Opening Day is Right Around the Corner
And not a moment too soon!
Dear All,
This is the latest episode of Don’t Press That Button, a newsletter about books and music and movies and cats and baseball and whatnot. As the name would indicate, we are very cautious about buttons around here. Once I click the Send button on this newsletter, there’s no turning back. The Internet has it.
So I don’t want to publish something that’s stupid, that doesn’t make sense, or is ridden with typos. The occasional error is inevitable, but I want to keep them at a minimum and to be able to press the Send button on DPTB with confidence. That’s where my old friend Jen, the official copy editor of DPTB, enters the picture. She closely examines each and every issue, and does as much as humanly possible to protect me from myself and refine my prose.
And now Jen has put out her shingle! Do you need a copy editor for your project? Jen is your woman! She’s done a pass on just about everything I’ve ever written, and she’s copy edited just about every kind of project under the sun. Jen’s the best, and the coolest. If you let her, she’ll make your prose sparkle.
Anyhow, Jen already waved her magic pen over this issue.1 You have it. I pressed the Send button. As for the button below, it simply subscribes you to this newsletter. If you’re new here, and you’d like to stick around, you can safely do so by clicking on it.
A Good Old Paperback
The paperback of The Curator is officially available tomorrow! It has the same cosmic cat on the cover, the same delightful illustrations by Kathleen Jennings, but a lovely new blurb from Neil Gaiman and a bonus section of questions and topics to consider and perhaps chat about with your book club2, all in a new, lightweight package.
I don’t know about you, but I just love paperbacks. First of all, beautiful as hardcovers are, they hate to travel. Paperbacks can absorb a beating; they’re for reading. I’m reminded of this passage in Josh Ritter’s song, “You Don’t Make It Easy, Babe”:
Friends ask about me, you say I can be found
with the cheap romance novels with their spines battered down.
Oh, the heart has no bones, you say, so it won’t break,
but the purpose of loving is the pounding it takes.
Our reading experiences are always attended by the events of our lives. The paperbacks that you carry around in your shoulder bag or in your pocket get worn and creased, and later on you notice them on your shelves with their battle scars, and you remember both the story and what was going on when you were reading it. You can get that blast of feeling from a beloved hardcover, of course, but I find that it’s more common with paperbacks.
There’s also something incredibly special about getting a well-read paperback signed by the author. From an author’s perspective, it’s just so meaningful to me to meet a copy of my book that’s been read and enjoyed — it’s such a high compliment. As a reader, I treasure my ratty copies of my favorite books, and it feels right and satisfying to get them signed instead of buying a new copy. Many years ago, I was lucky enough to have my hard-living copy of King & Joker signed by the late genius Peter Dickinson, and I remember the startled delight he took in seeing it. I don’t recall exactly what he said, but it was along the lines of “This is my favorite kind of book to sign.”
The Latest
Self Help issue #1 will be hitting stores in May! Comic book stores can now order it. It’s been a blast to collaborate with Jesse Kellerman to create our own little contribution to the Great Big Library of California Noir.
The very first panel of the very first issue! Art by Marianna Ignazzi. Here’s an extraordinarily generous blurb from Duane Swierczynski, the New York Times best-selling author of California Bear, that captures everything we were going for:
“There’s something wicked and wonderful about setting a Tom Ripley-style tale of stolen identity in our modern era of influencers and ‘personal growth’ — if I didn’t know Owen King and Jesse Kellerman wrote this, I would have assumed it was something that Patricia Highsmith and Donald Westlake dreamed up during a sunbaked L.A. bender. (And Marianna Ignazzi’s deadpan yet stylish art is the perfect match for this twisted noir delight.) I loved this first issue and can’t wait for more!”
If the above sounds like it would be up your alley, please let your neighborhood store know that you’d like to get a copy!
Quick reminder about my two upcoming events for the paperback of The Curator: I’ll be in Portsmouth, NH, at the Music Hall on March 22 and at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga on April 4. The Music Hall event is ticketed, but that does come with a copy of the novel.
The Psychic Benefits
A quick recap for new subscribers: the Psychic Benefits is the official fan club of the garage rock band the Paranoid Style. For the time being it’s a supplementary element of DPTB, but we have plans to expand to a separate Substack. We don’t have membership dues, or membership cards, but we do have our pride, as well as this splendid logo designed by Jim Baker:
We also have a direct line to P-Style front woman Elizabeth Nelson, who, besides being a songwriter and performer extraordinaire, is also an essayist, and a fiery fantasy sports owner, and my dear pal. Time and space permitting, we like to check in and get her angle on the band and/or current events.
I sent her this question: The Paranoid Style’s new album, The Interrogator, has been earning plaudits from critics and a terrific response from listeners! How do you like to celebrate? Can you sit back and relish this a bit, or are you already back in the studio cutting demos?
Here’s Elizabeth’s response: Great question. Obviously my new fame has changed me — how can it not? I go out — sure — with the typical precautions of mask, wig, and armor. But the work doesn't stop. I love relish, but I never sit back and never will. Breaking news for diehards: Doomtour '74 EP coming soon? Pencil it in.
Recommendations
If you can vote, you should vote! Check on your registration here.
Volunteer with Vote Forward to remind other people to vote.
Baseball, baseball, baseball! Get out to the ballpark! Opening Day should be a national holiday! The Dodgers and the Padres kick things off on March 20 in Seoul, and then everyone plays on the 28th.
I’ve been thoroughly digging the new Substacks by Rhett Miller and Rob Neyer.
In case you ever have a question or a comment or just want to say hi, if you reply to the email, I will see it. I’m over on Instagram, too, if you’d like to follow along there.
All Best,
Owen
No pressure, dude.
Want me to Zoom with your book club? No promises, but send me an email and we’ll see if we can’t do that.