(Review written for The American Book Center)
There are not many writers who I enjoy hearing as much as I enjoy reading them. While seated at a reading, my mind will generally start to wander and I will get annoyed with myself for missing part of what is being said.… Read the rest
Getting Under Your Skin – Scott Sigler’s Infectious Horror Novel
Scott Sigler was annoyed when the publishing world refused to put him in print. So he took one of his ‘books’ and turned it into a podcast, then a free pdf file and several successful, freely distributed online ‘books’ later he now finds himself in print after all, thanks to Random House.… Read the rest
I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell taught me a few things about myself: I would make a lousy drunk and an even lousier drag queen. The irregular hours and lack of sleep would totally derail my tight schedule and the black-outs would also put me off: waking up not knowing where I was, with possibly a naked stranger next to me.… Read the rest
T.J. Parsell has written a book called Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man’s Prison which tells the story of the truth behind all those ‘dropping the soap in prison’ jokes. Parsell was locked up in 1978 for a couple of years when he was a fairly naive 17 year old boy.… Read the rest
Running from Iran and back again – How do you find home when you don’t know where your heart is?
Persepolis tells the story of a smart and rebellious girl who finds herself growing up without a place to call her own.… Read the rest
I seem to have accidentally run into a recurring theme in the books I have been reading lately: mental issues. I am choosing to see this as a fluke rather than a cosmic warning, but it is interesting nonetheless. In Running with Scissors the narrator is actually the most sane person in the book.… Read the rest
Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star sounds like the kind of book you would read with one hand in your lap. But this is not the case – for better or worse, depending on your expectations. It is the autobiography of Rich Merritt, better known in xxx-rated circles as Danny Orlis.… Read the rest
Contains only mild spoilers
I had to race through this book to avoid one of my colleagues from the bookstore blurting out a spoiler before I could get to the end. I succeeded, and what a ride it was. Of course, I will not be spoiling the end for anybody here either, trying to balance being vague and yet specific.… Read the rest
Only a small percentage of communication is done through words. Most meaning is transmitted by the way we say things – inflection, tone – and through body language. Unfortunately, this body talk is a lot more open to interpretation, on both the sending and the receiving side and can get confusing if people come from different cultures.… Read the rest
Working in a bookstore, you regularly come across books that make you raise a quizzical eyebrow. We’re not only talking about vague or flaky books here – like the dubious, but very successful conspiracy book about reptiles secretly taking over the earth – but also morally suspect material.… Read the rest
