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Video Book Review of Legion by Brandon Sanderson (Video Blog ep 038)

November 7, 2012

Legion by Brandon Sanderson is a quick, fun, enjoyable read. The problem for me may be that it’s ONLY a quick, fun, enjoyable read. But that’s my personal crap, I understand. I generally like a different kind of book, one that forces me to think a bit more. But again, that my personal, elitist crap. Why shouldn’t I be able to simply enjoy a book rather than deconstruct it? It makes no sense. In fact, I should read more stories like Legion by Brandon Sanderson. I’m not being snide here; I really should.

Literary Fiction vs. Genre Fiction: A War of Terminology (Video Blog ep 037)

November 3, 2012

Literary vs. Genre. It’s a debate had mostly by linguistic and book nerds, one that honestly has no effect on anything important, so why even have it? Shut up! That’s why!

Video Review of Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (Video Blog ep 036)

October 31, 2012

Who knew the memory was so misunderstood? Well, memory scientists, maybe, but surely they aren’t going to admit that; it’d be like admitting that they aren’t good at their jobs then, right? Sorry, this video is a conspiracy theory thing, I promise. It’s actually about how interesting the book Moonwalking with Einstein is. How interesting? Very.

Imperfections Make for Interesting Characters (Video Blog ep 035)

October 24, 2012

Really, the title of this entry is all I need. Imperfections do make for interesting characters. Nobody wants to read about a perfect human (unless the story deals with the human’s perfection as a weakness in contrast to the rest of the human race). Even Superman needed Kryptonite to be interesting. I re-learned, during a recent trip to New Orleans, that a writer should embrace the imperfections.

Burning Books (Video Blog ep 034)

October 20, 2012

Though we’re just past Banned Books Week, I don’t think it’s ever too late to celebrate the majesty of systematically stripping away a person’s right to choose literature. But I don’t just want to stand on the sidelines and praise those beautiful nutjobs. I want to help. Banning books can only do so much. To really make a point, you have to burn books. Here I present a few examples which I hope you will copy so that we may all live in a better world.

Spoiler Alert Alert: This Video Burns Spoilers (Video Blog ep 033)

October 17, 2012

I don’t agree with the avoid-them-like-the-plague concept of spoiler alerts. To me, if a book can be spoiled by a simple plot revelation, then it’s not a book worth reading. I read for the journey, for imagery, vivid description, the language, concept, and on the list goes, but what remains interestingly absent from this list is plot. I don’t care much about the plot of a book. But that’s me. I know I’m in the minority. So don’t be surprised when I continue to write *SPOILER ALERT* every time I tell you that Tyler Durden and the narrator of Fight Club are the same person.

Why I Couldn’t Finish Reading The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano (Video Blog ep 032)

October 13, 2012

It takes a lot for me to abandon a book once I've started reading it, and that struggle becomes more and more serious the further I progress through said book. So, perhaps this is why I was able to drop Roberto Bolaño’s The Savage Detective after reading just over 1/3 of the book (though, 1/3 is often too far for me to abandon a book; I suppose this speaks to what a true waste of time I felt The Savage Detectives to be). First, to address any of the friends who suggested I read this book: my faith in your taste is not diminished in the least. I believe my grip is mostly a matter of personal disinterest in the subject matter. I mean, no matter how good a book about baseball is written, I wouldn't be excited to read it. The Savage Detectives is about teenagers without responsibility who worship poetry, yet refuse…