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Oprah Read This to be taken down on November 27th! Hurry Oprah; read this!

October 29, 2010

Hard to believe that the Oprah Read This site has been live for almost a full year. Harder to believe that in just 29 days it will be gone forever. Check out the site now, or you'll forever be denied such wonder stories as... Bleaching Bills with Henry Miller, Jockey Extraordinaire by Mel Bosworth Chinaski’s Nirvana by Chris Deal I Fucked Jane Austen by Christopher Dwyer Is That You, Kurt Vonnegut? by Paul Eckert Untitled Stephenie Meyer Novel by Gordon Highland Dexter Morgan, Marriage Counselor by Nik Korpon Sarah Palin, 12, strikes for workers by Caleb J Ross Mary Gaitskill Makes Shitty Cupcakes by Kevin Sampsell Stephen King Ate My Brain by Richard Thomas I Dreamed I Fucked Stephen King While We Were Both on Vacation in the Cayman Islands With Our Spouses by xTx

My night with Edgar Allan Poe and screaming teenagers

October 24, 2010

(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series) Last night I went with a few friends to the Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe Haunted House in the 12th street West Bottoms area of Kansas City. This has become a bit of a tradition for us, going to the haunted houses, which many people consider to be the best in the nation. Being the literary nerd that I am, the Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe house was especially intriguing to me. This is not to discredit the others (The Beast, The Edge of Hell, and Macabre Cinema - this last one is designed to replicate famous horror movie scenes; I'm looking at you Stephen Graham Jones). They are all great, but being able to experience Poe's stories in full round simply meant more to me. This was the first year for the Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe house, and in being so,…

Read Mel Bosworth’s Grease Stains, Kismet, and Maternal Wisdom

October 16, 2010

Grease Stains, Kismet, and Maternal Wisdom by Mel Bosworth My rating: 5 of 5 stars Mel Bosworth’s second bound book, Grease Stains, Kismet, and Maternal Wisdom, reads like a sequel to the recently released i am here And You Are Gone by Shome Dasgupta. The two books share simplistic linguistic style and an explored relationship that is both as awkward and beautiful as the characters themselves. The hook with this novella, if the somewhat commercial term like “hook” can be used, is the strangely absent origin story of the two characters, David and Samantha. How these characters met remains unsaid, which allows a unique tension in this fairly traditional story. Grease Stains, Kismet, and Maternal Wisdom is a great example of how a single detail is all a true writer needs to turn a story into his story. View all my reviews

My book rating methodology

October 7, 2010

I've been asked a few times lately why I give so many 4-5 star ratings at online book sites like Goodreads and Amazon. "Surely," goes the thinking, "not all books I read can be ranked among the top 80% of all books." Well, actually they can. Here's how. Getting rid of the 1 star possibilities: If a book disappoints me withing the first 50 pages or so, I won't finish it. And by not finishing it, I don't feel as though I have the right to give it a ranking. I can't rate a beer without feeling its hangover, right? This eliminates the majority of 1 star possibilities. Getting rid of the 2 and 3 star possibilities: A book, by the time I open it, has already survived multiple filters, and in having done so, is sure to find my favor. My brethren over at The Velvet and The Cult…

Stay God by Nik Korpon is available for preorder

October 1, 2010

Stop reading this and order the book, dammit! Preorder now. Releases December 16th. Hard Cover: $26.95 Paperback: $14.95

My spine has more girth than yours!

September 28, 2010

In the land of The Kindle, we all have the same size wiener.

Undie Press relaunch

September 16, 2010

It has been a long time coming, but one well worth the wait. Tim Hall's book press-turned-lit mag is now live and looking amazing. I respect Tim Hall, both as a writer and a person, at a level that few others have been able to reach. Not that I'm picky about whom I worship, but of all the gods in my life, Tim is one of the platinums. I met Tim through the Outsider Writers Collective a couple years ago. As a newbie to the site, I was embraced immediately by everyone there, but Tim seemed to reach out just a little further. He's taught me so much about book promotion, relationship building, and being cool (though I've got a lot to learn about that last item). Everyone should abandon this blog post right now and head over to the revamped Undie Press site. I plan on spending some time…