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Dr. Frank Wrote a Book about Rock and Roll
TUESDAY APRIL 11 2006 11:00 AM
Submitted by _DictionaryGirl_. Edited By Rahodeb.
Frank Portman has been a lot of things over the past twenty years, from quirkily multi-topical blogger to mastermind-frontman of (perhaps arguably) one of the single greatest bands EVER to our very own Newswire editor. Today will see the addition of another notch on the belt of successes, with the release of his young adult novel, King Dork, out on Delacorte Press.
"Wait a minute," you say, "a punk-rock singer just wrote a children's book?" Well, yeah, that was my first thought too, but all kids' books are not created equal, so I decided to read the standard summary blurb and this is what it said:
Tom Henderson (a.k.a. King Dork, Chi-mo, Hender-fag, and Sheepie) is a typical American high school loser until he discovers the book, The Catcher in the Rye, that will change the world as he knows it. When Tom discovers his deceased father’s copy of the Salinger classic, he finds himself in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead people, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, a secret code, guitars, monks, witchcraft, the Bible, girls, the Crusades, a devil head, and rock and roll. And it all looks like it’s just the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that may very well unravel the puzzle of his father’s death and–oddly–reveal the secret to attracting semihot girls.
Being in a band could possibly be the secret to the girl thing–but good luck finding a drummer who can count to four.
Well, I know I'm sold. Not that that should come as a surprise or anything. But for all you erudite YA-novel-hating skeptics who don't find the intro intriguing enough, Dr. Frank's official-sounding non-blog site features all sorts of extras like a recommended supplimental reading list, suggested accompaniment discography, and selections from the glossary at the back of the book:
Bob Dylan (BAY-bee ZIM-er-mn):
There was a time in my life when I fervently wanted to be Bob Dylan. Then I realized that practically everybody else in the world wanted to be Bob Dylan, too, and that if we all got our wish being Bob Dylan would be so common that it would be completely meaningless to be Bob Dylan, even for the actual, original Bob Dylan, and the world would essentially end up exactly the same as it was before. The alpha-Bob Dylans would beat up on the less alpha-Bob Dylans, the female Bob Dylans would confuse the hell out of the male Bob Dylans, the teacher Bob Dylans would make the student Bob Dylans read The Catcher in the Rye, the parent Bob Dylans would call continual inane family discussions with the kid Bob Dylans, and the sadistic, psychotic structure of the universe would be more or less preserved. Nature is a bitch.
All throughout the week in promotion of the book, Dr. Frank will be touring a blog a day (answering the question he poses: "What do you do if you can't afford a book tour?") with exclusive material for each one. Yesterday he stopped by Gawker for a Q&A and a pretty amusing read-aloud. Today brings a visit to Stereogum as well as a real-life official release party-type thing at Cato's Ale House, if you happen to be in Oakland and are feeling so inclined.
(And if you are... send me a postcard. Please.)
376 Comments
mamet
Charleston, SC
March 2005
APR 11, 2006 11:25 AM
PointBlank
New York, NY
November 2004
APR 11, 2006 11:29 AM
Salieri
Montreal, QC
July 2004
APR 11, 2006 11:50 AM
_DictionaryGirl_
NEWSWIRE
San Diego, CA
APR 11, 2006 11:56 AM
PointBlank
New York, NY
November 2004
APR 11, 2006 12:11 PM
Anarchie
SUICIDEGIRL
Vatican City
APR 11, 2006 12:18 PM
LizFitts
Shandaken, NY
May 2003
APR 11, 2006 12:55 PM
Jessewestend
Murfreesboro, TN
OLD SKOOL
APR 11, 2006 07:12 PM
Bastardo
Boston, MA
January 2005
APR 12, 2006 03:55 AM
_DictionaryGirl_
NEWSWIRE
San Diego, CA
APR 14, 2006 09:25 PM