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The Algorithms of Amazon

It sounds like either a play by Oscar Wilde or a Greek tragedy – and in light of what it means we (and by “we” I mean “all of us”) must do these days in order to sell products, perhaps it is a bit tragic. And since we’re all doing it, there is no “comedy […]

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That’s What I Like To See

I’m ambivalent about reviews. I’ll post some here, I’m sure, but I doubt I will read them. Reading reviews, both good and bad, is not a rabbit hole I want to lose myself in, not for a second. I want reviews, I want lots of them, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t want to […]

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The Photo Booth

So. If you have ordered the book (and thank you for ordering it!) I’d like to see it. I’d like you to take a photo of it and post it somewhere. And then I’m going to post it here. Randomly. But still. I’m even introducing a hashtag: #waitingfortheman. You don’t have to use it, but […]

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The Wait is Over for Waiting for the Man

It’s true. I received a boxful of books today. The book comes out next week. Two weeks later in the U.S. A few weeks after that in other parts of the world. Something special is happening in Australia; more on that later. And now that I have a box of books, and dates are set […]

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A Brief Explanation About the Origin of the Universe

No. For real. I know this is a bit outside of the realm of my, um, expertise, but I know people who know things about things. Like yesterday’s major announcement about the origins of the Big Bang and proving the last bit of Einstein’s theories. Vicky Kaspi and I went to high school together (we […]

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Screw Nostalgia

As the year draws to a close, media is stuck in its annual paradox: it celebrates the past while looking forward…and completely ignoring the present. Best of lists proliferate, like jellyfish in an unbalanced sea, until you don’t even feign surprise to find a Best of Best of list, or, at the very least, a […]

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Blurbs, Reviews and Good Cheer

Blurbs are rolling in. Rolling, rolling, rolling… The one on the front cover is from Douglas Coupland: “Waiting for the Man is a strangely engrossing, meticulously written allegory of the present moment.” This is from Jonathan Goldstein (host of one of the best shows on radio, Wiretap) and a great writer himself: “With Waiting For […]

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A Physical Object

So I received the real deal. Well, close. This is what’s going to go to reviewers. And it has blurbs on it. The cover has a blurb from Douglas Coupland. It’s a very Couplandesque blurb: On the back, blurbs from Jonathan Goldstein and Stephen Marche: The whole thing feels kind of thrilling. I’m trying to […]

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Don’t Count Your Words

It’s not a good thing. You get obsessed with the wordcount and not the words. You start to take shortcuts, or want to, because you’re not looking at the right thing, for the right reason, and you’re not doing the work. I know this and I know it to be true, it’s a truism it’s […]

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RIP Lou Reed

Lou Reed died today. He lived a great life, a life of art and passion. Full. Calling him a “rock musician” is kind of reductive and diminishes what he did. By a lot. There are already some great obituaries circulating and this is not an obituary. My upcoming novel is called Waiting for the Man. […]

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