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.
Tag Archives American Psycho
[vsw id="RzOv9nlnepc" source="youtube" width="600" height="400" autoplay="no"] Stephen Graham Jones is incredibly prolific. Seriously, The Least of My Scars was published in late 2013 and already, as of March 2014, he’s got at least 3 other books out that I am aware of. But what’s incredible is that the man doesn’t skimp on quality. The Least of My Scars is no exception. This book is incredible. Similar to Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, The Least of My Scars is told from the perspective of a serial killer with whom the reader has no empathy. But somehow, Jones (and Ellis) makes it work. I’ll be studying this book for a very long time. Intro easter egg: WheezyWaiter http://www.youtube.com/user/wheezywaiter (can it really be an easter egg when it’s probably pretty obvious and definitely a complete rip-off?) Buy The Least of My Scars from Amazon.com
No matter the reality, books feel to most of us like the last bastion of commercially untouched culture available to us. We see product placements in every TV show and movie, and ads occupying every inch of livable off-screen space, but books seem to be pretty much ignored by advertisers. Why is this? I’ve been hired by Caleb J. Ross Enterprises to explore this question. Oh, and for all of your enterprising needs, call on Caleb J. Ross Enterprises: “Enterprising Since Even Before Star Trek.” Mentioned in the video: Unexpected Literary References blog category: https://calebjross.com/category/lit-references/
Rules are important, especially rules that govern how to write effective prose. But, in the hands of masters, those rules can be broken to great effect. I this, this newest episode of The World's First Author Video Blog, I examine how three well-known books--Brett Easton Ellis' American Psycho, Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, and Jose Saramago's Blindness--break basic writing rules, but do so successfully. After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos