Reading Frenzy ~ An Independent Press Emporium

We Made It!

January 2009

Dear Readers,

It's time to reset the clock and close the books on the old year. I know 2008 was a year that many of us cannot say goodbye fast enough to, there were some highlights though. Here are some of ours:

• 2008 saw the release of the first new issue of Crap Hound -- #8: Church & State -- in several years. We sold half the print run before it landed from the printers.
• The revival of the Triple Dare Reading Series featuring Vendala Vida, Randy Walker & Jenny Shainin, Skye, and Shelley Short. Shelley's beautiful album, Water For the Day has been in heavy rotation at the shop all year long.
• Unmarketable reading with Anne Elizabeth Moore.
• Side by Side by Sarah Landwehr. Sarah is a good egg and a great artist.
• Triple Dare Reading Series with Kevin Sampsell, Suzanne Burns, Jim Blashfield and Michael Johnson. Ask Kevin to talk to you in "the cat voice", then you might understand part of why this was a special night.
• On the Lower Frequencies by Erik Lyle with special guest Moe Bowstern. Every once in awhile we have an event at the shop that feels like old times and this was one of them.
• The evil twins, Amber Gayle and Stacy Wakefield, stopped by for a visit!
• Sophisticated Menagerie by Ryan Berkley. It was such a treat to have Ryan's creatures grace the shop for the month of July -- I still miss them.
• A Timeline of Prints by Kristine Virsis. Kristine came all the way from NYC to install this show! We loved it so much we kept it up for two months!
• Alien Boy Film Benefit with Tender Forever, Calvin Johnson, and Ah Holly Fam'ly. Although we could have fit several hundred more people in the Wonder Ballroom, it was a great show and so many people donated their time, energy and talents to make it happen. Plus, I got to share french fries with Ian Svenonius, who was an inadvertent inspiration for Reading Frenzy in the early 90s.
• I met Fred Armisen when he and Carrie Brownstein came by to film a sequel to their short Feminist Bookstore and later the same night I had a surprise encounter with Michelle Williams, who sang the praises of our children's book section.
• Bike Frenzy! Pete Jordan returned to Portland to give us a sneak preview on his next book about Dutch bicycle culture. Rounding out the evening were Nickey Robare, The Sprockettes and Baby Dollars.
• I took the Writing the Unthinkable with Lynda Barry during the Wordstock Festival! I was sick as a dog but Lynda's amazing healing energies and forcefield of goodness kept me afloat. Highly recommended and returning to Portland in the spring!
• Barak Obama is our new president!
• Reading Frenzy/IPRC/Half & Half Holiday Party at The Cleaners featuring Young & Innocent, Rich & Strange, Toad Stories by Grandma Gallant, and Tiny Vinyl.

I joke about having sacrificed my youth -- and most everything else -- to Reading Frenzy, but it's been a great place to grow up. I hope this year will bring many great "things that have never been" for all of us.

Keep Reading!

Your Faithful Proprietress,
Chloe