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!
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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.
A drinking playlist. A brilliant idea, or the brilliantest idea? Lori, over at The Next Big Book Blog was kind enough to have be back after my August stop at her blog when I read my story "Petty Injuries." This time, she asked me to supply a drinking playlist, which is exactly what it sounds like: what to drink to elicit or compliment specific moods, specifically with regards to books. I outline for you a playlist according to my novel, I Didn't Mean to be Kevin.
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.
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.
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.
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…