Justin Hampton at The Bookloft

Well, guess what? I’m back. Did you miss me while I was gone?

Believe it or not, it’s not like I’ve stopped reading or paying attention to the world of book publishing. Far from it. Matter of fact, I’m writing a book right now. I will let you know about it in greater detail as time progresses, but for now, let’s just say that it’s in the Year (or in this case, the season) Of Doing Something Vaguely Interesting Memoir genre. It involves my attendance at a slew of countercultural festivals this summer. I ended up writing about one, The Gathering Of The Juggalos, for High Times, and that should be out in the February issue. This turned out to be a life-altering experience – all of them in general did, but this one in particular – and i realize this will probably win me the attention of lulz-loving trolls the world over. So never Mind the Cooks Source; here’s Justin Hampton at the Bookloft, both conveniently ensconced in Western Mass, in case you cared.

(Oh, and btw, in case you were wondering, I think CS got what it deserved. As a freelancer, I definitely have a problem with editors who think a writer’s work isn’t worth a dime, or is theirs to steal. I’m glad the Interwebs feels the same. That said, I’ll miss their FB page and all the righteous crowdsnark it inspired. Good times, yo.)

So there’s a few things I wanted to comment on to start things back out again:

-First, the Pedophile Guide on Amazon: Come on, you should have known this was coming. You open up the floodgates for anyone to get their book out, and you’re going to see things like appear. Give you an example: whilst at the Rainbow Gathering, I was offered a trade for a drug chemistry book written by a fella named Stryke. Later in the summer, a chemist I met at Burning Man told me he collects books like these (though he added he doesn’t make any of these compounds himself), and tells me Stryke is one of the better authors in the field. And word has it that Stryke’s just gotten out of jail, too, so rock on.

Point is that if you can find books like Stryke’s, then opportunities for people to get their hands on all sorts of info will continue to proliferate, whether or not Amazon stocks it in their store. So plan your lives accordingly.

-Indecision Points: I can’t be certain of this, but those stopping by the Bookloft in person, make sure that Eric’s stocking George W. Bush’s new book in the crime section where it belongs, okay? Amnesty International is already howling for Bush’s indictment since he admitted to okaying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s torture in its pages, so it only makes sense.

-Here’s The Situation: As a former NJ resident and lover of the unintentionally hilarious, I have to mention this unique piece of bookfail, as it caught my eye the minute I saw it in my Twitter feed. Jezebel already posted a chunk of it on their site, and I guarantee that in 20 years time, this will still give the overeducated and insecure a much-needed boost of cultural schaudenfraude.

Oh, and why not follow me on Twitter? I’m impboy over there. Relax, I know you’re not “following” me, but just reading my tweets. The feed gets a bit more personal sometimes, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate it.

Oh, and thanks for having me back. I gotta say, I kinda missed blogging.