
I’ve only read Mezzanine, which I really enjoyed, but I’ve run across Nicholson Baker too much recently not to blog it.
First I noticed his novel Checkpoint in Jerry Colonna’s reading list while reading his I’m Back post. (Glad to have him back, BTW.)
Then I ran across John Ludwig’s blog as a result of perusing my referers. I think we both turned up in a Technorati search for "Jerry Colonna". Anyway, his Recent Books post references his having read Baker’s The Fermata. He didn’t seem to like it exactly. I hope John will take my recommendation (which I also made to Jerry) and pick up Mezzanine. I’ve flipped through Vox, so I have an idea of what Fermata might be like, and I don’t think Mezannine will offend John’s midwestern sensibilities so.
Finally, I’ve been working on the mundane task of putting together a spreadsheet at work to help collect some data more efficiently. In the process I discovered Excel lists and the data form. The default form wasn’t everything I had hoped for, so I searched for alternatives and found the J-Walk Enhanced Data Form v2. It is called J-Walk because it was created by John Walkenbach--who also hosts the Nicholson Baker Fan Page. I think I’m going to code my own form, but the J-Walk form is certainly an improvement over the default, and it is free.
In another little coincidence, I was looking at the entry for Mezzanine on the fan page mentioned above and noticed the following taken from the book jacket:
Although most of the action of The Mezzanine occurs on the escalator of an office building, where its narrator is returning to work after buying shoelace, this startlingly inventive and witty novel takes us farther than most fiction written today. It lends to milk cartons the associative richness of Marcel Proust’s madeleines.
The emphasis above is mine. If you didn’t already know, Jerry’s blog’s title is Madeleines.
P.S. I couldn’t agree more with what John says about Jerry in his Judy’s Book — Board Meeting post. His openness and honesty are inspiring. Thanks for that, Jerry.
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