The Worst Book to Film Adaptations

Before I do this, I just want to say that it makes me want to rip my hair out every time I read these lists. Why, you ask? It's because you can tell that most people compiling them barely read. Most are filled with children's book adaptations and Twilight. And you know what? The Twilight films, while they suck, are actually better than their source material.

Book Review: Cloud Atlas

Admittedly, I had never heard of this until I saw a story about the film, on the news. This is probably going to go down as David Mitchell's magnum opus. And rightfully so, it's very creative for a book that has commercial appeal. I don't want to tackle the various motifs and plot, per se. I think that spoilers are immanent if you dissect someone's work like that. But I do want to talk about what I liked and didn't like from a more literary viewpoint.

First off is the complexity. The only reason I'm addressing this first is because it's been touted as a main selling point. To anyone who's taken on authors like Gaddis, Joyce, Wallace, Pynchon, etc, the plot will read fairly streamlined in comparison. However, I don't think it was ever Mitchell's intention to be too mysterious, ambiguous, and base his plot on underlining, complex mathematical themes. It's definitely accessible to anyone. Also, I think the complexity hype has more to do with the average reader experiencing some substance for the first time in their lives. And in that regard, it has more creativity and meaning than 99 percent of what you'd typically find on the New York Times' best seller list.

Book Review: Shada

This is the novelization of a rushed script crafted by the late, great Douglas Adams. And this monumental task was given to a current Who writer, Gareth Roberts — not to be confused with Garathian Roberts: current ruler of Theta Gorb, in the Quarg cluster.

As both a fan of Doctor Who and Adams, I can tell you without question that I was excited for this book. Although, and to be quite honest, I kept my reservations fairly grounded, to my surprise, he really hit the nail on the head. And having never read the script for Shada, I can't even tell where Adams stops and Roberts begins; this is all a fan could really hope for.

From a Doctor Who perspective, we are treated with a tale of my favorite, and arguably the best, incarnation of the doctor, the fourth: famously portrayed by Tom Baker. And I feel that his character was represented and translated very well, except the lack of jelly baby offerings! And as much of a cliche that became, it still made me laugh, every time.

Stop Combining Science Fiction and Fantasy Into the Same Category!

Yes, I know there are some pretty big literary awards and many shows, books, and films that blend them into science fantasy, but we're not really talking about stuff  like Star Wars; we're talking about how it's become acceptable to categorize two different types of stories into one "geek" category — because something like Dragon Lance totally has everything in common with a book like Contact.

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

I'm truly sorry, but this was too tempting. And unlike many people, I've actually sat down and read it. It's a fucking Twilight fan-fiction originally titled Masters of the Universe, no association with He-Man, that was actually published and has become a New York Times best seller! What planet is this? You'd expect this insanity could only occur in an episode of The Outer Limits. But before I get started, I can sum up my thoughts with an E.L. James quote from the actual book itself:

"Why does he want to know this? It's so dull."

Book Review: Infinite Jest

This is a book that runs the gamut of fan types: you'll get your hipster who read it in a week and thinks it's hilarious and "ironic."; you'll get your Pynchon, post modernist snob who thinks Wallace is a hack because his prose isn't confusing or artistic enough; you'll get scholarly types who describe attributes of it, that may or may not even exist, in complex academic wankery; you'll get passive readers who've gone through some classic lit and think Wallace was just a showy pedant who wrote a boring, narcissistic book. And lastly, you'll get people like me. And really, I'm just in awe of the genius involved. I'm going to do my best to explain why because it really isn't apparent to everyone, even though it should be.

Book Review: So, You're a Creative Genius ... Now What?

This is a difficult book to review because it touches on so many bases. And ultimately, I think there is a little something in it for everyone. Have you ever thought of a career in freelancing your creativity? It's a road I know all too well and have had mixed results with. But Carl King, on the other hand, has it figured down to a science. And it's all inside this book!

First off, it's really well written and stylish. I read a lot of non fiction, and this is one that presents its material in an informative / entertaining way, which is really engaging and effective. I'd even say it's hard to put down. So, this creative genius wound up reading it all in one sitting.

Why Twilight and Its Fans, Suck

I really wanted to do a Skyrim post, but I'm still compiling a list of things I love and hate about it. Speaking of hate, Twilight: Breaking Dawn came out the other day. This normally wouldn't be enough for me to make a blog over. But today I saw a TV documentary on its fans called Twilight in Forks / The Real Town. For the longest time I was comfortable thinking that Twitlight fans were mostly teenagers, their moms, emotionally-empty-twenty-something-year-old-women, and boys who will follow female trends subconsciously — just to get laid. While this is still true, there is an even sadder subset.

Anti-literature Douchebag Alert!

Today, I was pointed towards a blog on Tumblr (it's old). It was written by one of those highly opinionated people who use dry humor and sarcasm to make points. I know, right ... what a loser! In all honesty, this sort of sentiment isn't new. In fact, it's older than dirt. I'm not going to tackle all the obvious exaggerations and sweeping generalizations. But when you strip away all the "humor," you are still left with someone discouraging interest in Wallace — which isn't fucking cool with me.

Who do You Write Like?

While reading Writer's Digest, my wife came across a link to this interesting writing analyzer. It works better if you put around a page of text, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was told how much, in my fiction, I sounded like Wallace — before ever hearing of him or reading his work. I entered a page that I wrote before, not prior to (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_sQrxAorDo), reading Infinite Jest. And it was from my current Novel, which is a work in progress. Either way, I'll take it!

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!