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

By: Tavie

Tavie — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:10:00 +0000

Thank you for saying it. Thank you.

By: Tavie

Tavie — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:09:00 +0000

DItto. I think I’m about to ruin another pair of sneakers. Nostalgia, man.

By: simonashton

simonashton — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:22:00 +0000

Beat me to it too. Now I’m hoping there’s a post about getting triangles from a cow.

By: Alex Little

Alex Little — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:12:00 +0000

Purchased.

By: Tim Drage

Tim Drage — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:12:00 +0000

Beat me to it :)

By: 3lbFlax

3lbFlax — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:54:00 +0000

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/honda-banana/

By: whisper dog

whisper dog — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:09:00 +0000

Just look at it.

By: Nicky G

Nicky G — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:05:00 +0000

Yes! This! I did the same.

By: knappa

knappa — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 01:18:00 +0000

Not to mention how often they would bounce.

By: Bottle Imp

Bottle Imp — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:42:00 +0000

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.

By: JoshP

JoshP — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:14:00 +0000

Three sentences? Faulkner could have done it with one, and added a few extra clauses.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:06:00 +0000

Or Banana skins, if anything it’s even better.

By: Bill Sides

Bill Sides — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:40:00 +0000

I’ve done this, did not enjoy it.

By: avraamov

avraamov — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:01:00 +0000

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.

By: hymenopterid

hymenopterid — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:41:00 +0000

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.

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:22:00 +0000

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

By: novium

novium — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:21:00 +0000

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.

By: Marja Erwin

Marja Erwin — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:18:00 +0000

It could be a problem for cashiers with severe latex allergies, especially if they have to handle a lot of latex checks.

By: Mark_Frauenfelder

Mark_Frauenfelder — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Thank you for introducing me to this song! Fantastic.

By: Gregory Bloom

Gregory Bloom — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:02:00 +0000

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.

By: Daniel Warner

Daniel Warner — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:58:00 +0000

I just read Baker’s HOUSE OF HOLES. It might be my favorite book of all time. Truly mind expanding erotic fiction.

By: Marja Erwin

Marja Erwin — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:56:00 +0000

For me, it’s painful and awkward, like writing with a slippery pen on any other surface.

By: Smash Martian

Smash Martian — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:49:00 +0000

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″.

By: Stonewalker

Stonewalker — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:44:00 +0000

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.