Nicholson Baker on the joy of writing on rubber with a ballpoint pen

I read Nicholson Baker's book of essays, The Size of Thoughts, when it came out in 1997. If you are familiar with Baker, you know that he has a knack for making the familiar seem wondrous, even bizarre. Dan Shepelavy posted this page from Baker's book, and now I want to find it and reread it.

The Size of Thoughts

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Stonewalker

Wow, he so eloquently described why it was so much fun to write on my sneakers as a kid……. and an adult :) I never even thought about why I did/do it.
- http://www.tavie.com Tavie
  
  DItto. I think I’m about to ruin another pair of sneakers. Nostalgia, man.
Smash Martian

As Half-Man Half-Biscuit once said way back in 1987: “There is nothing better in life than writing on the sole of your slipper with a biro.” http://youtu.be/QRey5b2Rllg at 2′ 25″.
- Mark_Frauenfelder
  
  Thank you for introducing me to this song! Fantastic.
- Tim Drage
  
  Beat me to it :)
- simonashton
  
  Beat me to it too. Now I’m hoping there’s a post about getting triangles from a cow.
http://marjaerwin.livejournal.com/ Marja Erwin

For me, it’s painful and awkward, like writing with a slippery pen on any other surface.
http://twitter.com/daniel_warner Daniel Warner

I just read Baker’s HOUSE OF HOLES. It might be my favorite book of all time. Truly mind expanding erotic fiction.
http://babyzoink.com Gregory Bloom

I’ve long thought that latex checks should become a thing – not only would they give the frisson of ball-point on rubber, but tearing each one off would give a very satisfying stretch, stretch, thwack! Handing over an obviously rubber check would leave your cashier nonplussed.
- http://marjaerwin.livejournal.com/ Marja Erwin
  
  It could be a problem for cashiers with severe latex allergies, especially if they have to handle a lot of latex checks.
  - knappa
    
    Not to mention how often they would bounce.
    - http://www.tavie.com Tavie
      
      Thank you for saying it. Thank you.
novium

Thus the reason my erasers in grade school were always scribbled all over. I also found the experience of inline skating over pavement that had been coated with some sort of rubber/plastic surface (like in the plaza they put the ice skating rink in every winter) very similar at least in a tactile sense.
- Nicky G
  
  Yes! This! I did the same.
Andrew Stevens

“There is nothing better in life / Than writing on the sole of your slipper with a Biro” – Half Man Half Biscuit
hymenopterid

A once girlfriend of mine gave me The Mezzanine to read, saying it was one of her favorite books. I made the mistake of trying to read it while at work at the bike shop, during my lunch break. When your job consists of obsessing over small parts in a room by yourself for hours, the last thing you want to read is another individuals obsessive steam of conciseness involving small objects on his desk. Yes I assume he had a point, it’s just dear God the stationary.
avraamov

i have a complicated relationship with Baker, because The Fermata is a deeply, troublingly misogynistic book. however, he redeems himself rather with Human Smoke which is a haunting, compelling and very necessary one, especially when the narrative of the 20th century is supposedly so firmly established. Human Smoke made me want to head down to Westminster and take a sledgehammer to that fucking cunt-ugly statue of churchill.
- Bottle Imp
  
  Complaining about The Fermata’s misogyny in the same paragraph as using the phrase ” fucking c**t-ugly”. . . That is impressive.
  I actually met Baker when he came to my college to speak. I was expecting to be skeeved out by said author of The Fermata, especially since he seems like an writer for whom it is exceptionally difficult to separate author and fiction. I was surprised to find him quite pleasant in person. I had to reassess, but then he was talking about Double Fold, so I don’t know I was too charitable in the reassessment.
http://www.facebook.com/bill.sides.77 Bill Sides

I’ve done this, did not enjoy it.
http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

Or Banana skins, if anything it’s even better.
- whisper dog
  
  Just look at it.
- 3lbFlax
  
  http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/honda-banana/
JoshP

Three sentences? Faulkner could have done it with one, and added a few extra clauses.
http://www.facebook.com/alex.little.102 Alex Little

Purchased.