"selected coverage" re Shoplifting from American Apparel
12/14 Review, The Globe and Mail (vaguely "damning")
12/03 Interview, KCRW's Bookworm (I seem "brain-damaged")
11/13 Review, The Guardian (positive)
11/09 Review, Ron Silliman (positive)
11/04 Interview, Vernacular (I seem okay)
10/13 Review, The Rumpus (observational, with concerns)
10/08 Review, Austin Chronicle (positive)
10/07 Interview, The Stranger (I seem "brain-damaged")
10/07 Interview, New Hampshire Public Radio (I seem okay)
10/07 Interview, Gosh Damn (I seem okay)
10/05 Interview, The Millions (I seem okay)
10/02 Review, Matador (observational)
9/30 Review, San Francisco Chronicle (positive)
9/29 Interview, The Rumpus (I seem okay)
9/28 Review, HTMLGIANT (positive)
9/25 Review, Yale Daily News (positive)
9/24 Essay, Largehearted Boy (observational)
9/24 Review, Los Angeles Times (seems concerned)
9/22 Review, Time Out Chicago (positive, with concerns)
9/22 Interview, Brand X (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/22 Excerpt, This Recording (~7 pages)
9/22 Interview, Dazed Digital (I seem okay)
9/22 Interview, Stop Smiling (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/19 Profile, The Daily Beast (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/18 Review, The Boston Phoenix (positive, with concerns)
9/18 Review, The Quietus ("damning")
9/17 Review, The Faster Times (positive)
9/16 Interview, FREEwiliamsburg (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/15 Excerpt, Hipster Runoff (~10 pages)
9/11 Interview, Impose Magazine (I seem okay)
9/10 Gchat, HTMLGIANT (positive)
9/08 Review, Village Voice ("damning," I think)
9/08 Review, Anthem (positive, with concerns maybe)
9/08 Review, Bookslut ("damning")
9/02 Review, Time Out New York (positive, with concerns)
9/02 Review, 3:AM Magazine (positive, with concerns)
Older coverage/more info here; publisher's page here; direct media inquiries here.
This blog post will be updated continually.
12/03 Interview, KCRW's Bookworm (I seem "brain-damaged")
11/13 Review, The Guardian (positive)
11/09 Review, Ron Silliman (positive)
11/04 Interview, Vernacular (I seem okay)
10/13 Review, The Rumpus (observational, with concerns)
10/08 Review, Austin Chronicle (positive)
10/07 Interview, The Stranger (I seem "brain-damaged")
10/07 Interview, New Hampshire Public Radio (I seem okay)
10/07 Interview, Gosh Damn (I seem okay)
10/05 Interview, The Millions (I seem okay)
10/02 Review, Matador (observational)
9/30 Review, San Francisco Chronicle (positive)
9/29 Interview, The Rumpus (I seem okay)
9/28 Review, HTMLGIANT (positive)
9/25 Review, Yale Daily News (positive)
9/24 Essay, Largehearted Boy (observational)
9/24 Review, Los Angeles Times (seems concerned)
9/22 Review, Time Out Chicago (positive, with concerns)
9/22 Interview, Brand X (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/22 Excerpt, This Recording (~7 pages)
9/22 Interview, Dazed Digital (I seem okay)
9/22 Interview, Stop Smiling (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/19 Profile, The Daily Beast (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/18 Review, The Boston Phoenix (positive, with concerns)
9/18 Review, The Quietus ("damning")
9/17 Review, The Faster Times (positive)
9/16 Interview, FREEwiliamsburg (I seem "brain-damaged")
9/15 Excerpt, Hipster Runoff (~10 pages)
9/11 Interview, Impose Magazine (I seem okay)
9/10 Gchat, HTMLGIANT (positive)
9/08 Review, Village Voice ("damning," I think)
9/08 Review, Anthem (positive, with concerns maybe)
9/08 Review, Bookslut ("damning")
9/02 Review, Time Out New York (positive, with concerns)
9/02 Review, 3:AM Magazine (positive, with concerns)
Older coverage/more info here; publisher's page here; direct media inquiries here.
This blog post will be updated continually.
97 Comments:
nice positive feedback from time out new york
jesus john malcolm brinnin christ
nice picture of joy williams in colors
don't comment on 'news feed' items in the comments section of posts, people won't know what you're referring to 5-10 days from now when it's not in the 'news feed' anymore
jk
my mistake
my reality seems 'f***ed'
see you at bookcourt
maybe
Tao Lin, are you completely full of yourself, or not full of yourself at all? I can't figure it out. Your assistance in resolving this dilemma is appreciated.
anyone else confused by what 'full of yourself' means?
seems like, in reality, we are mostly full of the things that make our bodies livable.
new, new, new, new, NEW WORLD ORDER.
...4 life
..it's just...2....
sweeeeettttt....
"suck it" -degeneration x
Tao, thank you for sending me 'shoplifting'. I got it in the mail, saw that it was from you, tried to act not really excited, calmly opened it, saw the drawing, felt exceedingly okay. I like the first few pages so far.
I am going to see you in Cambridge.
Tehhehehehehe.
Until then, I am forced to stalk you from afar through the anonymity of the internet. But soon, my friend, soon...
:D
creeped out
I've been looking forward to the American Apparel novella with a wholeheartedness similar to that of a teenager in 1995 anticipating a new Smashing Pumpkins album.
Tao, where's the best place to buy this in the Brooklyn/NYC area the day it "drops"?
congrats on the lesley arfin twitter write up. :-)
This post has been removed by the author.
"Tao Lin, are you completely full of yourself, or not full of yourself at all? I can't figure it out. Your assistance in resolving this dilemma is appreciated."
i feel unsure, depends on what you mean, i could answer a more specific question better maybe
"Tao, where's the best place to buy this in the Brooklyn/NYC area the day it 'drops'?"
maybe at my sept. 8 reading at bookcourt or my sept. 10 reading at spoonbill & sugartown or sept. 14 reading at bluestockings
OK, I will be more specific. Do you genuinely regard yourself highly for the things you have accomplished, or is your constant self-promotion being done in a purposefully detached, uninterested, tongue-in-cheek kind of way?
Or perhaps a third option entirely? Or perhaps my question isn't applicable at all in some way. At a general level, we need your help in unraveling the 'Tao Lin mystique'.
moronic question
"OK, I will be more specific. Do you genuinely regard yourself highly for the things you have accomplished, or is your constant self-promotion being done in a purposefully detached, uninterested, tongue-in-cheek kind of way?"
I have ~$750 in my checking account after this month's rent. My next source of income is probably my royalty check from Melville in late October, it will probably be around $4500, mostly due to foreign rights sales of EEE to Spain and Japan. My next confirmed source of income after that is my next royalty check from Melville in April. I've made something like $1600 total from YOU ARE A LITTLE BIT HAPPIER THAN I AM. My main source of income, I believe, in the short term, like 3-6 years, will be foreign rights sales.
If a book sells many copies and gets a lot of attention in America other countries will feel interested and want to buy rights for their country.
I would like to have steady cash flow from my writing, and to write only things I want to write, not write things for money. I would like to not have a job in a restaurant or office or something. I would like to publish more books through Muumuu House. It costs ~$3500 to print 2500 ~80 page offset books. I would like to live in a cat-free environment.
Promoting myself is almost entirely for concrete, financial reasons and not because I think people "should" be reading me instead of other people or that I think my writing is good.
That is one aspect of it, it feels like there are many more. For more information read this (thoughts from 2007 on self-promotion) or this (thoughts on good/bad in art from a few months ago).
If you have more questions I'll probably answer them.
nice
'Promoting myself is almost entirely for concrete, financial reasons and not because I think people "should" be reading me instead of other people or that I think my writing is good.'
OK, that answers exactly what I was wondering. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed answer. And thanks for the links, as well. I think a lot of things about what you wrote in those two articles, but for brevity's sake I'll just say that I'm glad I read them.
I'm going to go and buy every single one of your books. I don't want you to be broke, or work in a restaurant. If I'm wealthy someday, I will figure out a way to help you, too.
If I have any more questions I will ask them.
I love your work. You inspire me. I do worry though that you eat too many carbohydrates. When my son (about your age) eats wheat, especially white wheat, he gets very depressed and more existentially anguished than necessary. Wheat is a bummer. Just look at the religions that developed in the breadbasket of Mesopotamia, all negative and monotheistic and clogged down with abstractions. I think you can get a vegan meal at Chipotle, with rice, two kinds of beans, maybe a corn tortilla, guacamole, tomato salsa, peppers and onions. That gives a good balance. I eat it every day. (They claim their meat is cruelty free -- I don't know, but everything there is fresh and delicious.) I don't work for Chipotle. I love your poems. I think you are the next wave. I just read the ugly fish poem, and recognized the high rhetorical notes of Ginsberg's Howl. But yours was better, and more true to life as I see it. Thanks for being you.
haha
that bookslut review was the worst one so far, i thought michael schaub liked it
your other books got better reviews
you must be depressed more than usual
if anyone can tell
i agree about wheat
seems 'great' that you got talked about on npr
wow, bad revus pileing up quick: bookslut, villagevoice, anhtem
but the kid who saw u loved u & thats what counts reilly becuz their are lots more of us then them
your critic-proof
like dan browne, no matter bad ur reviews, ppl will by ur bks
so u wil gt 'stedy cash flo'
your totaly grate
you have more $$ in yr bank account than i do
you are a few years older than me though so it's okay
thanks for the link tao. i am going to try to come to yr reading on sunday
tao i am ur fan 4 lyfe.
lets eat carbs 2gether.
see you at spoonbill and sugartown
<3
I like the Village Voice review and I think it makes SFAA sound much more appealing than some of the more explicitly positive reviews. I like the sound of a "fragile, elusive little book". Looking forward to reading it.
Tao Lin is like the feminine version of Sasha Grey.
The New York Times reports that Tao is a big failure in Florida, selling much worse than expected
Bearfish said:
tao ill by ur condos 4 lots of $$$$
"you have more $$ in yr bank account than i do"
I hope this will be the title of a chapbook.
just read the bookslut review and it makes me want to read 'shoplifting' even more, not less
the reviewer seems 'ancestral or traditional'
although her writing skills are good
just don't think she 'gets' tao - she seems judgmental in an old-fashioned sort of way
like 'too literary as a reviewer'
waiting for 'shoplifting' to arrive from amazon
good luck, tao!
u r not the real bearfish, anonymous
i have no money, if i did i would buy tao a condo
yes the reviewer was "judgmental in an old-fashioned way," why do people still do that, couldn't they just describe the book instead of telling people they think it sucks, i think reviewers like that suck old ideas, schoolteachers with their grading books
jesus
Jason Diamond's review is so good, so right on.
http://www.imposemagazine.com/bothering-tao-lin/25353/
This post has been removed by the author.
Diamond review was very good!
[I can see why the discussion on HTML was linked. Reading that comments section was different to reading the comments here. It felt like when you forget about your stomach and bladder, before realizing you haven't thought about them for an inordinate amount of time.
It's one of those moments where you can't help but want to scream at everyone that they have no idea what this shit sounds like to you, but you can't offer your own alternative, and if we sat in silence it would be dull.]
[I am unsure about everything in square brackets because we do that around here]
"you have more $$ in yr bank account than i do"
chapbook by brittany wallace coming soon inspired by tao lin.
guess i will be getting my news elsewhere or from your tweets
'shoplifting from america' fevered pitch
Tao, I tried to buy your book today, but none of the bookstores I went to had it. Why do your publishers gotta be like that. They need to distribute their books in Tucson. Because I live here.
to: Just Saying,
I saw a copy of one of Tao Lin's books at Borders, on Broadway in Tucson. Not Shoplifting though, I ordered it from Amazon...
@ Anon supra:
Yeah, they only had Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, I think. Disappointing. I ordered the book (Shoplifting) and then bought Oblivion by David Foster Wallace, which was okay, because somebody has UA's copy of Oblivion anyway.
"uh"... "unrelated comment"... will you be my facebook friend or do you "actually know" all those 2,190 people
i bought your book at barns and noble. it had anti shoplifting device stuck inside of it. i think the barns and noble corporation is afraid of you. awesome.
Carles has just written his best post, yet.
I won't say much except that he's finally proven that he's a mad genius.
If you haven't read it already:
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/09/it-takes-a-socially-transcendent-moment-to-remind-us-what-makes-life-worth-living-kanye-west-is-a-valuable-member-of-society.html
i agree with ANIMUS
carles' writing is fascinating and hilarious
perfect 'tenor'
I would like to point out that I did not know that man was recording us while we were talking (in the Coop). And I have no explicable reason why he did that. I, of course, was completely unaware of the whole ordeal (I did wonder, without looking, why you were shooting nervous glances that way and talking in an elevated voice). It wasn't until afterwards when he told me about it, and I was completely mortified.
But maybe you didn't even notice, and you were just ill, who knows. It was my birthday (kinda).
Hey, I enjoyed "Shoplifting" and I thought your Williamsburg reading was hilarious.
One question: you named Joy Williams as one of your top five favorite writers. May I ask who the other four are?
tao lin=coconut of people
damn, vaguely innovative
obese gay ass gay gay
sitting at a tullys in a suburb, an 'alternative' mix is playing, i have heard a counting crows song
i keep imagining emailing ben blum that i feel really depressed and angry for what feels like no apparent reason
feeling surrounded by 50 year-old suburban-minded men and women, seems comfortable
seems funny that phoenix article talked about me, seems really funny
god damn bitches
Finally read, 'Shoplifting'. i am really relating to Sheila in the mental hospital right now.
anyway Tao, is Sam you? Are you big pimpin?
lol, Tao, nice picture here:
http://fictioncircus.com/news.php?id=233&mode=one
Good book. Keep em coming.
im posting on this blog post bc i havent yet
keep feeling 'discontent' when connected to the internet, because i haven't read 'sfaa'
seems like i only feel 'comfortable' reading 'the muumuu house dialect' and/or some derivative of this type of writing, and like everybody who writes this way is writing about 'sfaa' somewhere
feel 'disenfranchised' or something, via 'poverty'/'laziness'/not being close enough to tao to 'demand' an autographed copy of the book/a .pdf file
seems 'OK', feels 'fucked'. damn, not sure i have felt/articulated that dichotomy before
might sleep until richard yates comes out
top down and i'm at it again
it's hot now and i'm at it to win
Tao, the LA Times piece says that you will be reading in Vromans. Good job. That is my favorite bookstore in Pasadena.
Dude an article about you is circulating around UC Berkeley's English department's graduate student list serv with everyone making fun of your book and how your dismal writing style. Haha.
@anonymous-
I appreciate Tao's characters in 'Shoplifting'. They have no judgement or opinion, they have 'feelings' by which they act and engage with each other and life. I really enjoyed reading the book. Such a nice vacation from my overly active critical, cynical brain. I wished the book was longer.
The folks at Berkeley hold onto their brains for dear life. Why would they enjoy a book that makes them feel something new?
@ 5:48 PM-anonymous-UC-Berkeley-English-department-graduate-student-list-serv shit-talker:
Now, now, let's not give our beloved Berkeley a bad name. How's about instead of shit-talkin' you try some "constructive criticism". Like my good ol' brainiac mom used to say to my sibs and me when we were growing up and she'd catch us shit-talkin': "Can't you find a more intelligent way to express yourself?" (Which is different from grandma saying "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.") (Also, your grammar is "off".)
Dear Tao:
I strongly, strongly suggest, if in the future there are new editions of this book with reviews quoted on the front or back cover, that you include:
"You don't think, 'I like this guy,' or 'I really dislike this guy.' You think, 'huh.'"
-Los Angeles Times
tao, how can i be happy?
i wish more of Tao Lin's admirers could draw influence from his actual work and not his online persona.
despite all of this internet baiting (which i admit to be funny)Tao Lin is actually a serious writer. he's done some really amazing things, aesthetically.
an example of a writer influenced by Tao Lin's work who writes very well:
Jillian Clark
an example of a writer who seems to be 'ripping off' Tao Lin's blogposts and compiling them into weak, ineffective 'poems':
Buttercup McGillicuddy
damn
aw shit guys
hate this shit guys
the blanket is over my head, said sam
hi, tao.
you accidentally forgot to link to this review: http://thequietus.com/articles/02767-tao-lin-s-shoplifting-from-american-apparel-review.
:-)
h8 the social aspect of everything
seems less cool to start sentences with seems
removed eight quotes from the previous phrases
i feel like when i see people being happy i don't understand why they are happy.
comments lack general 'tao sucks' vibe.
tha' cos tao don' suck
enjoying the coverage. esp. the interviews.
much success to you, Tao.
can you record an audionovella for me please? these days my dyslexia and inability to stay focused because of tv is keeping me from enjoying your boook.
Still can't afford to buy this. Damn.
weezy phone home
coming to alphonse berber gallery "dinner". they said something about serving you as the appetizer. feeling scared, uncertain. but don't worry, we're only coming for the wine.
Rumpus interview is GREAT! A must read for anyone who loves or is ambivalent about Tao Lin. Inspirational!
Finished this bad boy.
It was okay. I liked Eeeee Eee Eeee better. I dunno, probably just personal taste. Still enjoyed it. And I'll still be buying any future books you publish.
"weezy phone home", lol
the rumpus interview is really great.
i wonder, though, does SFAA really do that, what Tao says in the interview?
hi, I decided to do an independent study course on you, I don't know why, just ordered all of your work, none of it has arrived yet, my professor thinks I'm writing about Sun Tzu
just read this entire comments section for maybe the third time
I feel sad
Gonna watch something on Hulu instead
Tao is real.
you must be a busy man lately tao.
i asked for yr book at barnes and noble in mentor ohio out of curiosity and they did not have it.
think it would be funny if jesus christ the indie band became really famous
Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist." In a sense it is what is real. The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. Reality in this sense includes being and sometimes is considered to include nothingness, where existence is often restricted to being (compare with nature).
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic.
In its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term κόσμος meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos. Today the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe (considered in its orderly aspect). The words cosmetics and cosmetology originate from the same root. In Russian, the word cosmos simply means "space."
wow ryan manning you are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo smart. will you pls stick your dick in my mouth.
i wish you could come to london some day
congratulations; success
i propose the notion that you give your future books ambiguous titles; for example, cognitive-behavioral therapy was a good one.
when i asked for "cognitive-behavioral therapy" i was directed to the "psychology" and "self-help" sections"
i am highly appreciative of this title. i would like a future event to occur.
(closing)
p.s. i am expecting to be directed to the "biography" section when i ask for "richard yates" in 2010. if i am directed to the "literature and fiction" section i will not be phased either, just "less impressed"
i thought i was your fan, but now i realize i'm really a fan of your fans and...whatever the opposite of fans is, critics? I love reading people's responses to you and I really like this post cause i get to read all those reviews! Some of them seem like they don't know what to think but are trying to think something that someone else will think. Others genuinely react with their own thoughts and it's relieving to see that some people are capable of independent thought (and aren't embarrassed to claim those thoughts).
personally i feel motivated to read what you have written because it is different
here's another:
http://www.deckfight.com/2009/10/friday-5-5-best-things-tao-lin-has-read.html
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