Lindsayism.com

Postcards From Yo Momma Book Deal!

Huge congrats to my friends Doree Shafrir and Jessica Grose, whose site Postcards From Yo Momma is going to be a book I would actually buy even if I didn't know them. Yay!

Reading Rainbow

(I've not been around, I've been blogging on Videogum.com and boy is my everything tired! Go there, things are good there!)

There are two excellent books I've been meaning to plug (but neither needs it, they're absolutely everywhere!) I want to write long things about each of them, but I'm exhausted, so just please take my word for it (and, you know, everyone else's) as a person who's always looking for good books to read, that you can't do better than:

Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture
Longtime genius blogger Daniel Radosh travels the country talking to Christian bands, comedians, actors, mascots, kitsch-peddlers, etc, and getting into funny scrapes along the way. The genius of this book is the way Radosh balances his own fish out of water (for lack of a less cliched term) perspective with his genuine respect and empathy for people who don't share his worldview. That said, the funniest parts of the book are when Daniel Gets Mad. (Favorite chapter: Daniel fills in as an actor in a Passion Play at a Christian theme park, and singlehandedly tries to redeem his People from centuries of misunderstanding.)
Also, they've made a really cool site with an appendix so you can see people and places from the book.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake
That fawning "Most popular publicist" profile was good press, but it only distracts from the charm of the actual book, which is funny and original and refreshingly almost totally not about dating. If you've been waiting for a book about the inner life of a woman who thinks about Things Other Than Boys And Clothes, here it is. I read it in one uninterrupted afternoon and couldn't put it down. I still maintain that Sloane never had more than two plastic ponies in her drawer (CrosleyGate '08) but if you want a real reason to be jealous of the girl, which I clearly am, (and enormously entertained by her), read this book. Also, the website is amazing.

But don't take my word for it! Look for both of these books on Best of 2008 lists in December.

Poor Old Dan and Little Ann!

Last night I tried to explain one of my favorite childhood books,  Where the Red Fern Grows (with spoilers!) to someone who had never heard of it. It's impossible to do so without sounding insane, especially if you say "crazy old mean old nasty coon" a lot, which is critical for accurate plot description, and not actually offensive in context.

Christopher McCandless vs Alexander Supertramp

AV Club: Book versus Movie: Into the Wild

God Save the Fan!

If you're reading this site, you probably already know this, but if you have anyone in your life who cares about sports, Will Leitch's new book God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back) is the perfect gift.

(This is also a reminder to people who were already planning to buy it to buy it today!)

(Also, genius cover by Jim Cooke!)

Round Up of Some Good Media to Consume

I'm apparently too busy consuming media to blog about it, but here is some media I've consumed recently, most of it good. (I don't get anything for this.):

Good Books:

Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander

The Kept Man by Jami Attenberg

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta

Good Movies:

No End in Sight

Juno (I went in expecting to hate it - it had some annoying tics and was kind of twee, but I think it's theater-worthy.)

The Savages (But it's not really a comedy)

Bad, Bad, Very Bad Movie:

Margot at the Wedding (you're still going to see it, you'll just wish you didn't)

Sloane Crosley Really Is That Great

But if I didn't know that for a fact, I might hate her a little after this (but don't! even her quotes came out self-deprecating. which is insane considering the medium):

The Most Popular Publicist In New York

Friend: "Are you jealous? Are you jealous?"
Me: "No way! She has to be a publicist!"

Sloane's very funny book of essays, I Was Told There'd Be Cake, comes out in April. (And look, even Gawker can't really find anything actually mean to say about her!)

Bill Cosby Eats, Shoots, Leaves Out Important Comma

This is allegedly the cover of his new book:

Who Knew Judi Dench Could Act?

So busy! Here are some things I've recently consumed and recommend:

* Notes on a Scandal (the movie) Yeah, it's been out a while, but wow. I would recommend it to anyone. Genius. Also, I'm not the kind of person who usually notices this type of thing, but even on my crappy old $40 craig's list TV, the use of color in this movie is amazing.

* But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn. Don't be turned off, as I briefly was, by the subtitle. Reading the book, you realize it was slapped on there by the publisher. It's a great summer Friday read, albeit a little tidy at the end.

* I believe Eliot Glazer said this last week, but it deserves to be said again in as many ways as possible (and this is a particularly funny one): Sex and the City ruined New York.

Craig Ferguson on Kurt Vonnegut

In his monologue last night (video - about 1/3 of the way in), Craig Ferguson told the story of the first person who introduced him to Kurt Vonnegut -- his drug dealer -- who gave him Slaughterhouse Five and said "Here, this will blow your mind."

Thanks to heartonastick (who also has a tribute to KV) for telling me about it and sending the link!