Zine Books I'd Like to See by jenny boe ZINES HOME INTERVIEWS: Seth Friedman, Factsheet Five Paul Lukas, Beer Frame Chip Rowe, The Book Of Zines REVIEWS: Lisa Carver's Rollerderby and Dancing Queen Seth Friedman's Factsheet Five Zine Reader Paul Lukas' Inconspicuous Consumption V. Vale's Zines! Vol. I ZINESTERS TALK IT UP: Personal Media Conference Call NOW YOU: Survey: What zine books would you like to see? Join Tripod's Media Savvy Conference: members click here others click here

This is a call to arms — these zines should have book contracts! If you're a publisher, you don't have to thank me for the tip — just check out the provocative writing in these DIY publications. When these zinesters bust into the mainstream, I'll be first in line at the book store. For now, I'll busy myself completing my zine collections... BUST: Bust is a very popular woman-oriented zine, full of consistently awe-inspiring articles: "Sex Diary of an Ugly Girl," "Dancing to the Tiger Beat," "I'm OK, You're Fucked Up," "I Was A Babysitter for the Hell's Angels" — the good stuff just never stops. If I were a mainstream publisher, this is the zine I'd try to cash in on. COMETBUS: If this ever happens, you can bet it won't be with a corporate publisher. But I can't think of any zine writing that would make a better book than that of Aaron Cometbus. His serendipitous adventures, strings of bad luck, and sneaky sense of humor are truly a pleasure to read. It would be nice to have a collection of his stories all in one place. Then again, each issue is so packed full of writing that it's practically a mini-book itself. APOLOGY: This zine collects stories from The Apology Line, an anonymous telephone forum for confessions, pleas, and apologies. Reading the zine gives you the same kind of voyeuristic thrill as reading Dear Abby, except that anything goes — from the trivial (forgotten birthdays) to the depraved (alleged murders). Some really bizarre stuff is in there — "Apology Pet Corner," for instance, features the icky topic of human-animal sexual encounters. It's the kind of thing you think you don't really want to know about — but yet, you sort of do. Sadly, Apology is no longer being published, due to the untimely death of its founder, Mr. Apology, in a diving accident (although the phone line is still operating at 212-255-2748). TEEN ZINE WRITINGS: A lot of the more hardcore, out-there zine writing is done by teenagers — a perfect example of zines providing an outlet to people usually not heard from, or misrepresented, in the mainstream media. A good teenage zine anthology would be a nice antidote to the "after-school special" kind of writing often geared to teens. INTERNATIONAL ZINE WRITINGS: I don't know much at all about non-American zines (like most Americans, I'd imagine), but you know, I'd like to! This would be a monumental task for some intrepid translators and researchers, but I bet it would be worth it. What zines should be books (and what zines shouldn't)? Make your picks in this week's survey. Jenny Boe grew up in Berkeley and now lives in Seattle, where she writes, temps, and maintains a Tripod homepage. She has recently rediscovered the joys of the International House of Pancakes. © 1997 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved.