Summer reading list

JIMMY CHLIBOYKO

t really is quite depressing, walking

Js any bookstore these days.
Actually, a clarification: walking

“into any bookstore that is not in a
mall. (Mall bookstores typically have
larger computer book sections than
poetry sections: where does this society
want to go today?) Whether it
specializes in magazines, or books, or
whether it does or does not have a cozy
little coffee shop, a good bookstore
emphasizes the heartbreaking truth: the
overwhelming amount of good reading
material is enough to make one desire
illiteracy. You can never get to even a
fraction of it. You are always looking
over your shoulder for the next juicy
one that the reviewers are
going on about. It is
torture.

But if you think that
is depressing, try logging
onto the Web.

If you are a just a neophyte, or if
your WWW interest is more of a
functional thing, then perhaps you
haven't yet checked out any of the fine
reading available in the Web’s electronic
magazines nowadays. Strangely, as the
technology gets stronger, it seems so
does the writing. There is enough of it
to make you want to smote your own
eyeballs.

The bloom of fine e-reading has
been a while in coming. Perhaps tech-
nology had lent the upstart e-zines the

 

sheen of respectability. Sure, good

   
  
  
    
 

writing is a dime a dozen, but writing
and cool graphics! Watch out.

sites, though, seem to keep
ry to a minimum. Salon,
le, has static pictures, no irri-

JavaScript (not even on the ads)

SALON

MAGAZINE

August 1998 Page 16 Reading for fun...

and as far as frames go, the site seems
positively rivetless.

For all of the knick-knackery of the
WWW, the most memorable sites are
those that contain the best writing. Do
not be put off by the anti-Internet
hype: every form of
publishing is prone to
hoaxes and sketchy
sources. Palpable
mags, even up until
now, haye been
sloughing off their distant e-cousins,
based largely on the “nature” of the
Net, showing the reading public exactly
who the Philistines are.

Salon (www.salonmagazine.com)
The big daddy of ’zines. Has been
denigrated aggressively, and often, by
the ancient, agenda-
driven Wall Street Journal.
This, however, also acts
as a testament to Salon's
quality.

Salon could be described as a daily,
with a new cover story that shows up
at about 6pm, even on the weekends.
The cover stories remain on the home
page for upwards of a week, minimized
after 24 hours into hypertext, or kept
in archives.

Though largely America-centric, the
content is anything from the latest on
the tube to the latest on Clinton's
pants to the latest on the sex colum-
nists’ pants, but it pursues its stories
with a depth and a critical eye that is
lacking from other media outlets this
side of Brill’s Content.

Graphically, it is an understated site,
but impressive with intriguing and art-
ful “splash pages” which introduce sto-
ries.

And Salon often hires. But who

 

would want to make American dollars
in San Francisco?

Nerve (www.nervemag.com)
Sex with discretion. Visually, anyway.
Nerve is self-described literate smut,

 
 
  
    
 
  
 
 
  

pieces of writing—
stories and essays—
that attempt to captur
the intellectual side of
slap-and-tickle. The
cheesecake is not miss-
ing, but takes the form of dour photo
essays, more statement than salacious-
ness. It was quite impressive when it
first came out, but the long time
between new dispatches makes it a lit-
tle aggravating to follow.

Word (www.word.com)

"ox
)

currently being reworked, but the site

Up again, and down again,
and soon to be up again
after a long hiatus. It is

is still worth visiting. Whimsical
graphics and inventive essays and an
odd sense of humour (the current
main feature of the site is a retro-
looking photo—Farrah Fawcett hair,
steamy camera shutter and a dated,
willowy font proclaiming the “Summe
of Wanking”) make for an engaging
mix

There is a random feature selector
which allows someone to sample some
of the latest dispatches, though in two
tries, the random generator came up
with the same story—that of a man
going through his collection of phone
numbers he’s received from potential
lovers and the story behind each of
them. Interestingly, the writer requests
feedback; which one, if any, should he

pursue,