I may have finished ET TU, BABE (by Mark Leyner) not only a day later past my goal time but, none-the-less, the best thing about setting personal goals is the flexability of the goal... Truth be known, I have no logical reason why I set goals, knowing that meeting these goals will neither bring about prizes or punishments in the end. I suppose, for lack of a better term, I amuse myself with goals. Ive done my fair share of stumbling into freelance-writing gigs with a few places, and one thing that hasent been a negative flaw in these jobs were deadlines. I handle deadlines well. Never missed a deadline actually which is more than 'professional' copywriters or reviewers can say.
After all of that, let me just say that I dont activly search out regular freelance writing work. Anymore... I have reasserted myself to writing more. Reading more and Im enjoying the sesults... Im liking what Im seeing. Despite any fragile format Ive experimented with on Thwart...! since its inception, I like what this blog is... Right now... Statistics and monetization aside, A major drop in readers dosent bother me anymore. Those NOT reading this blog is OK. I understand why... But, Im writing for me... Im reading for me, and thats where I come to Mark Leyner and his 1992 novel Et Tu, Babe.
I completed reading this novel on Decenber 1st, 2014 whilst sitting in a medical offices waiting room. I know when I see someone reading a book, I try to see what they're reading. Rarely is it something that looks good or even something that is at least called something good... So in that waiting room, I was that guy reading a book that didn't look good or wasnt given an interesting title but, in fact, is a master-piece! Hitting me like a mix of Burroughs and Chuck Pahlaniuks Fight Club, Et Tu, Babe was a total mind-fuck from one page to the next.
I know when Im reading something I really like, I cant get farther reading than about 10 pages or less before I feel some sort of inspiration from the text. If you ever wondered why I always carry around a lil' notepad nd pen, the reason is, Im not sure when a good idea, or let me rephrase this... A Idea that I think is good, is gonna necessarily hit. My memory is almost completely shot thesedays. As Johnny Horton would say, "I gotta bull by the horns on a downhill slide.." but whereas the song goes from there to "Things arent better than they ever have been..." I cant say the same. In some way, Thwart...! is a testament to my decline. If a moment of inspiration hits me, or if Im reading a book I appreciate, I will write in the books margins for times when someone else may enjoy it, or use it in some unknown way. So if you flip thru my copy of Et Tu, Babe, you will see what resembles 'de-facing' but really, its 'pro-facing' If I own a book and theres no 'pro-facing', well, its just not worthy.
In the movie Southland Tales (2006), which turns out being one of my favorite movies, theres mentioning of a toll-free number. I called the number which ended up being a greeting urging me to leave a message. The voice of the greeting was John Larroquette. So I left an as cryptically message as the movie had inspired. Simmilary so, there was a phone number in Et Tu, Babe that enticed me to call so I did.
The number was a number for a quiz asking my age, if I wanted to go on a vacation and if I would like a Carribean cruise to be part of that vacation. I followed thru to the end of the message thinking that the voice itself may be Mark Leyners... But when it came down to paying my 'port fees' it was time for me and my $.40 bank account to go.
I really, really enjoyed this book. It left a good impression with me and captured my interest which, in turn, led me to focus on this single book rather than reading several books at once.
Given to me by a co-hort partner in mind-crime, Troy T. and his pocket change, he heralded the message at the end of the book and continues to spread the message of Team Leyner which is more than my dead-broke ass can do. I can only use this blog as a carrier of the flame. Go, now, pay the penny and associated shipping charge for this book and get on the plane thats destined to crash into a mountain side...
Babe.
http://www.amazon.com/Tu-Babe-Mark-Leyner/dp/0679745068/ref=la_B000APAVSQ_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417546662&sr=1-6
