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Authenticity, Kant & Digital Pollution

I've had a strangely large number of conversations in the last two weeks about the nature of authenticity, itself a comment on truth as a whole.  Because so much of what life has thrown at us in recent years is composed of digital falsehoods pushing nonsense, linguistic labyrinths meant to confound, and a wholesale weaponization of language forcing ideologies to clash against each other...it can be hard to find the authenticity in life sometimes.  The internet was lauded early on as some great bastion of learning. It was also touted as a way to further connect people of differing backgrounds and ideas. Though presented as a kind of great technological, cosmopolitan symposium like those held in ancient Greece among statesmen and politicians and philosophers, it has become simply another great example of our idealism outshining the reality of what would actually happen. Rather than being a pure way of spreading truth and knowledge, we've basically polluted the digital ocean in t...
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September Updates & Reading List

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SEPTEMBER  (5 books | 1,175 pgs) 35.) Death My Own Way by Michael S.A. Graziano (Novella, 130 pgs) | 3/5 36.) The Goth House Experiment by S.J. Sindu (Stories, 209 pgs) | 3/5 37.) Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha (Stories, 284 pgs) | 4/5 38.) Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison (Novel, 168 pgs) | 2/5 39.) Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Graphic Novel, 384 pgs) | 3/5 * Light month of reading, but I've been hyper focused on revising my resumes and cover letters, submitting to open work positions, and handling some family stuff in the background.  The only book I really enjoyed this month was Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons and Other Stories . More sci-fi-leaning than I typically enjoy, but man that guy can worldbuild his ass off. Great collection of super punchy, vibrant places in some very similar wheres in some very similar whens, albeit VERY, VERY different. I'm shocked it's his first collection.  * Slight movements being made on the next ...
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August Updates & Reading List

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  AUGUST (7 books | 1,259 pgs) 28.) I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall (Novel, 160 pgs) | 3/5 29.) Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez (Stories, 192 pgs) | 3/5 30.) The Divine Farce by Michael S.A. Graziano (Novella, 125 pgs) | 5/5 31.) Dreamlives of Debris by Lance Olsen (Novel, 296 pgs) | 3/5 32.) The Unworthy by Agustina Bazeterrica (Novel, 175 pgs) | 5/5 33.) Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler (Stories, 152 pgs) | 5/5 34.) The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager (Novel, 159 pgs) | 4/5 * I've been out of the loop on a number of literary things the last few years, so I've been turning to Reddit to find out what people are talking about. Several of the books being discussed are already on my TBR shelf, but I fell down the r/weirdlit hole and found some really great stuff that's been triggering my synapses nicely as of late. The Divine Farce and The Archive of Alternate Endings were both great surprises in this way, so I've been switching out betwe...
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July Updates & Reading List

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  JULY  (3 books | 663 pgs) 25.) Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (Novel, 248 pgs) | 3/5 26.) Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Novel, 236 pgs) | 3/5 27.) A Path Through the Forest by Alisha Galvan (Stories, 179 pgs) | 2.5/5 * Pretty slim reading for the month of July. You'd think that, since I quit my job at the start of the month, I would've read more. Honestly, I've been neck deep in work on the next two books.  I've been keeping my "wake up at 5am, eat breakfast, be working by 7am" routine since my last day. It's been especially liberating to grab a nap around 5pm, know it won't jack up my entire next day, and then wake up around 7pm to get more writing done until about midnight. The fluidity of progress is really helping with the ideation, which is really helping with the creation once a piece is ready to have its story told.  I spent most of today putting final touches on more cover art, but mostly in trying to create my own specific "decorative letter...
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A Mid-Summer's Beasting

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A few months ago, I noticed a new woman in the neighborhood. It's possible she's not new and that she only started appearing out in the street within the last several months.  Regardless, I live on a dead end street and I started seeing her on a daily basis. She plods down the middle of the road carrying this child like a giant, limp starfish. Based on the size of the child, I'm guessing they're anywhere from 8 to 10 years old, which seems a little older than should be carried by most parents.  Plus I've seen her out there in 100+ degree heat, stalking up and down the hot blacktop with the dead weight of this child strapped to her chest. She walks to the end of my street and then takes a right, heading down the longest street bisecting my neighborhood. Her walk is not a short one and it occurs multiple times a day.  The child is rarely ever moving much, if at all. My writing partner believes there is some kind of neglect at play, having seen the child in little othe...
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June Updates & Reading List

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JUNE  (11 books | 1,756 pgs) 14.) The Wolf Wants Answers by Joshua Mohr (Novel, 236 pgs) | 4/5 15.) Storyforge: Advanced Writing Prompts for Seasoned Storytellers, Book 1 (Workbook, 100 pgs) | 0/5* 16.)  Storyforge: Advanced Writing Prompts for Seasoned Storytellers, Book 2 (Workbook, 100 pgs) | 0/5* 17.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #20: The Mystery of Monster Mountain  by MV Carey (Young Adult, 172 pgs) | 3/5 18.) Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca (Stories, 281 pgs) | 2/5 19.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #21: The Secret of the Haunted Mirror  by MV Carey (Young Adult, 172 pgs) | 3/5 20.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #22: The Mystery of the Dead Man's Riddle  by William Arden (Young Adult, 145 pgs) | 3/5 21.) You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann (Novella, 128 pgs) | 2/5 22.) Strange Houses by Uketsu (Novel, 208 pags) | 4/5 23.) Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones (Novella...
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Black Mirrror | Season 7 Thoughts

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  Wild year to come back to this series, but I'm glad it's back to allow a little escapism for those of us with darker hearts in need of filling.  And the latest season mostly delivers. Certainly more so than season 6 did, but here's how I ranked those episodes:  S6E1: "Joan is Dead" - This one was fine, if a bit over the top in moments (necessarily so). I give this one a solid 4/5.  S6E2: "Loch Henry" - Loved this one for the tension. It's dark, no one wins, and the use of tech is present in a fun way. My second favorite episode of the season: 5/5. S6E3: "Beyond the Sea" - My absolute favorite episode of this season. Great storyline, great worldbuilding, absolutely brutal ending that's so earned. A super enthusiastic 5/5 for sure.  S6E4: "Mazey Day" - Absolute nonsense. This felt less like a Black Mirror episode and more like a creature of the week thing. The only episode worse than this one was the final one. Barely a 1/5, b...
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