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'Ready Player One': Fun Ride or Commercialized Nostalgia?
January 3rd, 2018
You’ve seen the trailers, you’ve seen the book, and you’ve seen the movie tie-in cover they insist on printing even though NOBODY WANTS IT. Is Ready Player One a reference-heavy, cynical, nostalgia vampire feeding off the good memories we have of other pieces of media? Or is it a good book? Or is it both? What the hell is it?
Read Column →10 Resolutions to Help Make 2018 Your Best Reading Year Ever
January 2nd, 2018
Well, now that the dumpster fire known as 2017 is behind us, I suggest we fully embrace the social construction of New Year's resolutions and try to make the world better by reading more. Here are some suggestions that could make 2018 your best reading year so far:
Read Column →All the Way There: The Best Books of 2017...Part 2
December 29th, 2017
Back in June, I wrote about the best books of the first half of the year (Halfway There: The Best Books of 2017...So Far). Now that the year is almost over, it's time to look at all the good stuff that came our way since then. Here are the best books of the second half of 2017, in no particular order.
Read Column →Why Microsoft Word's New Grammar and Style Corrections Suck
December 28th, 2017
Microsoft Word has always been that know-it-all prick that's correcting your spelling and grammar. It HAS to interrupt you while you're talking, and you get the distinct feeling that it's not really listening to what you're saying. It's like telling your friend, "And that's when my dad done died." and your friend says, "You really shouldn't say he 'done' died." The newest iteration of Word corrects more than ever. Wordiness? No more, says Microsoft. Cliche? Not here! Jargon? Excised. Er, replaced.
Read Column →How to Reconcile the Writing Life and Faith
December 26th, 2017
Faith has been an important aspect of my life since I was a child. My family did, in fact, pack everything up and move to Italy because we believed it was God’s calling on our lives.
Read Column →The Top 10 XXXmas Books
December 22nd, 2017
Holiday season a little too cold for them bones? Heat things up with some erotic Xmas sexcapades. Just make sure the kids are nestled all snug in their beds, visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads. Because we don't want them accidentally seeing mommy and daddy's sugar plums, now do we? Enjoy responsibly.
Read Column →Harry Potter and the Merry Christmases, Ranked from Worst to Best
December 22nd, 2017
Christmas is in town and everyone’s gleeful, putting up decorations on Christmas trees… unless you’re Harry Potter, who is not a normal teenager. Poor Harry has experienced some pretty traumatic Christmases over the years, since the day also happens to be a plot point that figures pretty importantly in Rowling’s narrative arc.
Read Column →Why You Should Never Buy A Writer A Notebook
December 21st, 2017
It’s a no-brainer. Your friend, your mom, your person, is a writer. You aren’t going to buy them a new Macbook. You thought about gifting that vintage typewriter until you tried to lift it, learned it weighs 800 lbs, and priced it at about a dollar for every one of those pounds. No problem. You go with a notebook. Simple, practical. Supportive. Good choice, right? Maybe not. Hear me out.
Read Column →7 Books to Read After You've Watched Netflix's ‘Dark’
December 21st, 2017
This year Netflix has really brought their A-game with great television shows like Mindhunter, Ozark, and Stranger Things Season 2. But Netflix’s first German-language original series, Dark, may top them all. Co-created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, Dark has drawn comparisons to Stranger Things due to various thematic similarities, though in terms of tone and aesthetic it has much more in common with the likes of Les Revenants, Forbrydelsen, and even Top of the Lake.
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