I've come to see fall as the most literary time of the year. Something about the cooler air, end of vacations, hot drinks, and the ramp up through a series of holidays to the New Year is conducive to reading, and buying, books. As such, I’ll be out and about locally a fair amount. I’m also preparing a few Cascadian sea salty stories that I think you’ll enjoy. But let’s get to it.
Library Tour w/Lauren Kay Johnson!
I’m thrilled to announce that fellow MilSpeak author Lauren Kay Johnson and I will “performing” at the Wenatchee Public Library on October 4 at 4:00 PM. Our event Coming of Age Between 9/11 and the Great Recession will be the first, but probably not last, iteration of our collaborations this fall. So stay tuned, we may just roll into a town near you (especially if you’re in the Pacific Northwest).
Lauren’s memoir The Fine Art of Camouflage is about her military service in Afghanistan—and so much more. I’m reading it now and the synergy between our works is uncanny at times. At AWP in Seattle, we were even selling our books as a combo package dubbed “Sammo Combo” for those who really wanted a dose of the 2000s from hardworking, disillusioned youngster’s eyes. Personally, I’ll be bringing more of a standup duo riffing than formal classroom vibe. Here’s hoping I don’t get a librarian’s shhh.
Norris Note Housekeeping
This publication is growing and I have a few developments to announce. You’ll note that payments are officially activated, but don’t fret. My weekly(ish) entries will continue to be free, but the $5/month subscription unlocks a few things:
1 - Audio is here. You may have noticed I released the audio of my last article for all those podcast people out there. This will be the norm from now on. The audio of the free weekly(ish) article will be free for one month before going behind a paywall.
Check out the first audio of my article here!
2 - Archive. Audio files more than one month old and articles more than one year old are behind the paywall for subscribers. There will probably be a few exceptions, we’ll see.
3 - Extra articles. I’ll start publishing articles in addition to my weekly free piece this fall. These will usually be free for a window of time before going behind the subscriber paywall. I’m hoping to break the occasional sea salty or travel story and do deeper dives on writing related American zeitgeist topics I encounter.
Naturally, I’m new to all this and will no doubt make mistakes as I attempt to strike the proper balance. Feel free to chime in, I’m all ears. Thanks again to all who’ve pushed this thing past 100 subscribers and support my writing from magazines to books. Every subscription goes a long way to keeping my pen busy and free.
Norris Reads: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Yep. This book. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve tried to read David Foster Wallace’s famous Infinite Jest twice in my early twenties and failed. In my defense, the 1,000+ page book is dense as it comes with freak’n footnotes in the back. I’m only about 40 pages in at the moment, but it’s going much better this time and I've even chuckled a few times. Maybe I’m maturing as a reader? Who knows.
Notable little story, I was reading this in a local brewery while waiting for some friends. A middle aged man with his two pals saw what I was reading and practically ran across the bar to talk about it. He was tongue tied with excitement and teased a part of the story that had him “practically in tears” with laughter. We shook hands and he returned to his crew.
How incredible is that?! As an author, experiencing such raw reader enthusiasm warmed my heart. A good book really is a magical thing. Experiencing such energy is also the right kind of motivation for me and my writing. To illicit that kind of reaction in strangers I’ll never meet is the ultimate goal.
But look at this thing! Not a paragraph break in sight. I got my work cut out for me. But credit where credit is due, this particular part of the book is the most realistic internal dialogue of a paranoid pothead waiting for his romantically entangled drug dealer I’ve ever read. Wish me luck.