Trying Syd's Book Experiment

Last January, Syd decided that while she has read many, many books, there were large gaps in her reading history. She hasn’t actually read that many classics, beyond those associated with the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres. So she read Dracula, The Maltese Falcon, Pride & Prejudice and so on. It was an attempt to step outside of her comfort zone and see what else is out in the greater world of books.

Well, it’s harder for me to step outside my own comfort zone, because I’ve at least made a valiant attempt at a wider spectrum of books. However, I’ve got a few lined up. The first thing is going to be Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. It has also been suggested that if I don’t read Silverlock pretty damn soon, my father will kick me in the ass.

So that's going to be the first two. I will make a serious attempt at at least one book a month, and if I read two then the second doesn't count. This means I can't read four books in January and then skip until May. I will have to come up with 10 more books though. As I understand Syd's Rules: The books have to be classic enough that someone teaches them somewhere. They have to be books I've either never read or never actually finished when I was assigned them in school. I'm adding in the rule that it can't be a sequel to a book I've read before. So it wouldn't be any good me reading book seven of a series where I've already read books one through six.

Since I've never actually read any Kerouac, his road book should make a good first entry. I'll let you know a few days after New Year's...

Two

This

The Word

Brothers and Sisters – Chapter Two: Introductions all round

Chapter Two

Introductions all round

 

 

March 27^th, 2003

4:16 p.m.

 

            Tommy was able to sit up on the hospital bed, although he looked to be in some discomfort. His hands and upper arms were bandaged and although he had taken pains, the back of his neck had a large bandage taped across it. There was the yellow amber stain of antibiotic soaking through the white cloth of the gauze that they had wrapped around him. His face was uncut though, and for that they were glad.

 

            Jack entered the room first, followed by The Weirdo and Max came after them. Tommy watched them through the haze of the morphine they were feeding him through a drip. It was only because of this drip that he was able to sit on his rump at all.

 

            “Hi.” Tommy said. “You’ve come to take me home?”

 

            “We have indeed.” The Weirdo said.

 

            “Where are the girls?” Tommy asked.

 

            “Sheila thought it would be funny if they showed up in really tight nurses costumes they claimed they already own.” The Weirdo said. “I’m not going to ask why they already have them, what you do in your own time is your business. As they went looking for them we slipped out and told Marla to explain it.”

 

            “We figure she’s encouraging them to wait till you get home. Hospital stays are quite expensive and there’s no need to extend them any further than necessary.” Jack said.

 

            Tommy began to get up and looked pained as pressed down on the bed. He hadn’t wanted to say anything, but he’d burned his hands fairly badly by grabbing a metal post. He’d seen The Weirdo do it and thought they were cool enough to touch, he’d been wrong. The skin had burned quite badly, and now they hurt. That is to say the pain was excruciating, or at least really bad. It seared its way past the morphine, and directly into his brain. The Weirdo saw him wince, if only for the moment.

Little deer

A Serious Discussion of My Own Depression And Why “The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol” Is the Worst Thing I’ve Ever Seen

This isn’t going to be one of the fun reviews, with lots of screen caps and funny captions that people can put on pintrest. I’m going to take this thing to task, but not in a fun way. I didn’t even want to do it, but I came across something I wrote in a piece of fiction a few years back.
“If you have a talent, you're responsible for how, or if you use it. Letting it go to waste is as bad as misusing it.” And I have a talent for explaining why things are bad. As far as I can tell, I’ve never been able to convince someone that a movie is good, but I can convince them something is shit! Not an enviable position, perhaps, but I’ve got a talent and I’m going to try to use it for good this time.

I’ve decided we’ve got to talk about this, we have to have a conversation about this thing because it’s evil and wrong and if I don’t warn people, I might feel responsible later. Let me be frank about this, so that we don’t misunderstand things. This is not a fun little cartoon, it is harmful, it is DANGEROUS! You should not watch this damn thing, no one should watch this thing. This is less a review and more of a warning, because watching this could drive someone to suicide. I’m going to discuss this in personal terms, since that last sentence seem hyperbolic, so I’ll explain....