Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 5/7

Thanks to Alex, who purchased A Hitch in Twilight outside the Dolfin Gym today at 24th Avenue and 86th Street, and to the woman who bought Sylvia Browne's The Mystical Life of Jesus. I've now sold five of the six Browne books the friendly porter has donated.
I first viewed the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski (1998) more than a decade ago. It did not leave much of an impression. I remembered Jeff Bridges getting a swirlie in the beginning and the odd counterpoint to modern L.A. cowboy narration of Sam Elliott, but nothing else, not even the bodacious, perfectly-cast Tara Reid, whose wild ways would fill tabloids at the start of the new millennium. I was no more impressed the second time around. I find it amusing, but a far cry from the best work of the Coens. The quirkiness just doesn't work for me like it does in Blood Simple ('84), Miller's Crossing ('90), Barton Fink ('91), Fargo ('96) and A Serious Man ('09). Many would disagree. Since its original release, the film has taken on cult status. Some call it the greatest ever made. Maybe my indifference stems from my aversion to stories about stoners. I was never a big fan of comedy, either, although the Coen's films are so much more than comedy. Very few movies and TV shows make me laugh out loud. Certain episodes of The Honeymooners and All in the Family, and moments in the Farrelly brothers' Kingpin ('96), did the trick. Even Seinfeld raises no more than a chuckle from me. I'm more fascinated by the behavior of the characters, by its accurate portrayal of the modern world than amused by its comedy. I still watch it. It is almost invariably the best option in its time slot even after all these years. I have an equally hard time with comic novels like Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy and John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. I find real life, the antics of friends, neighbors and people on the street, funnier than anything that occurs in fiction. John Goodman's tirades worked for me in Barton Fink, especially in the outrageous finale. The image of him running down the hotel's burning hall, shotgun in tow, is unbelievable. The rants did not work for me in The Big L. I loved John Turturro's weasly turn in Miller's Crossing, but thought his characterization in The Big L was fake. Miller's Crossing remains my favorite CB film. They won Oscars for both Fargo, and No Country For Old Men ('08), a film I respect more than like. I look forward to watching their remake of True Grit ('10). I'm sure it will differ substantially from the John Wayne film. All their films are worthwhile, even a failure like The Hudsucker Proxy ('94).
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