For those of you dear folks who read The New Yorker, who like to make fun of other people’s grammar, who use the word “umami” in passing while cooking, and who refer to all movies as films, you may want to check out The Rumpus, an interesting new website made just for people like us.

And if you’re so inclined you can also check out the book review I wrote for them on Aaron Gwyn’s new novel, The World Beneath. As always, thanks for reading.

I just returned from my semi-weekly pilgrimage ¹ to the library where I picked up a book I requested four months ago, which had just come in.

Oh, but it is not just a book. It is an experience. It is in a box. It looks like it might be filled with candy. It is filled with candy! Literary candy! Like a Whitman’s Sampler for your brain!

It is The Unfortunates by B.S. Johnson ² and the inside of the box reads:

NOTE
This novel has twenty-seven sections, temporarily held together by a removable wrapper. Apart from the first and last sections (which are marked as such) the other twenty-five section are intended to be read in random order. If readers prefer not to accept the random order in which they receive the novel, then they may re-arrange the sections into any other random order before reading.

I of course do not accept the random order in which I have received the novel and have pre-randomized it for my own enjoyment. I am also choosing to read the Introduction before the first chapter because my need for information and order supersedes my need to follow directions.

Wanted to let you in on the excitement. Here, have some vicarious literary delight. Me to you. Happy Friday. I’ll let you know how it goes.