is amazing. It’s a newspaper—a healthy, hearty newspaper with which much obvious care has been taken. Ezra already tried to steal the sports section (with writing from FreeDarko and Stephen King); I had to pry myself away from a new George Saunders story in the books section. In the food section, full-color photographs of the 52 steps it takes to get a lamb from farm (aww, baby sheep!) to table (yum, lambchetta!). And then there’s the funny pages, a who’s who of contemporary American cartoonists—Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman, Seth, Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine. It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited about a printed thing.
Powell’s is completely sold out, but you can order it directly from McSweeney’s, here. And you should. (And if you win our Reading is Fun-Damental auction package, a one-year subscription to McSweeney’s shall be yours, among other great stuff.)
In other Print’s Not Dead news, at last night’s Mercury office party, I snagged a Snuggie in the white elephant gift exchange. It came with a book light.
NOOOO I missed my opportunity to get a Snuggie! I was too swamped studying for finals to make it out but thanks for forwarding me that invite!
-Molly
All it’s missing is some fine news reporting. But you’re right that news reporting works online. People need a reason to pick up the paper, and this kind of content is like buying vinyl as opposed to a cd.
There is fine news reporting, actually—I should’ve mentioned it. The cover story is an 8-page investigative piece about the SF/Oakland Bay bridge. Funded by donation:
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/Blogto…
And a huge piece on the environmental effects of pot growing in Mendocino, and William Vollmann on gold-mining interests and Native Americans, and Nicholson Baker on paper mills… Really, it’s pretty impressive.
I like how you divided the news into a “regular news” section and a “news for cowboys” section.
Heck yeh, I’m getting it for the sports section alone. I love me some Freedarko.