I am listening to When You Are Engulfed in Flames, the latest from David Sedaris. I am enjoying it very much and learning new things as well, such as it is possible to sprain ones asshole.
BUT. Many of the essays sound very familiar. Initially, I assumed this new book had old material in it, which was a disappointing idea. Musicians sometimes do that, pad an album with material they have recorded before. And since I was listening to the book on CD, it felt very similar.
When I complained to my SO about it, he said, Maybe you read it in the New Yorker. YES! That’s it! Many of the essays had appeared in the New Yorker. That’s why they were so familiar.
This is not the first time I have had my book-reading experience ruined by my NYer habit. A year or so ago, I checked out a new collection of short stories by Alice Munro from the library only to discover I had read almost all of them before. Books list where the contents first appeared, so it was easy to discover where I had read them: the NYer. Damn them!
The summer Olympics are about to start. I am of the opinion that each athlete participating in the Olympics should be allowed to compete in one, and only one, event. And once a person has won a medal, any medal, they should not be allowed to compete again. You had your chance to shine – now move over and let someone else have a turn.
I found myself feeling something similar about essays and short stories that are destined to be compiled into a book that also get space in a magazine. Isn’t that double-dipping? And greedy? Hey, famous authors! Pick one venue or the other, and give the rest a chance!
2 Comments
July 29, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Don’t give up TNY! There’s too much there. Interesting point about the double-dipping. But wouldn’t I do it too if I could?!
July 29, 2008 at 8:06 pm
What is the emoticon for tongue-in-cheek?