Video Games are Real

Tag: Caleb J. Ross

  • Video book review of The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski (Video Blog ep 021)

    Video book review of The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski (Video Blog ep 021)

    Click the image above to watch the video on YouTube

    I anticipate some reactions to this video book review will be negative. Of those negative reviews, I anticipate 3 response types:

    1. Hatred from those that haven’t read the book, but simply want to defend Mark Z. Danielewski (I understand this feeling, believe me; and despite how I feel about The Fifty Year Sword, I will continue to defend Danielewski, even if only for his potential; House of Leaves remains one of my favorite novels of all time)
    2. Hatred from those who have read the book, and claim that I’m simply too dumb to “get it” (again, I understand this feeling and am willing to embrace this possibility)
    3. Hatred from those who have read it and claim to like it. It’s this last group that I’m most interested in.

    Those of you in this last group, please, please, please help me understand what I must have missed. I want to like this book. I really do. I want to believe that Danielewski’s verse writing is just an awkward trend (I didn’t like Only Revolutions, either, if you must know).

    The Fifty Year Sword will be re-issued in October 2012 should any of you decided to read this book.

  • Video review of Room by Emma Donoghue (Video Blog Ep 020)

    For some reason I tend to shy away from the BIG books, those being the books that rountinely make best of lists, fill the limited space in book review columns, and can generally be purchased at Wal-Mart (not that I have something against shopping at Wal-Mart…I went there just today, as a matter of fact…though, I only do so when hurting for money; see, I can’t agree with the business ethics of the company, and oh crap, I’m rambling). I don’t know if my aversion to widely-praised books can be simply diagnosed as hipsterism, or if there’s something more sinister at play. But none of that matters, as I recently read one such department store paperback, Room by Emma Donoghue, and I really, really liked it.

    Click the image below to watch the video review (links to YouTube).

    Click image to watch video

    What did I buy during my Wal-Mart trip today? The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman. Will my success rate be two for two?

  • Stranger Will to see a new life with a new publisher

    Stranger Will to see a new life with a new publisher

    Many people have been asking me if Stranger Will is to be reprinted following the news of it’s current/previous publisher closing down. The short answer is yes, Stranger Will is to see a new life. The longer answer–to the assumed question of “when?”–is that I’m not 100% sure. I do know who the publisher will be, and I do have a pretty good idea of when it will be published, but I’m a bit of a superstitious geek when it comes to revealing good news. Suffice it to say that the novel should come back even better and bigger than every before, toting extra materials not seen in any of the previous printings.

  • I’m not boring anymore, I swear. Wanna play Dominoes? (Video Blog Ep 019)

    I’m not boring anymore, I swear. Wanna play Dominoes? (Video Blog Ep 019)

    I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately. A lot. Too many. I think I’m falling in love. YouTube personalities (the ones I watch, mainly video blogs, or “vlogs” as those cooler than me can say) aren’t too concerned with polish and appearance (though again, qualifier, many appear quite polished). The personalities, generally, aren’t the focus and purpose of the videos. It’s the passion these people have for their subject matter that’s on display.

    I admit, my watching began more as a study to learn how to bring people to my own author YouTube channel. It was a selfish endeavor. But something happened. Something amazing. I suddenly “got” what so many others have understood for a long, long time: YouTube (specifically the vlog aspect) is a grand, grand thing. I actually appreciate and truly enjoy everyday, non-famous people talking about books. I’ve long loved talking with my friends in person or chatting on forums about books, but when video comes into the picture (literally…ha!) I take on a new appreciation. I suddenly don’t mind listening to people harp on about Twilight or Harry Potter. I’ll never read those books, but the passion these people have (and their general articulateness) makes it somehow okay.

    I’ve created a video that explains how I plan to use this new love to hopefully spread the word about the books I enjoy (yes, the books I’ve authored, but plenty of other books as well; just see my previous videos for proof).

    Click the image to view the video

    Oh, and before I go, a quick shout out to a few of the YouTube channels that have brought me ‘roud to the dark side (a Star Wars reference from me, a guy who has never seen the Star Wars movies; wow this YouTube thing is changing me).

    About Ophelia Dagger

    From YouTube: I have a Master’s degree in Film. Never going to use it. I can also name all 50 states in alphabetical order. I’ve used that a couple of times – mostly in pub quizzes and whilst wooing rudeboys.

    Note: Definitely one of my new favorite things online. She’s quite intelligent, reads great books, and damn funny. Plus, the accent.

    About Unleash This Book Reviews

    From YouTube: 24-year-old English grad who couldn’t find a job after reading books for four years. Now I do this, for free.

  • Interviewed at Slit Your Wrists Magazine, bar tabs, story origins, and suicide – yours, not mine

    Interviewed at Slit Your Wrists Magazine, bar tabs, story origins, and suicide – yours, not mine

    The amazing Laurance Kitts interviews me for his Slit Your Wrists Magazine website, a site that frequent visitors may recognize; my story “Sebaceous” appeared there back in April. Laurance knows how to ask questions without bowing to a person’s ego, so you can read this Q&A without anticipating a pretentious me basking in the warmth of praise. I mean, sure, Laurance does feed me some softballs, but…those are easier to chew.

  • More Perverted Book Covers (Video Blog Ep 017)

    More Perverted Book Covers (Video Blog Ep 017)

    A few episodes back I presented some book covers that, through the twisted lens of perversion (is that redundant?), were made to appear more depraved than perhaps they were meant to be. Here, I present three more perverted covers that you won’t be able to unsee. Hey, I didn’t make these book covers to be easily perverted; don’t blame me.

    Here I manipulate the intentions of Gordon Highland’s Flashover, Rob Roberge’s Working Backwards from the Worst Moment of My Life, and Paul Bowels’ The Sheltering Sky.

  • Vertigo Unbalanced is now available to read FOR FREE in the new Nova Parade anthology from Solarcide Magazine

    Vertigo Unbalanced is now available to read FOR FREE in the new Nova Parade anthology from Solarcide Magazine

    The guys at Solarcide do wonderful work. One could argue that I say this only because they’ve been kind enough to interview me about, among other things, my penchant for domestic grotesque fiction. That One doing the arguing would be wrong, however, as Solarcide has been a refuge for great literary content for long before I tainted them with my talk of familial morbidity.

    Solarcide extends their great work into the world of anthologies with the publication of Nova Parade, a FREE .pdf download collection of stories from some fantastic writers, many of whom I shared space with in the Warmed and Bound anthology, in addition to Nova Parade (my story “Vertigo Unbalanced” appears in Nova Parade).

    Here’s a table of contents for you. Click over to Solarcide to download the free collection.

    • Richard Thomas – On A Bent Nail Head
    • Martin Garrity – Walking On Water
    • Bryan Howie – Tides
    • Bradley Sands – Giant Monster Attack!
    • Nathan Pettigrew – Today Our Future Is Born
    • Tony Rauch – That’s Where Your Real Parents Live
    • Rebecca Jones-Howe – Blue Hawaii
    • Andrez Bergen – An Octopus’ Grotto Is His Castle
    • Jessica Taylor – Just A Man
    • Paul D. Brazill – Catch As Catch Can
    • Chris Lewis Carter – Kill Screen
    • Amanda Gowin – Charlotte & Jolene: How To Make A Baby
    • Michael Paul Gonzalez – Ingénue
    • Jason Lairamore – Jack?
    • Jay Slayton-Joslin – Awkward Mornings Beat Long Lonely Nights
    • Chester Pane – Dreadlocks™
    • Joshua D. Moyes – A Stronger Family
    • Nikki Guerlain – King Neptune Sucks Off The World’s Largest Potato!
    • Caleb J. Ross – Vertigo Unbalanced
    • Phil Jourdan – Vomit As A Talent
    • Laurance Kitts – Poetry
    • Clint Rhodes – ATTN: Human Resources
    • Dakota Taylor – A Day In The Life
    • Jeremy Robert Johnson – The Brilliant Idea
    • W. P. Johnson – Cold Heart