Form and function: casual, funny, and fabulous

I know that I work in the library and everything, and that I have direct access to actual books, but I am just so enthralled with online reading! There are so many inventive and enjoyable things out there, and I don’t have to move anything but one finger to read them! No more walking to those shelves a whole twenty steps away.

My latest love is McSweeney’s, http://www.mcsweeneys.net/ . It is absolutely hilarious and wonderfully clever. You, yes, any reader that you may happen to be, should check it out if you never have. The magazine describes itself as follows:

“Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency is an offshoot of Timothy McSeeney’s Quarterly Concern, a journal created by nervous people in relative obscurity, and published four times a year.”

As you may even be able to tell from this description, they have a completely real, witty, and laid-back style—something very refreshing for a literary magazine. I feel too often that literary magazines are dreadfully serious. I suppose there is certainly a place for that, so I won’t bash it, but the comic relief is, hah, a relief (I know, I’m not funny). For example, here is a sample from the page that is about Mcsweeney’s which explaining the frequency of posting on the site. Even the explanations are casual and hilarious, but not at all unprofessional or obnoxious. They write,

“We will put some things "up," so to speak, on some days, and on other days, we will not put things up. Whether or not we put things up will depend largely on whether, on a particular day, we have anything to put up. For example, let's say that on Monday we have something which we want to put up. On that day, we will put that thing up. On Tuesday, though, we might not have anything to put up. We will worry for a moment about not having anything to put up. "Oh no," we might say, "another day has come, and we have nothing to put up. What will happen if someone visits this site and there is nothing new to look at? Will people be angry?" But then we will realize that, chances are, people will not be angry -- that, chances are, people will understand. Most people are pretty understanding.”


I felt like I should quote that in full because it is just that funny, and probably more worth your reading than what I myself am writing right now. Hope you enjoyed.

With those examples laying the groundwork, let me explain a little more about what I encountered when I first went to this site, and why I love it so. First, I noticed the clean style—very post-modern in appearance. There were no cheap gimmicks, or anything flashy—the text presented was going to have to stand on its own as interesting. And it certainly did. The first words I read, other than the title of the page, were, “You are inappropriate, and the Pope is here to help. His book How to Dress for Every Occasion provides vital tips on clothing oneself for the beach, the movies, even air travel. Half price for the next 24 hours!” It appears to be an ad for a book—what I can only hope is either a fake book or the most hilarious joke of a book. You can click on the link to a page of further description and advertisement. As I continued to read through the site, I felt myself becoming more and more at ease myself, and more and more fascinated with what the next clever piece would be. Rarely do I come across such funny work, and so much of it in the same place! I feel like I have found a reliable source, here, for smart humor.

Also, I love that this site is so easy to navigate. There is little frivolous fluff or many distractions on the page. You can basically just click your way through the long archive list of postings. Most pieces are a wonderful length, too—I can read each in about five minutes. This is perfect for when a reader just wants to go and enjoy something for perhaps only a few moments (i.e. when I am working the circulation desk and am left alone for a few minutes with nothing pressing to do). The material and format match each other, neither being too complicated, heavy, or emotional in nature as many literary journals are. Many online journals leave me feeling lost behind or scattered, despite their serious efforts at being…serious. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where to even click next on an online journal. McSweeney’s is clear and approachable, and the content equally pleasing. Whether the writer is writing about JCrew or how to tell Jesus from the Antichrist, this work is casual and fun, and also is presented in a way in line with its demeanor.

I am apparently a huge fan!