library Association conference.  First up is an open house at the Alternative Press Center on Milwaukee Ave. featuring Paul Buhle, who will discuss the history of alternative media as well as his recent work in graphic adaptations of left history.  Buhle has published a variety of books and essays dealing with United States labor history & political history, including graphic histories of Students for a Democratic Society and the IWW.  His most recent work, with Harvey Pekar, is a fantastic graphic adaptation of Studs Terkel’s Working.  Buhle’s books and other merchandise will be available courtesy of Quimby’s.   Hang out for some drinks & snacks and welcome the Alternative Press Center to Chicago!

Who: Alternative Press Center/ALA’s Alternative Media Task Force
What: Alternative Media Reception
Where: Experimental Station, 6100 S Blackstone Ave
When: Monday, July 13th, 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Monday, head down to Experimental Station in Hyde Park for the Alternative Media Reception, celebrating the 40th Anniversaries of both the ALA’s Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Alternative Press Center.  There’s an all you can eat buffet with vegetarian/vegan options for $20, and you can also peruse books, zines, and other materials from progressive publishers in Chicago and all over North America.  Drinks & musical entertainment from Brian Sandstrom and Friends make it a party!

The ALA conference is ongoing from Saturday, July 11th to Tuesday, July 14th at McCormick Place, and APC will have a booth showcasing the variety of publications featured in the Index.  If you’re ALA-ing, be sure to stop by to browse and chat.