tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52493286668323439452012-01-27T17:06:54.561-08:00<strong>If I care how others perceive my passions they become affectations.</strong>Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.comBlogger3071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-35786964820324103092012-01-26T07:03:00.000-08:002012-01-26T07:03:37.488-08:00

Love books?  Want to share the love?  Go here to sign up and become a book giver awayer. If you can get one non-reader to read, or convince a light reader to give one of those awesome books a try, it will make the fact that Carl Lennertz won't be publishing me at Harper Collins (because he's too busy being CEO of World Book Night) totally worth it. You don't remember that story?  Probably

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-45386614822037113952012-01-24T17:58:00.000-08:002012-01-24T17:58:47.748-08:00

Yes, she is. On Sunday night, Becky got back from New Orleans for the American Booksellers Association's 2012 Winter Institute.  Exhausted from meetings, loggy with shrimp po' boys and beignets, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open long enough to tumble into bed.  Mere hours later, she was sitting at the computer in her pajamas, on her day off, listening to the ALA webcast.  She had 

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-88820991030649311342012-01-19T19:45:00.000-08:002012-01-19T19:45:50.256-08:00

. . . but this picture Becky took of me in Niagara Falls lingers on.  Normally I'd title a picture like this "Canada is Racist" and move on, but I have mixed feelings about all the Indian stuff I encountered up north. Niagara Falls makes me wet. Along with Health Care, lack of handguns, and being America's hat, Canada is known for its Natives.  It's tough to think of Canada without thinking

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-36534980878549258812012-01-13T08:19:00.000-08:002012-01-13T08:19:15.505-08:00

I don't mean the best uses of music, because if I did then the top three would be the Siren scene from Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, the tour bus rendition of Tiny Dancer from Almost Famous, and John Cusack holding his boom box aloft to Ione Skye in Say Anything.  I'd probably throw in a good shower sing-along, too, maybe Ferris Bueller or Family Man...   But not any old song use will do.  I mean

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-59551115090903262252012-01-11T05:49:00.000-08:002012-01-11T05:49:19.741-08:00

See what I did there?  I took the form rejection letter's favorite phrase, "Your work is soon and inevitably to be accepted" and turned it on its head.  I'm so clever, it really is just a matter of time before my work is accepted. Jai-Alai Magazine is a recent literary adventure for Miami, the brainchild of The University of Wynwood.  Jai-Alai's first issue sold out and Books & Books

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-32726080694862472462011-12-31T08:13:00.000-08:002011-12-31T08:13:25.463-08:00

I'm not linking because most of the post is old news, but thankfully the first line says it all. A few weeks after this picture was taken, Moo got sick.  She vomited everything she managed to choke down and eventually refused to eat at all.  Apart from a malformed heart, arthritic hips, and the withered lungs of a cat twice her age, the vet found nothing wrong with her.  She advised me to make

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-8589784907907735402011-12-25T13:14:00.000-08:002011-12-25T13:19:10.866-08:00

May you be a better person than you thought possible. May happy music fill your heart. So you can do this. May you get everything you asked Santa for. May you recognize the angels in your life. To help you avoid the demons. Merry, merry!

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-34967779848169695662011-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:002011-12-25T11:22:21.896-08:00

Barack Obama's daughters loved Drummer Boy so much that when Obama wrote a children's book, he picked Loren Long to illustrate it.  The result is Of Thee I Sing: Buy it, coz. But toddlers couldn't care less about that.  When you need to entertain a five-year-old, you want something a little more funkengrooven.  You want a friendship between a tractor and a calf. If that sounds dumb, it's

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-77544488702282266192011-12-16T04:27:00.000-08:002011-12-16T04:27:32.928-08:00

5: People who say "I like the one where Ross and Rachel argue" when Friends comes up. Or "I like when he meets that one girl" when someone mentions How I Met Your Mother, or "I like the episode when they sing" if someone says they love Glee.  I get it, har-har, every episode is interchangeable and they're pablum.  You only watch Breaking Bad and The Wire, or The Office when you're in the mood

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-74181837995095253102011-12-15T11:15:00.000-08:002011-12-16T03:04:39.986-08:00

George Whitman with daughter Sylvia Beach Whitman If you didn't recognize it, the background photograph of SwF&F is a picture Becky took when she visited Shakespeare and Company in Paris.  Unfortunately, owner George Whitman died yesterday.  Read his obiturary in the New York Times.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-63960848746469369302011-12-13T04:28:00.000-08:002011-12-13T04:28:07.155-08:00

The Miami Herald had this contest and I didn't even rate, proving once again that I need to work for the things I want rather than hastily pushing something together and hoping it works. On the bright side, the Grand Prize Winner is really, really good: NAME: Roxanna EldenTITLE: Bright Blue Day (Fiction)Some days in Florida are so bright the world looks like a flashback scene in a movie.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-2022602317654266162011-11-28T08:38:00.000-08:002011-11-28T08:38:00.709-08:00

My mom and I have different versions of the story, but the facts are clear; I gave a speech in Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University when I was eighteen, and the New York chapter of the Model United Nations was permanently banned from meeting there. MUN was one of many organizations I joined during my senior year in a last-ditch scramble to get everything I could out of my high school

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-42626346634603839892011-11-18T03:12:00.000-08:002011-11-28T04:03:31.140-08:00

This year opened with Christopher Paolini's Inheritance on Sunday afternoon.  The Miami Writers Institute, Student Literary Encounters, and the heavy hitters - Dorothy Alison, Harry Belafonte, John Sayles, Ron Suskind, Calvin Trillin - have been hitting all week long, but these next three days are key.  The Street Fair is its own monster, and we're 90% ready.  It's ten minutes to six am.  We're

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-35681518598159032242011-11-08T04:15:00.000-08:002011-11-08T05:05:52.534-08:00

Dear Authorton McWriterface, God forbid you have a successful tour.  Poor you, having to meet folks who adore your work.  You don't want attention, then guess what?  Don't tour.  Before that, don't publish what you write. Clearly your work has struck a nerve, but screw the fans whose purchases have assured you'll never need a real job again, right?  Screw the folks trying to schedule hundreds

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-45468839722233736382011-10-31T05:23:00.000-07:002011-10-31T05:23:12.367-07:00

I haven’t eaten in ten days.  For the party I decided to be a Lost Boy.  Not the Peter Pan version but the Keifer Sutherland, Coreys-Haim-and-Feldman version, because there’s this one guy in it with long, black hair like mine.  He wears an open trench coat with nothing underneath.  I don’t want to feel self-conscious so I skip meals until I feel okay in nothing but jeans, black boots, and a

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-64303346772695090212011-10-27T04:15:00.000-07:002011-10-27T04:15:31.425-07:00

Because the days are just packed!  If you're unfamiliar with the Miami International Book Fair, it's in its 28th year. Circa 1984. That's my boss on the left. Because of Mitchell's involvement with MBFI, and because of our rather large sales tent, folks assume that Books & Books always handles sales for the author events.  This has been true from time to time over the years, but it's never a

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-66391609304516393932011-10-25T09:25:00.000-07:002011-10-25T09:25:00.556-07:00

A couple just ran into each-other’s arms in the street outside my window.  They kissed fiercely, surrounded by cold front air and blowing leaves, the sun shining down.  It was a gorgeous moment, right out of a movie.  Did one of them just get back in town?  Did they just get sensational news?  Whatever the reason, he swept her into the kiss, lifting her off her feet and carrying her down the

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-73970006540965480662011-10-23T14:16:00.000-07:002011-10-24T05:44:18.605-07:00

Living in a culture were everything is the "Best.  _______.  Ever." makes it tough to call something your best experience without it getting swept up with the rest of the hyperbole.  I'll take that risk and dub my wedding day the best day of my life.   A nice surprise from the folks at Onondaga County Parks and Recreation greeted us on Thursday. My sister's wedding gift was renting Camp

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-32228093943062757692011-10-18T05:22:00.000-07:002011-10-18T05:22:29.750-07:00

He’s not the coolest boy or the richest boy, but his brown bag is packed with bargaining power.  The sandwich is roast beef from Leo & Sons Big M deli with muenster and honey Dijon, served on marbled bread with lettuce.  His mother packed the tomato slices separately to keep the bread from getting soggy.  This is a legendary sandwich, half to keep, half to trade for practically anything in the

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-17130703297995594872011-09-16T14:01:00.000-07:002011-09-16T14:01:00.971-07:00

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-17655106242460318412011-09-11T04:27:00.000-07:002011-09-11T04:27:37.289-07:00

“Excuse me?”  The waitress pauses at the edge of my table, coffee pot in hand, eyebrows raised.  I wasn’t aware I’d spoken aloud.  I haven’t been sleeping. “Do you have cream?”  I tip my steaming mug toward her, like a toast.  My hand barely shakes. “I thought you said black.” The waitress is older than me, edging out of pretty.  Her lips are wry, softening her tone, but her eyes tell me she

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-4579817727410338232011-09-01T09:00:00.000-07:002011-09-08T03:14:35.739-07:00

I'm prouder of these invites than my last five short stories You may or may not know that Becky and I are having a book-themed wedding.  The books listed here are our partings gifts.  Some have come to us from reps, some from the famed Indie Bound goodie box, some from our shelves.  With these as our take home gifts one thing is for sure - our family will leave happy.  Because these books

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-55183978336565327272011-08-31T03:30:00.000-07:002011-08-31T03:30:33.173-07:00

The Measure of America is a cool book, if you're into that kind of thing.  Barring taking an actual physical book home, follow the American Human Development Project online. I have to wonder about the Native figure, and not just because of articles like this.  I read that the average life expectancy of a reservation-based male is 45 years, and a reservation-based female is 48 years.  That

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-20772061395915670322011-08-29T16:23:00.000-07:002011-08-29T16:23:08.555-07:00

If you don't, then here's a reminder. Now I've gone and told you to read it again, at The Heat Lightning.  If you don't read it this time, you might see the face I reserve for the printers when they mess up my orders. "I said towels, you idiots! T-T-Towels!" Proof that Becky and I know how to have fun in hotel rooms.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-23348824711893802242011-08-24T17:51:00.000-07:002011-08-25T19:19:34.344-07:00

I hate to do this to you, but do you remember Book Fucker?  I found him by Googling "book fucker" in quotes, and he was the first image that popped up.  Now, not so much.  Therefore, I'm calling Book Fucker a book fucker a whole hell of a lot so that folks who Google "book fucker" will be able to find his grimacing face. You mean you don't remember Book Fucker?  How can you forget?  His image is

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-20399220690148687722011-08-23T05:02:00.000-07:002011-08-24T17:15:05.430-07:00

And I would turn on the TV But it's so embarrassing To see all the other peopleI don't even know what they meanAnd it was magic at firstBut let everyone downAnd now this world is gonna hurtYou better turn it aroundTurn it around- Jack Johnson, Cookie Jar While researching stupid criminals on which to base the crime spree of Betty Corona and Eric Clueless, I came across a great deal of crime which

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-77255279602542195262011-08-18T07:04:00.000-07:002011-08-23T17:55:04.991-07:00

To no one in the book industry’s surprise, Borders Books & Music is bankrupt.  On a blogger’s level, I’m very jealous of a person named Corey.   Instead of wringing his hands over what to post, editing, rejecting, shuffling, he’s posting every day about life in his Borders during the liquidation.  He’s got spelling errors, but his work is more visceral than mine.  It’s called

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-34354179005599103462011-08-15T07:45:00.000-07:002011-08-15T07:45:39.678-07:00

You never know when banana bread is going to be part of your life.  It's out there, waiting for you to leave your bananas out too long, then you notice there's a little too much black on the peel.  A few more days they'll be completely unappetizing but a few degrees shy of disgusting, and it'll be banana bread time.   I'd forgotten that the perfect banana bread recipe requires three bananas

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-76215223955886427962011-08-12T04:00:00.000-07:002011-08-15T04:03:14.846-07:00

I don't know what that means either, but at this moment, when I lower my bucket into the depths of possible titles for the book stuff I do over at THL, the well is dry.  U of M Library just ordered 114 travel guides from Books & Books, and since most of them are new it involved a lot of data entry.  To break off the monotony, I'd leaf through them from time to time. As Christine Borges

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-39882572326442911072011-08-11T06:29:00.000-07:002011-08-11T06:29:00.232-07:00

Dylan loves Michael Jackson.  He’s particularly fond of Thriller, both the song and the video.   He asked to watch it the other day and I said no because it has zombies.  He described the video in some detail, even imitating the dances.  Obviously he’d seen it before.  I knew he wasn’t afraid of anything, except zombies, vampires, the dark, monsters, Moo Cat (sometimes), windows without blinds

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-4886584029539602082011-08-09T18:06:00.000-07:002011-08-10T18:30:54.644-07:00

         I’ve developed this theory about why old folks sit and stare into space.  When I see a certain knitted pattern on a blanket, or taste a perfectly-made shortbread cookie, or watch a movie filled with actors I’ve seen dozens of times before, I have a few moments where I lose the plot to memory.   I think of the blankets I’ve slept beneath with a similar pattern, on overnights at my aunt’

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-67445209592898133242011-08-04T04:03:00.000-07:002011-08-04T04:03:44.762-07:00

Sometimes shopping for toppings for your baked potato is enough to leave you grinning ear-to-ear.  Of course it's just a ceremony, and it doesn't mean anything that's not already there.  But at the same time, it means everything. Book in Hand: Joshilyn Jackson's excellent Backseat Saints (Jesus, why does the softcover jacket suck so hard?) My baby took this picture of me, and I love it.  

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-90256506477922096892011-08-03T04:16:00.000-07:002011-08-03T04:16:34.221-07:00

I had just turned six years old when my brother and cousins took me to see Halloween in the theater.  At the time, you had G for General Audiences, PG for Parental Guidance suggested (“some material may no be suitable for pre-teenagers”), R for Restricted to folks with a a parent or adult guardian, and X for Midnight Cowboy (IE, no one under 17 admitted).  My adult guardians would have been my

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-5042024626632787172011-07-29T04:02:00.000-07:002011-07-31T18:29:13.078-07:00

I’ve gotten into a habit which is sure to give me an ulcer - reading bad reviews of books I love. First, there’s Amazon.  When I first heard that top reviewers were getting paid to write good reviews for books before they came out, I was angry but not surprised.  Damn, I thought those reviews were legit!  Followed by, It’s Amazon, what low business practice won’t they do?  That’s what you

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-64808144603614489432011-07-27T03:37:00.000-07:002011-07-27T03:37:58.152-07:00

As read by Samuel L. Motherfucking Jackson You get frustrated with children because you make the mistake of thinking they’re miniature adults.  Now that it’s summer, Dylan won’t sleep.  It’s suddenly months ago and he doesn’t want to sleep alone.  Putting him down is a chore, an horrific, horrible chore.  He cries fake tears but the confusion is real.  It’s easy to meet his churlishness with

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-7237833737803318152011-07-25T05:03:00.000-07:002011-07-25T05:03:00.771-07:00

Betty Corona PHOENIX - On May 1st, 2015, jail personnel were baffled when they were confronted by a character from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are trying to break down a staff door while apparently waving a gun.Carol turned out to be 31-year-old Betty Corona, who was attempting to free her husband from Maricopa county jail.  Corona went on to hurl concrete missiles at officers’

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-71486195872087464962011-07-23T06:48:00.000-07:002011-07-23T06:48:00.047-07:00

When I opened my mail at Books & Books this week, I got a pleasant surprise: a promotional flyer for the paperback version of the mighty Brocke Clarke's Exley.  Let's have a look, shall we? That's right.  Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times... and Aaron Curtis (oh, and The Washington Post).  Sweet Readers were the first to realize that I'm a taste-maker, but now the publishing industry

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-90046493797064598222011-07-21T07:35:00.000-07:002011-07-31T05:39:48.218-07:00

RIVERSIDE - In what police are calling a perfect storm of criminal incompetence, Betty Corona and Eric Clueless have been captured after a string of botched robberies in San Bernardino, Highland, and Moreno Valley.  The criminals first struck a CVS Pharmacy on July 28th, at the corner of Elm and Spruce in Highland.  Wearing matching doctors masks, shower caps, and Sleepy Panda eye masks with

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-84816548927316173262011-07-20T19:55:00.000-07:002011-07-21T13:27:37.500-07:00

Shop Indie. When I wrote this recommendation of Cara Hoffman's book So Much Pretty for The Heat Lightning, I was looking for something to link to the phrase "she might be in for a rough ride."  I thought linking to an angry male blogger bashing the book for the way it tackles violence against women would emphasize my point. I didn't find what I was looking for when I Googled Cara Hoffman

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-3394874933246485152011-07-18T07:00:00.000-07:002011-07-18T19:44:37.510-07:00

GOODYEAR - Betty Corona of Lake Pleasant and her fiance Eric Clueless of Salt River have Arizona police wondering if they have a pair of bumbling idiots on their hands or if they are witnessing the start of a strange crime spree.Workers arriving at Goodyear’s Amazon fulfillment and warehouse center on Monday, July 11th discovered graffiti, discharged fire extinguishers, and broken furniture. 

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-76350742178547124882011-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:002011-07-16T07:00:00.734-07:00

Signed by the author and illustrator.  Estimated value on Ebay?  $52.6 kajillion. My favorite Wildwood moment was reading the Bandit’s song.  In a flash I was nine years old again, reading the goblin’s song from Tolkien’s The Hobbit.Bake and toast 'em, fry and roast 'em!till beards blaze, and eyes glaze;till hair smells and skins crack,fat melts, and bones black in cinders lie beneath the sky!

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-66344532368463038452011-07-14T07:00:00.000-07:002011-07-14T07:00:08.745-07:00

Eesh. PHOENIX - It was the most unique traffic stop two police officers from Shaded Leigh  have ever had.At approximately 2:45pm on July 9th, officers stopped 27-year-old Betty Corona for an equipment violation in the 200 block of Rolling Hill Lane in Shaded Leigh.The officers pulled Corona over when they saw her driving erratically.  Officers found Corona to have her pants unbuttoned with a

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-88994545460198389732011-07-12T06:57:00.000-07:002011-07-12T06:57:17.845-07:00

Buy all things Abu-Jaber. I think my story is not something to wrap up with a bow and hand over.  Not to you and not to anyone. If you’ve read Diana Abu-Jaber in the past then you’re anticipating Birds of Paradise like the rest of us who are already fans.  If you haven’t read her before then I envy you; you’re about to discover your next favorite author.   Well, in September anyway (I got an

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-18638870598637874872011-07-11T07:00:00.000-07:002011-07-11T07:00:00.173-07:00

Yikes. PHOENIX - Police Officers in Wooded Glen are calling it a two for one.Troopers stopped a car driven erratically by Eric Clueless, 38, of Salt River, at 12:17 a.m. on Sunday, June 11th on Fountain Hills Road in Fountain Hills, police said.  Police arrested Clueless on suspicion of driving drunk, saying his blood alcohol content was 0.09 percent.Troopers booked Clueless, who called his

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-43444054333322343272011-07-09T19:54:00.000-07:002011-07-09T19:54:08.814-07:00

If I had to guess the origin of "ass" as a modifier, it's got to be badass.  Most likely Sweet Sweetback's Baadaaaaaassssssssssss Song.  It started badass, which makes sense.  One's ass had been a stand in for the entirety of oneself for some time, and not-bad-meaning-bad-but-bad-meaning-good goes without saying.  Therefore, if one is the ultimate in cool, or toughness, or knowledge, or attitude,

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-62013203354774009982011-07-04T03:41:00.000-07:002011-07-04T03:41:33.048-07:00

Thanks to Sweet Reader Cass from Syracuse (also known as my sister), who laid this on me on my recent trip up north.  An Indian on a package of incense that smells like Earth, Ocean, Wind, and Fields - ka-ching!     This hits all the trite notes - the squinting, faraway gaze, the protruding cheekbones and deep clefts around the mouth, the bear claw necklace and ceremonial headdress, the

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-90806255294795230562011-07-02T16:02:00.000-07:002011-07-04T04:26:19.856-07:00

I wasn't totally off.  My last post also made it clear that the business was a bakery.  So, yeah, this place: Making Delicious Happen. Becky and I purchased one chocolate cupcake and one red velvet cupcake, ate them on site, and then left.  Realizing we might never encounter another cupcake so delicious, we turned around after half a block.  This delighted the staff, who sold us two more red

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-48817867063180861242011-06-30T04:11:00.000-07:002011-06-30T04:11:29.411-07:00

Becky reppin' 305; NYC doorman representing . . . 35 John Updike said, "The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding."  I don't believe people who say they "hate" New York City.  I refuse to accept their statement because it tells me we will have little in common, and finding common ground is what life's all about. I've visited New

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-36098591187031352962011-06-25T20:28:00.000-07:002011-06-25T20:28:53.502-07:00

And camping... (sister and brother-in-law's cabin) And frogging... And flint mapping... (Ganondagan) And hiking... (Green Lakes) And smooching... (Pratts Falls) And hiking... (Tinkers Falls) And riding... (sister-in-law's house, but not her horse) And mountain-climbing. (Rocky Mountain) Among other things.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-31467840288409075322011-06-15T05:00:00.000-07:002011-06-15T05:00:10.890-07:00

Still got one or two signed ones left. At her event with Books & Books, Gabrielle Hamilton claimed that as much as she would like to write a novel, she could not see herself writing fiction.  I've no reason to doubt her, but my wish to read more of her voice makes me refuse to believe it.  It would be a loss. Vegetarian blogger Ellen Kanner wrote a great review for the Miami Herald. I gave it

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-55092515054796154772011-06-13T05:23:00.000-07:002011-10-11T16:31:41.736-07:00

The hook for My Year with Eleanor is that Noelle Hancock got fired, panicked, and got inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt, in the form of a quote written on a chalkboard at a coffee shop: "Do one thing every day that scares you."  So Hancock decided to face the things which scared her most - skydiving, swimming with sharks, working in a funeral home, interviewing ex-boyfriends, etc. When People

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-30442550506493072532011-06-08T06:32:00.000-07:002011-06-08T06:32:33.150-07:00

I wrote about my vasectomy over at The Heat Lightning because it gave me an excuse to draw awareness to the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.  Not so much because I support their cause - although I agree most of the earth's problems can be traced to overpopulation - but because I think the idea of VHMT is so peculiar.  Finding them on the internet one night was like getting lost in a strange

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-69465784188908552992011-06-07T06:44:00.000-07:002011-06-07T06:44:24.316-07:00

You can't visit NYC, the Big Apple, the city so nice they named it twice without writing a thing or two about it.  Before I write my love letter, I thought I'd get this out of the way. We passed a shop with a window full of Indian statues, the sort of kitsch with sets my teeth a grinding.  If these were statues of Indians, they'd be offensive.  But they're statues of Native Americans, so we're

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-69975983824308653012011-06-04T05:18:00.000-07:002011-06-04T05:18:00.338-07:00

David Eagleman just visited Books & Books to promote Incognito, which gives me an excuse to go back a few weeks to the this post for The Heat Lightning where I mention his first book, Sum. Also, The Heat Lightning would like you to offer embarrassing moments from your life for public consumption.  I'm doing it; you should, too. And because every blog post needs an image, here's this one:

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-6534556209709669682011-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:002011-06-03T06:00:03.806-07:00

If you looked closely at the pictures on this post about the Bottega Challenge, you'll notice a certain five-foot-one Cuban with a luscious booty lurking about.  This picture wasn't uploaded, but it was a preview of things to come: Cristina, an excellent event co-ordinator but evidently not the best cook, had deveined the inside of the shrimp.  I set about deveining the tops of the shrimp (ie,

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-7254444110172679662011-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:002011-06-08T18:07:19.552-07:00

Talent must be a fanatical mistress.  She’s beautiful; when you’re with her, people watch you, they notice.  But she bangs on your door at odd hours, and she disappears for long stretches, and she has no patience for the rest of your existence: your wife, your children, your friends.  She is the most thrilling evening of your week, but some day she will leave you for good.  One night, after she’s

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-7369527706102857682011-06-01T04:10:00.000-07:002011-08-08T04:51:17.286-07:00

BEA is the biggest trade show in the industry.  Bookended (ha-ha) by training and workshop days with IndieBound and the Independent Booksellers Consortium, you've got three days where all the heavy hitters and wannabes come to wheel, deal, and talk up their latest offerings - be they books, t-shirts, or software.   There are also special events around the city.  From Random House Children's

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-71997238853852798972011-05-25T15:46:00.000-07:002011-08-24T17:22:20.747-07:00

At BEA today, I'm enjoying myself at the Steidl booth when I see a white-bearded, pear-shaped man in his fifties.  He's wearing an author's badge, which doesn't make him one.  Apparently, Santa's pervert brother doesn't know how to use the internet to find soft core porn, because he's leafing through the coffee table books, stopping on pages with topless or nude women, and snapping pictures. 

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-33846533772599079432011-05-20T03:58:00.000-07:002011-08-10T18:46:19.402-07:00

Despite what you may have read in the Miami Herald, I've been drinking Cuban espresso since 1991, not 1997.  It was too complicated to go into.  My ex-wife worked at an office in Miami with a group of viejitas who refused to leave their desks but who insisted she make their cafecito each morning and afternoon.  After six months with them, she knew what she was doing. She brought the stovetop

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-27485114096937162342011-05-18T17:48:00.000-07:002011-05-18T17:48:08.480-07:00

This week Mitchell introduced me to two authors.  Both men, both well-respected, prolific writers whose work I have at home, but neither are authors I've read. The first conversation went like this: ME (on the way to clock out): How's it going, Mitchell?MY BOSS: Good, good.  You want to meet Fred Savage?ME: Not really, no.  MY BOSS: Hey, Fred, I'd like you to meet someone.  Fred, this is Aaron.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-42740448093671380812011-05-16T09:22:00.000-07:002011-05-16T09:22:06.435-07:00

When I fell in love with Garth Stein’s Art of Racing in the Rain, it was in spite of the subject matter, not because of the subject matter.  I have a cat tattoo, which should be sufficient evidence of my feelings about dog books.  Yet despite not caring a whit about car racing, and active hostility toward dog books, Art of Racing in the Rain charmed me so much that I resolved to name my next

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-90461385579267659702011-05-15T10:20:00.000-07:002011-05-16T09:22:49.870-07:00

A few things before I move on from the last week of posts. 1 - Blogger has been spotty since Tuesday.  I had no intention of leaving that misery up for an extra week, unbuffered by book reviews, navel gazing, and cooking tips, but I couldn't log on.  Watcha gonna do? 2 - I went out on a weekday this week and it didn't even involve my book club.  I stayed up past eleven, because I'm a rock star

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-22872087442314972952011-05-08T07:22:00.000-07:002011-05-08T08:18:52.396-07:00

I haven't read this but it felt appropriate; I'm sure reading it would help, but then how would you see into my head? I thought writing those posts would help my emotional state and I wasn't wrong.  My emotions feel life-sized again.  Hurtful, but manageable.  Now comes the fun part: waiting to see whether I have more pain and anger to to express.  If so, how will it present itself?  Finally,

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-16033073974053297922011-05-07T07:12:00.000-07:002011-05-07T07:12:00.970-07:00

Anger has always been the most difficult emotion for me to express. Don’t blame me; it’s filial.  Grandpa used to beat grandma.  My father grew up watching that and swore to himself that he would never.  He kept his promise and became passive-aggressive.  He spent my childhood brooding silently, a lump in a lounge chair, the angry God who slept beneath the volcano.  He didn’t use fists, but he

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-35672723896186872852011-05-06T07:53:00.000-07:002011-05-06T07:53:00.372-07:00

Uncle Fester squatted in my head like bloated, ornery toad, culminating in a bad evening of snapping at Dylan and Becky for no reason.  Alone in the kitchen while I was lighting a gas burner, those physical symptoms which accompany Uncle Fester at his worst - the choke collar, the weight on my chest, the pounding in my skull - all clamped down like a vise.  I’ve suffered panic attacks before but

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-24346957608799266212011-05-05T07:31:00.000-07:002011-05-05T07:31:00.414-07:00

My last post I mentioned my world spiraling into a blue-black swirl of pain, my thoughts co-opted by someone who only sees the negative everywhere he looks.  I’m going to call this mindframe Uncle Fester (mindset + frame of mind = mindframe).   Not this lovable. The first visit I got from Uncle Fester was over something so embarrassingly trivial I can’t even name it here, so I’ll make up

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-7998418497741626332011-05-04T07:23:00.000-07:002011-05-04T07:23:00.587-07:00

In a post from October 2009, right before Becky and I started dating, I said that I’d never again make the mistake of censoring my blog based on who reads it.  This is tough when what you want to write about is doubting your relationship, and the person you live with is who you’re marrying in five months.My Gaba moved to Seattle (damn his evil heart for leaving) after ending a seven-year

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-26042581282135144352011-05-03T07:12:00.000-07:002011-05-03T07:12:00.147-07:00

         I was never any good at sports, but I once saw how people can be.  During a neighborhood football game, the QB singled me out in the huddle.  Normally my reaction is panic, wondering whether I’ll catch the ball, and what will happen next if I do.  This one time, just this once in all the downs I’ve played in my life, I saw it all.  I’d line up, I’d hook right, I’d catch the ball, I’d

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-5749751800462499492011-05-02T03:22:00.000-07:002011-05-02T03:22:54.805-07:00

In the dream we always live together, every family member I’ve ever had, Becky and her friends and family.  Tota is there, but she can hear, and she can still dance, drive, and throw a punch to anyone who disrespects the family.  The uncle I lost at nine to alcoholism is there.  I don’t remember him but there’s an uncle-shaped man of smiles and living room rug-wrestling who I call Fran.  Friends

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-89704617328149924742011-04-28T03:43:00.000-07:002011-04-28T03:43:00.080-07:00

Becky and I are getting married on Friday, September 16th, 2011. The divorce from my first marriage was final on September 3rd, 2010. I didn’t really think about that until I was filling you out.  I tried talking to you last year, but your marriage questions thwarted my efforts.  You didn’t just want to know if I was married, single, separated or divorced, you asked if I’ve ever been married. 

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-12717617267814663332011-04-27T08:00:00.000-07:002011-04-27T08:00:12.864-07:00

As I child, I never quite woke until the vomit left my throat.  Like getting up to pee in the middle of the night, a trick a child needs to learn if he wants to sleep in a dry bed, nausea pulled me from fitful dreams and sweaty tossing to stand bleary-eyed in front of the toilet, but it didn’t cleared away the gluey spiderweb threads of sleep.Throat burning, eyes watering, coughing, I wondered

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-6873289192090478952011-04-26T03:01:00.000-07:002011-04-26T03:01:42.473-07:00

     Part of Kevin Brockmeier’s Illumination revolves around a sensitive boy, the kind of boy I was, the kind of boy Dylan is.  His parents argue over how to raise this boy:"You're saying he'll cry whenever he doesn't get his way.""I'm saying what harm does it do to humor him?""The world will eat him alive when he grows up.""That doesn't mean that we should eat him alive, too." I’ve had moments

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-13633224325986819452011-04-20T02:04:00.000-07:002011-04-20T02:04:38.889-07:00

Romance (n): A mysterious or fascinating quality or appeal, as of something adventurous, heroic, or strangely beautiful. Here’s one I’ve quoted (partially) at Sweet before: The waiters there know you well, but there are days when you enjoy being recognized and days when you don’t, when you want nothing more than the simple curt reactiveness of a stranger.- The Human Soul as a Rube Goldberg

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-15404609695619322532011-04-16T08:21:00.000-07:002011-04-27T03:53:03.333-07:00

I joined a writer's group last month, my first one in a couple years.  It was all fun and games until I was handed homework.  Homework?  Yes, homework.  I'm a 38-year-old man with homework. My assignment was to submit my writing for publication. While I wondered how to do this, Joe Hill came to Books & Books the very next night.  He said he survived the ten years looking for a book deal by

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-66817469914822249962011-04-05T05:04:00.000-07:002011-04-07T05:17:15.816-07:00

First, there was Gabrielle Hamilton’s beautiful memoir, Blood, Bones, and Butter.  Her father taught her that money, specifically a lack of money, is a stupid reason not to do something.That phrase haunted me for a time.Then over vodka at Fox’s Lounge, two wise friends offered counsel.  Finally, a line from Darin Strauss’ Half a Life jumped from the page (and the subject matter), telling me: "

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-17013329235192337002011-04-01T06:23:00.000-07:002011-04-02T13:08:17.418-07:00

  I get it now.  It’s taken a year-and-a-half of knowing Dylan and six months of living with him, but I finally understand.   Dylan is Becky’s son from her first marriage, and she shares joint custody with Dylan’s father.  We drop Dylan off at his dad’s on Saturday and we pick him up from after-school care on Tuesday (Dylan, not his dad; pronouns are tricky).  Becky and her ex have talked about

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-69679379247567680982011-03-30T06:45:00.000-07:002011-11-10T02:47:32.207-08:00

  While listening to the “80’s Hits” station on Slacker radio at work the other day, I found myself singing along to Don Henley’s Boys of Summer.  You know the one, I can see you / your brown skin shining in the sun.  You got your hair combed back and your / sunglasses on, baby. Oh God, how I hated that fucking song.  It came out in 1984.  I was 12, and radio stations played it to death.  Then

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-92077276920782138612011-03-25T14:54:00.000-07:002011-07-18T20:33:19.451-07:00

If you thought I was kidding about buying Cara Hoffman's So Much Pretty when I suggested it two posts back, here's somewhere else I sing its praises. If clicking that link is too much work for you, here's a picture of a newborn butterfly pooping on me.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-55706303953082286892011-03-23T03:18:00.000-07:002011-03-23T03:18:09.239-07:00

Opening files this morning and I came across this snippet I really love.  Pardon me while I subject you to the horror of a first draft: Hannah Delaney sat in the garden of sound, thinking of how wonderful and cruel life could be.      The pleasure was wonderful.  Hannah was odd but not so odd to think the garden had been made just for her.  Even though it was one of the few pleasures she had

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-85137134930179614942011-03-22T04:25:00.000-07:002011-07-18T20:41:22.337-07:00

“…there is no beach down there, and there never was.  That’s not what you find when you go digging.  There are bodies and bones.  Women’s bodies, which first became their coffins at puberty, a skin coffin.  A place from which you will never be heard, except maybe by those who are buried nearby, or those with their ear to the ground.” - Cara Hoffman, So Much Pretty   In high school, I got into a

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-53042928697890684612011-03-20T04:49:00.000-07:002011-03-24T03:56:09.617-07:00

Not greased lightning but my latest review for The Heat Lighting, a face off between Ape House and Great House.  I missed posting for THL in February because it took me forever to figure out how to get both cover shots into one image. I'm not a computer whiz, but I have presidential taste in music. Apparently, there are more of us out there.

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-66345929615692769892011-03-14T18:21:00.000-07:002011-04-16T07:29:31.024-07:00

I drop everything in my reading queue for very few writers, but Joe Hill is one of them.  More than a writer, Joe Hill is a magician.  It’s not just his stories, joyful treats I can't praise enough, it’s the way his stories are so many things at once.  He writes with suspense which will keep you up until 2:00am with every light in the house on, yet his stories have a complexity most

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-31248264124099690152011-03-11T04:12:00.000-08:002011-03-11T04:12:33.100-08:00

A couple years after I began working at Books & Books, novelist Karen Shepard stopped by to sign stock of Don’t I Know You? for the stores.   The ARC of Don’t I Know You? had caught my eye because of the letter she’d included.  In the letter, Shepard explained that she’d written the novel because of her fascination with a childhood classmate whose mother had been murdered.   Like many

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-35897567953494722232011-03-09T03:44:00.000-08:002011-03-11T03:06:38.892-08:00

The One with the Ballroom Dancing Examining my monthly spending to see how my income can better suit our family’s needs. . . was how I originally began this post.  Truthfully, I don’t think about money all that much.  Well, that’s not accurate either.  I think about money indirectly all the time, as in I’d love to go out / visit your aunt in California / see an opthamologist / update my

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-46295857822010040052011-03-03T04:12:00.000-08:002011-03-03T13:05:29.917-08:00

People travel from all over the world to attend the South Beach Wine and Food Festival (and I’m not just saying that- accents abound, and my favorite customer of the year was a restaurant owner from Greece).   If you tried to book a hotel room within a hundred miles, you’d never know we’re in a recession.As we have since the festival’s inception, Books & Books sells cookbooks at the Grand Tasting

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-79481447847963322892011-02-25T03:57:00.000-08:002011-02-25T13:23:33.693-08:00

Re-watching Sex and the City on DVD had made me realize why I loved the series in the first place - it’s funny.  I laughed out loud more than I remembered doing the first or second time around.  Yes, it’s stuffed with hokey puns, but those are some of my favorite parts.  Of course, for every stellar “paper beats rock,” there’s a cringe-inducing “You take a nap-a, you don’t move to Napa,” but when

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If you can find the cracks, you should go to medical school On February 23rd, 2007, I could have died.   This statement is as close to meaningless as you can get.  I could have died on December 1st, 1982 or August 15th 1996.  I could have died yesterday, I could die today, and I could die tomorrow.  But could have died feels more honest than saying I almost died.   True, fire rescue doesn’t

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-65431237582609740512011-02-17T18:39:00.000-08:002011-02-17T18:39:47.607-08:00

Working in a retail or restaurant chain, the policies are simple.  Employee conduct is outlined in a handbook of some sort, aided with classes, and more often than not hammered home with badly-performed, outdated videos.  Customer interactions are even broken into handy bullet points.  When dealing with a dissatisfied customer, follow your ABC’s.  Acknowledge the complaint.  Believe we can do

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-74123475801994245212011-02-15T06:18:00.000-08:002011-02-15T06:18:50.820-08:00

Becky and Eric Carle post-drawing, pre-tattoo I while back I wrote about the tattoo collection on Becky's arm, but it's time to confess the dark side of  asking illustrators to inscribe caterpillars, pigeons, and monkeys on one's flesh.  There are wonderful, talented illustrators out there who don’t understand why she gets these tattoos, so they look down on her for getting them at all. Becky

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I wrote a piece called Kelly Cook for myself, which is why I write anything.  I had no idea I'd edit it into something to be performed in front of a crowd, a piece called We Are More Than These Pale Shells.  Further, I never imagined Lip Service would get together with City Link, re-edit the piece for print, couple it with some amazing artwork, and publish it again as Past the Flesh. Re-reading

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When the crowd at Books & Books asked Lane Smith about his process, Lane said it took him ten years to finish John, Paul, George, and Ben.  He works on a lot of things at once.  It takes time to finish a project, time to store it and forget about it, then time to revise with objectivity that only comes from distance.  Meanwhile, he’d visit Mo Willems in his studio nearby. “'How’s it going, Lane?

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As I mentioned, Becky and I went to see the re-release of Captain EO at Epcot Center.  The first thing you see on screens outside the theater for Captain EO Tribute is, as the voiceover carefully points out, “the original introduction, exactly as it appeared in 1986.”  This let’s you know the movie itself is as dated as Aqua Net Hairspray.   Seeing video from the eighties (and I mean genuine

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-15291982775466865522011-02-05T11:26:00.000-08:002011-02-05T11:26:13.321-08:00

Order Here This will go out to booksellers across America, in print and online: Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction That Changed America by Les Standiford & Joe Matthews Ecco, 3/1/11 "As riveting as any thriller, as poignant as any memoir, and as powerful as any investigative journalism, Bringing Adam Home is impossible to put down. The key scenes are beautiful, simple renderings of

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Another road trip to Orlando has passed.  Becky and I helped her sister and two other girls move in to a third floor apartment... with no elevator.  Mattresses and dressers be damned, all it took was one huge, leather sofa to make my arms into jello the rest of the day.  Our labor was paid for by Patron Silver, Bud Light, and $5 hot-n-ready Little Caesars; I feel no shame.    Apart from a buzz

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-78622141005374924032011-01-28T19:15:00.000-08:002011-01-29T11:28:21.798-08:00

I just finished an  Cara Hoffman's incredible debut novel So Much Pretty.  I will write more about this amazing book later, but it doesn't come out until March and it's not even on Books & Books' website yet.  In the meantime, I'll just say I loved it.  A few pages in I realized I might just be holding something great, and it didn't disappoint for a second. Okay, here's a link to Cara Hoffman's

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-14209048252142068682011-01-25T14:41:00.000-08:002011-01-25T14:41:16.881-08:00

I know you can only count on a yearly call a couple weeks before it’s time to come up for Thanksgiving so we can schedule an airport pickup.  I might call once every couple years on your birthdays, or Mother’s Dad and Father’s Day (never both), but you’re always in my thoughts.  Especially now that there’s a child in my life. What I want to know is, how the hell did you do this?  How did you

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-33037025437090935832011-01-20T03:29:00.000-08:002011-01-20T03:29:24.062-08:00

Facebook might help you connect with the people in your life, but it’s also a huge party with a bunch of people that lasts forever.  There's the nervousness over how you present and what people will think of you.  There are background folks you barely notice, the person who won’t stop talking your ear off, the klatch of recent marrieds and recent parents, the people you really want to talk to but

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The voiceover playing during the “before” shot of a woman with a nice butt in an ill-fitting bathing suit says that with Hydroxy-cut, women can have the hips of a ten-year-old boy in just four to six weeks (the “after” shot is hot, if you like young boys).  A guy and a girl wearing the bare minimum of black spandex with abs I could bounce quarters off tell me that with Bowflex just ten minutes a

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When we moved to Madrid Street, Dylan had a tough time sleeping alone.  While we stayed together at her parents' place, Becky and I read to him, then we'd turn the lights out and settle in to his bed.  When Dylan fell asleep, Becky and I would leave.  He had curled up with Becky and I a few times in the middle of the night, but I didn't know it was a "thing."  In Dylan's mind, the three of us

Aaron John Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06633231503315269549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249328666832343945.post-27399527249551442462011-01-11T04:43:00.000-08:002011-01-11T04:43:37.903-08:00

You've probably heard that there are a limited number of stories, that every book, TV show, play, ballad, movie, or musical ever made can be stripped down to one of seven basic plots.  This same theory - or truism - also holds that the most popular story of all time, a favorite the world over, is young man leaves home, has adventures, and returns wiser.   I hear Chicago has one of these, too. A

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