Amazon reviews are such full of crap. At least, that what it seems to me. For instance, check out these reviews for a book on revising fiction. The only one that seems authentic at all, to me, is the one that gives the book 3/5 stars. All the others seem to have been written by mindless marketing lackeys. "I'm a multi-published author and I just ( Read more... )

 Arthur C. Clarke died today.   I loved his Rama series.

x-posted from my journal

For some reason or another, I recalled Orson Scott Card's work the other day. Never has a work of fiction filled me with such revulsion. I don't understand how Card can be considered a "giant" of science fiction, not with the tripe he produces. His "big baby", Ender's Game, had an okay plot and somewhat good characterization, but Card revealed he ( Read more... )

So what's your feelings about JK Rowling revealing that Dumbledore is gay? Old news, sure, but commentary is always fresh. (Otherwise we wouldn't have professors teaching history ( Read more... )

Zoetica Ebb and friends have released a new art/culture/hoopdeedoopty blog/print 'zine and you should go read it because it has interesting articles and the stuff in the photography section is lovely and it's all gathered right there in one spot for you so you can be a lazy bastard and still get your culture! Here is Zoe's exact propoganistic push ( Read more... )

I just read Straight Man by Richard Russo.

This is the funniest book in the history of mankind.

Read it.

( A bit more indepth report on the book... )

Both a bump to see if anyone is around and a genuine question.

I'm taking East Asian Studies this year, and my class has the fortunate assignment of reading such heavy stuff as The Analects, the Chuang Tzu, the Teachings of Zen Master Lin-Chi, the Collected Poems of Du Fu, and The Carnal Prayer Mat, which looks like an erotic novel ( Read more... )

How are those of you that read Harry Potter finding Deathly Hallows?

For those who haven't heard of Paulo Coelho;

1) What kind of rock have you been living under?
2) Go buy a copy of The Alchemist right now, and, if you have a little extra cash, pick up a copy of Eleven MinutesFor those who have heard of him and have read the book that made him world famous and may have, like me, been a little less than impressed ( Read more... )

Please bear with me on this one. I feel the need to explain not only the whole skunk fetish thing, but also offer a bit on fabulist fiction for us to discuss. Because really...the whole thing is just damn peculiar.

( Fabulist fiction and skunk fetishes )