Ian’s Comments (group member since Nov 02, 2015)

Ian’s comments from the MZD's The Familiar group.

The questions of authorship (and editorial stewardship) have always been interesting to me in this book (and it's a pretty common topic among readers of the book); who is Johnny writing to? Who are the editors and why do they fail so badly in streamlining and confining Johnny's storytelling and style (grammar, spelling, etc.)? Did Zampano exist? etc.

But I hadn't really considered the question in relation to something like the flap copy, which, instead of being a typical book blurb creates a fiction about the pre-publication creation of the book as a pile of pages passed around, showing up intermittently on the Internet. It turns it into an ephemera. A found object, in a sense. Essentially, MZD preempts the book's cult status by baking the mythos of cult object into it's most introductory materials: the jacket copy. Every detail in the book comes back to that central question of authorship, which is, itself an existential search. How did this text come to be? And by what was it formed? If we believe its cult history as Internet ephemera (and, to be clear, I'm not sure how true or false this myth is), can we know for certain who its creator would be? If we understand that cult history to be a falsehood, then to what end does it force us to question the believable and destructive falsehoods we encounter every day? In what ways are we duped by the monstrous unknowns of pretense and how can it be combated?

To note; the final week of the schedule mentions "Lemonade," which is being speculated as the name of the TV pilot for House of Leaves MZD wrote in late 2017—yes, there was talk to turn it into something for screen. Here's the rundown of the story as MZD tells it:

He recently posted that he had, until recently, been in discussion with a streaming service about turning House of Leaves into a multi-season TV series that he had show-runner control over. Unfortunately, it fell apart when the streaming company made clear they wanted to own ongoing IP rights to sequels, spin-offs, characters, etc. So, due to avarice, we will probably not see this come to life. A mixed blessing, perhaps.

Anyway, MZD stated today that in the last week of the book club, he will be sharing the script of the pilot episode he drafted. One assumes the episode's title is "Lemonade," a reference to the first scene with Navidson, drinking lemonade on his porch.

Appendix III

Academic criticism

Appendix II

Exhibits One and Appendix I

A Strange Light: Navidson Record Chapters XXI - XXIII

House of Leaves: Navidson Record Chapter XVIII - XX

Karen: Navidson Record Chapters XIV - XVII

House of Leaves and Haunted

The Minotaur: Navidson Record Chapters XII - XIII

Rescues: Navidson Record Chapters X - XI

SOS in the Labyrinth: Navidson Record Chapters VIII - IX

Echos: Navidson Record Chapters V - VII

Muss Es Sein: Navidson Record Chapters I - IV

Poor Johnny.

As this is the largest Mark Z. Danielewski enclave here on Goodreads, I figured I'd open this up here if anyone wants to discuss House of Leaves. I'll copy the formatting from The Familiar bookclub to have a thread for each "week" of reading.

Here's how you can join the FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/house...

Here's the full schedule from MZD in the FB group:

1) Feb. 26 - March 3
Front matter and back cover. Dedication. Flap copy.

2) March 4 - 10
This is not for You: Johnny Truant Introduction (pp. xi-xxiii)

3) March 11 - 17
Muss Es Sein: Navidson Record Chapters I - IV (pp. 3-40)

4) March 18 - 24
Echos: Navidson Record Chapters V - VII (pp. 41-96)

5) March 25 - 31
SOS in the Labyrinth: Navidson Record Chapters VIII - IX (pp. 97-152)

March 31: Q&A

6) April 1 - 7
Rescues: Navidson Record Chapters X - XI (pp. 153-274)

7) April 8 - 14
The Minotaur: Navidson Record Chapters XII - XIII (pp. 275-346)

8) April 15 - 21
House of Leaves and Haunted

9) April 22 - 28
Karen: Navidson Record Chapters XIV - XVII (pp. 347-407)

April 28: Q&A

10) April 29 - May 5
House of Leaves: Navidson Record Chapter XVIII - XX (pp. 408-490)

11) May 6 - 12
A Strange Light: Navidson Record Chapters XXI - XXIII (pp. 491-528)

12) May 13 - 19
Exhibits One and Appendix I (pp. 529-566)

13) May 20 - 26
Appendix II (pp. 567-656)

May 26: Q&A

14) May 27 - June 2
Academic criticism

15) June 3 - 10
Appendix III (pp. 657-709)

16) June 11 - 16
Other books and related work

17) June 17 - 22
Lemonade

Karen wrote: "I'm sending a letter to the physical address."

Thank you, Karen. MZD posted something last week on social media about "astonishing letters" and that "they were received." I'm not sure if this was a reference to the letters to Pantheon, or letters to him specifically from fans, but it does seem like we're making waves.

Friends,
If you're unaware, Pantheon Publishing is currently evaluating sales figures of The Familiar in order to make assessments about moving forward with the series. While we've been told all along the publisher bought 10 volumes, that doesn't mean we're assured to see those 10, much less books 11-27--in fact, things look especially dire for the continuation past "Season Two."

This is why I believe the time is upon us to make waves with Pantheon, and make sure our voices are heard, not with just our dollars--surely, share the wealth and buy a copy of Vol. 1 (or the whole set!) for your friends this gift-giving season--but also with a letter-writing campaign to the publisher demanding we get more of The Familiar.

The fervor of this fanbase should be heard at the Pantheon offices, so I suggest everyone take the time out to write about what a profound affect MZD's books have had on you, and about how wonderful The Familiar is in particular.

Mailed letters will have the most significant and visceral impact, to be sure, so here is the address to the publisher:
Pantheon Books
1745 Broadway
New York, NY 10019 USA

Here's an email address I found on their site to reach out, too, but again, mailing one letter will be worth 1,000 emails:
pantheonpublicity@randomhouse.com

Make sure your letters are courteous and gracious, but don't relent in letting Pantheon know what a mistake it would be for them to lapse on seeing The Familiar to its natural conclusion.

Also, write reviews here on Goodreads, share pictures and quotes from the book on your Facebook or Instagram pages. Bang the drum. Spread the word. For those of us who have fallen in love with this series, we need to do what we can now to ensure we get to see it go on.

The cat is calling, will we be there to save it?

MZD on Bookworm in November 2017: http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/show...