Month: August 2013

I’m buying Wise Young Fool this week, the latest from @seanbeaudoin

Hey. Sean Beaudoin has a new book coming out this Tuesday. Wise Young Fool. I have not read it, so I cannot recommend it at this time but I am definitely going to pick it up and if you want to be a lemming and follow my lead you will too.  One of the many anticipated releases on my upcoming books page.

Like it has a guitar on the cover and it’s a raw-throated punk rock black comedy love story.

If you’re a book nerd / person with a perverse interest in publishing, I recommend reading his long post on The Horrors of Self-Promotion.

The Lackluster Spectacular Now: Not Your Favorite New Teen Film

I went to see The Spectacular Now at the Arclight Cinerama Dome.  Hopefully my opinion isn’t colored by the curvature of the screen.  I came with high hopes; the film has been fairly well reviewed.  And I mean c’mon.  The movie is called SPECTACULAR!

But I felt it was an uneven unrealistic portrayal of teenage alcoholism.  Out protagonist, Sutter Keely is at a turning point in his life.  He’s drinking his life away, trying to please everyone but he’s fairly directionless.  Spoilers after the jump. Continue reading “The Lackluster Spectacular Now: Not Your Favorite New Teen Film”

My local independent bookstore @Vromans sold me an $18 slip of paper…I can see this going poorly

Chris Colfer (of Glee!) is coming to Vromans next Sunday at noon. Preorders for the ticketed event started today. I went down to my local branch (Vromans has a main store and a satellite in Hastings Ranch which is a bit more convenient for me to go to) and I bought one.

Well I think I bought one. I have a receipt that said I prepaid $18 although it doesn’t say what I prepaid. And I didn’t get my ticket that says my place in line (B group! I swear) … making me wonder just what is going to happen. Do I come back to Hastings Ranch to get my book and ticket the day of the event and then go to the main store?

J— assured me everything will be fine. I hope he’s right.

Winger by Andrew Smith (@marburyjack) or the words won’t come.

What I really hate / love is when I finish a book and that book has caused an emotional reaction in me.  There have been a few over the years and these books are the GREAT books which keep me reading, keep me suffering through other books which are not great books.

I cannot write a review of Winger.  I just don’t have the facilities to express myself.

“Hahah[a] he broke you” – Alethea. Continue reading “Winger by Andrew Smith (@marburyjack) or the words won’t come.”

My Thumbs Up to Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters

Today (yesterday) was a big event down at the Glendale Americana…a signing event for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters followed by a screening!  I have a poster signed by Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Levin Rambin, Brandon Jackson and Douglas Smith.  I of course didn’t think of a single relevant thing to say to them and didn’t take the opportunity to embarrass myself with exclamations of adoration or anything amusing to blog about.  Nice people.  I didn’t try to get them to sign the book…  Of course if I could get Logan to sign anything… probably would be my DVD of Perks of Being a Wallflower.

And then afterwards was a 3-D screening of the new movie.  I really enjoyed it.  Not just because I saw it for free or because I was plied with complimentary popcorn and soda.  The movie itself was enjoyable.  Maybe it will only interest people who saw the first film; but I thought it was fairly fun. Continue reading “My Thumbs Up to Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters”