Caleb J. Ross, author of novels and surfer of internets

Write Even When You Aren’t (Writing) (Video Blog ep 031)

October 10, 2012

No book review from me this time. Judging by my recent history, it’d be a wise guess to say I do little more than read and review books. But such a guess would also be wrong. I also lounge in hotel chairs and talk about the problem of not writing as I—get this—don’t write. Are you a writer who sometimes has trouble…performing? Then this pill…uh, video… is for you. Don’t kick yourself for letting your partner down. Lack of writing happens to everyone. Really. It does. Even me. I hope my courage can be your courage. Also, did you know Jim Lehrer writes fiction? Yep. A lot of it.

Video Review of Quintessence of Dust by Craig Wallwork (Video Blog ep 030)

October 6, 2012

At times William Gay, at times Carlton Mellick III, but always, I’d say, he dodges what would traditionally be called Bizarro fiction by way of empathy for his characters. He’s Bizarro with heart…so, magical realist, I suppose. He’d fit in more with Amy Bender and Gabriel Garcia Marquez than with Carlton Mellick III or even Bradley Sands, but is strong enough in the world of any to be welcomed by them. Wallwork isn’t afraid to take a strange, even repulsive concept, and build a touching story around it. A story of a man shitting out his own nerves? Sounds ridiculous, but Wallwork makes it work. A sexual sideshow couple famous for inserting increasingly large objects into the woman’s vagina? Yep, but it gets even weirder, yet Wallwork knows how approach these images with honesty and heart.

Look mom, I made the cover of Noir at the Bar 2

October 1, 2012

Back for another round of booze, blood and bad taste, Noir at the Bar continues its assault on the literate world. Contributors include: Jedidiah Ayres, Frank Bill, Jane Bradley, Sonia L. Coney, Hilary Davidson, Les Edgerton, Nate Flexer, Matthew C. Funk, Jesus Angel Garcia, Glenn Gray, Kevin Lynn Helmick, Gordon Highland, John Hornor Jacobs, David James Keaton, Tim Lane, Erik Lundy, Jason Makansi, Matthew McBride, Jon McGoran, Cortright McMeel, Aaron Michael Morales, Scott Phillips, Robert J. Randisi & Christine Matthews, John Rector, Caleb J. Ross, Duane Swierczynski, Mark W. Tiedemann, Fred Venturini, Benjamin Whitmer and Nic Young You will definitely need to order this collection. Available (exclusively, I think) via Subterranean Books (online and in person), based in St. Louis, Missouri. The store is amazing. Help the indie bookstores, order a copy now! Click here to order Noir at the Bar 2

Ranking Chuck Palahniuk’s novels from Most Important to Least Important

September 29, 2012

Chuck Palahniuk is an important writer. Love him or hate him, he’s done more to bring reading to uninterested demographics than almost any other author. But how do his books rank? I decided to take some time to (as) objectively (as possible) rank all of Chuck Palahniuk’s novels from Most Important to Least Important as a way to help hew readers find the right Palahniuk book. What makes for an important book? It’s not necessarily a good story or well-written prose. I believe it’s a mixture of both, along with contextual relevancy, or “impact. For purposes of this list, I will be weighing the social impact of the book above any other metric. Here’s the list Socially relevant Fight Club (machismo and consumerism) Survivor (cult of celebrity) Invisible Monsters (cultural importance of and priority placed on beauty) Maybe socially relevant Haunted (the reality TV obsession and “Truman Show Syndrome”) Pygmy…

The Conan Sometimes References Books Twice (in a Row)

September 26, 2012

(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series) The title from this September 25th, 2012 episode is a take on the James M. Cain novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice. This makes two book references in a row. Not only is this not the first time Conan has referenced a literary work in his episode titles, it's not even the first time he's referenced The Postman Always Rings Twice. Someone at the Conan O'Brien show must have a bit of a Cain boner.

Conan in the Rye

September 25, 2012

(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series) The title from this September 24th, 2012 episode is obviously a take on Catcher in the Rye. This isn't the first time Conan has leveraged a book title for a show title.

Getting the Signed Book – Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (Video Blog ep 028)

September 22, 2012

A few years ago I attended a writing conference in Portland, Oregon called the Tin House Writer’s Workshop. During the event, I met a lot of great authors, one of which was Denis Johnson, author of, among many other books, Jesus’ Son. This newest installment of Getting the Singed Book features my heroic story of how I got my copy of Jesus’ Son signed by the author. It involves, among other awkward situations, the author nearly, almost, kinda drinking my pee. Read all about this almost happening at Dark Sky Magazine, here: http://www.cjrlit.com/DrinkingPee And don't forget: subscribe to my YouTube channel, subscribe to my YouTube channel, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe!