We get #Faulknered with this, the second edition of We Play: Famous Drunk Authors Driving Drunk.
Category Archives Video
I was tagged by MartheBozart to do this 10 Influential Books tag. The basic idea is that I choose 10 books that have been influential to me in some way. I decided to group my 10 selections into books that influenced me as 1) a reader, 2) a writer, and 3) a...well, this tier is miscellaneous.
A video book review of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - The Goldfinch is a big book, both in physical size and ambition. What initially seems like a straightforward story of a teenage boy dealing with the death of his mother turns into an epic coming of age story that teases the us, the reader, with where our emotional investment should reside. What am I drinking: Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout from Sam Adams
Named for poet Sylvia Plath, who famously killed herself by sticking her head in an oven, Plathitudes is a game that involves writing fake sympathy cards for the grieving family of people who died in strange ways. Think of it like The Darwin Awards meets Hallmark Cards. Get it? Platitudes/Plathitudes? No? I hate you. Learn more about The Darwin Awards here Learn more about Sylvia Plath here Learn more about ovens here
What I read: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (just a few dozen pages left, so I'm considering it a win) Radium Girls by Amanda Gowin What I'll be reading: White Noise by Don DeLillo (seriously this time) Incarnations by Chris Deal What I'll be drinking: Rubaeus Raspberry Ale from Founders Brewing Co. Love Child #4 from Boulevard Brewing Co. Championship Ale from Boulevard Brewing Co. Imperial Biscotti Break from Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut Break from Evil Twin
This makes two videos in a row in which I wear a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds shirt and drink Sexy Betty Imperial Stout. No, I'm not a slob drunk; I simply recorded two videos in a row. Amanda Gowin's Radium Girls is all sorts of interesting. It's weird, it's heartfelt, it's wavering, it's beautiful, it's poetic, and it's a bunch of other things I can't think of right now because I'm tired. You should buy this book!
Even the Holocaust Can be Funny: a video book review of The Humor Code: a Global Search for What Makes Things Funny by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner - I’ve read a lot of comedy studies books. Well, three, but that’s a lot compared to most people, because most people aren’t sadists. Luckily, this book isn’t like most humor studies books. This one is readable. It’s interesting. It actually contributes to an overall better understanding of, wait for it, what makes things funny (appropriate subtitles are all the rage right now).