January 28th, 2010

rip salinger

I was never one of the people who related to Catcher in the Rye, as a teenager or as an adult. Like most books, it entertained me and made me think, but that’s about it. I always felt bad for Salinger and wondered, if he didn’t want fame so much, how come he didn’t publish under a pseudonym? When he wrote it, did he just assume it wouldn’t be that popular? The sad thing is that now that he’s died, no one will ever get him to answer those goddamn questions.

One of my favorite sections in (most) books these days is the Q&A with the author in the back. If a book is good, it leaves you with all sorts of lingering thoughts and questions, and a good portion of the time the Q&A answers them (or suggests new ones). Plus, it’s a great marketing addition to convince you to buy the author’s next book.

Sadly, my brain now outputs a steady stream of marketing ideas re: virtually everything I see, hear or read. It’s highly entertaining to me, and probably highly irritating to everyone else.

Because yeah, still don’t have the best filter for this mouth of mine.