French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon

The French have, to me, some severe habits and expectations when it comes to eating. And that's just fine. While this book wasn't as enlightening as I hoped, in inspiring me to eat better, I was repeatedly aroused by the sense of culture that can exist in other places. I hardly notice the traditions and expectations that exist in our country.

And there are some french ways I think would be nice. Over there, kids at every school have a two hour, six course meal at lunch, teaching them to eat a variety of healthy foods with healthy habits. French don't eat alone, which could be a good thing, especially when you're one to go for more slices than you should. They don't have to deal with the shame of eating bad, because they habitually eat good and avoid obesity-causing habits at a young age. But alas, we live in America and tend toward the ways of those around us.

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy

This story was too juicy to pass up, and I'm glad I read a massively popular piece during it's hype. Who wouldn't want to read this child star's horrific account of massive success? I was a little bit shocked by some of the awful things Jeannette's mom did, and I'm also glad for her to have died.

Let's avoid spoilers. If you're at all interested in stories of child stardom and abusive parents, I think you might as well pick this one up. Maybe you just like reading and don't know what next. This can be your next book. McCurdy's narrative is both hilarious and tragic. Sometimes I think to be a good writer, you also have to know how to be an entertainer. Such is the clear case here.

Lurking: How a Person Became a User by Joanne McNeil

While this book contains a lot of negative feedback toward our current state of internet and social pedia, McNeil also gets pretty sentimental about the earlier days of the internet. I felt more than a little sappy when she compared being on Myspace to having been at Woodstock.

If you're at all interested in how our social nature has changed while diving into a ton of extra information on the websites that invented the habits that are now second nature, then I would recommend Lurking. It was a fascinating, though sometimes depressing read.

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

I'm not entirely sure where Zen comes into this book, as Bradbury fills every page with passion and excitement for writing. This collection of essays tells much of Bradbury's own story with much practical advice to those who write stories.

I found it very inspiring and encouraging. If you wish you wrote more, like me, I suggest this one.

Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk

As you know, I'm a writer of fiction with hopes of someday showing a novel people like you will want to read. So I picked up yet another book on the craft of narrative fiction. And it was pretty good. Palanhiuk talks a lot about his life as a writer, while giving the best practical writing advice he could put together.

So I very much appreciate his elaboration on the tricks he uses to hook readers, though you should be able to figure it out by reading his other books. Now I know, if I had the talent, how to write like Chuck. While every writer intends to have their own style, I do see the value in what he shares.

If you're a writer, I definitely recommend this book. And like most books by authors on writing, he included a long reading list, mostly of stuff that inspires his own work. Stuff heavy on hooks and voice. All good stuff.

The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games by Bitmap Books

I don't know about you, but I have wonderful memories playing adventure games on my family's old 486 pc with DOS and Windows 3.11. Even a terribly callibrated joystick, I was enchanted by the fun scenes, characters, and stories in the games of Lucas Arts. I was one of the lucky ones to experience the end of this golden age of adventure gaming, highlighted in this book.

This hefty volume dives deep into the careers and methods of the guys who made not just the ones I've experienced, but hundreds of other adventures. A good half of present pages are comprised of screen shots, show-casing scenery and perspective as a powerful tool in story telling. There are a few editorials, but the bulk of the text is in interview form.

And I like that. The designers of the games themselves are likely to have the most astute things to say about their work. However, a lot of these interviews go over the same kind of stuff, starting with the same types of questions. While I'm interested in what it might have been like to work at Lucas Arts' Skywalker Ranch and make the transition from working with EGA graphics to VGA, I didn't find much value in the recounting of similar experiences. But that's a small peeve.

That's a small peeve, and I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves game design. While most games have an element of story telling and adventure, there's a lot to be learned from the releases that, for decades, did it best. The Art of Point-And-Click Adventure Games leaves it readers with something more meaningful than its nostalgia trip, and I'm looking forward to reading everything Bitmap Books has to offer.

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

This was more of a guidebook on how to become unblocked, as a "blocked" artist. So I was supposed to read a chapter a week, and do homework. It took me a while to get into the habit of following the directives, so it took me a while to get through the book. I never considered myself blocked, though I could always create more art. Sure. Mostly, I was looking for tips on gaining the confidence necessary to put more words on pages.

Cameron insists on invoking the great Creator, from whom our work flows. They are in charge of the quality of our work, and we are in charge of getting it done. If we accept that our creativity is a gift from God, any fault in our work can be directed to Him. And there are a lot of things like that in this book, much like a twelve step program.

And while I've made a few changes to my habits and my thinking about art, it's yet to be determined whether this book has had a profound, positive impact on my artistic path. That being said, I haven't done all of my homework, and I haven't gotten much better at nurturing my inner artist. Maybe, by the time I've finished all of the homework, I'll no longer feel so bitter about how some things have turned out for me, and I'll have more courage about the work I share.

But The Artist's Way did help me to find a sense of direction, better aligned with my values. And for anyone out there who is a blocked artist, and would like to get back into the habit of doing creative things, I do recommend this book. I think it would help a lot, at least to get the ball rolling.

A Room of One's Own by Virgia Woolf

You might consider this Woolf's original (pre)feminist manifesto, originally used in lectures at the few women's colleges of the time. Even today, I think this could be an adequate foray into feminist ideas, especially for someone who has never thought about the work that has gone into patriachy, for patriarchy. Though I don't think Woolf used such terminology, mostly talking about the (then short) history of women in literature, and perhaps inventing the concept of Shakespeare's brilliant sister.

Woolf also had some very forward-thinking, though probably not applicable today, ideas about gender fluidity, seeing the writer within as a woman. That's why men were so threatened by women, superior writers, in fiction. However educational, I don't think this is the ideal book for any who seek empowerment while oppressed by today's weird world.

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

This book has a lot of the lessons you might have gotten from a professor in your classes on literature or creative writing. Francine Prose likes the classics, and she dissects them; not for the quality of their plot, but for the quality of their words. She teaches us what the great writers did that made their works great, which is useful. Reading a lot of books, it would make sense for me to notice the good and useful techniques of others.

Most books I've read so far on writing have focused mainly on producing a sellable novel, which is a pretty normal goal, completely ignored by Francine Prose. So there is the goal of getting published and the aspiration of creating great literature, but what about retaining a love for the work? There must also be a book on that, somewhere.

How Not to Write a Novel by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman

As you might know, I've been working on my third novel. It's been a fun time, but I do want it to be good. The greatest thing that slows my work is the trepidation with which I approach each session, knowing my work is going to suck. And I've been trying to build self-confidence in every way I can fine. How Not to Write a Novel has helped to some extent. I'd already deduced most of its advice by watching lectures, and reading other books on writing. Still, I really appreciate it's quick, strong, good advice. I highly recommend it to anyone in my shoes.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

This one was pretty good, in the realm of self-help. I had at one time, delved into Dale Carnegie's 'How to Make Friends and Influence People', but I just didn't see myself ever being Dale's kind of guy. Covey denounces Carnegie's 'personality ethic' in favor of a character-focused self image. He explains the principles that make people truly valuable to one another.

I think self-help writers spend too much time telling stories of how their methods work, when one can never be too sure until they try it for themselves. Still I thought this book made a ton of good points. If you want to have constructive, synergistic, meaningful relationships with others, but don't know how, then I strongly recommend this book.

Lord of War (feat. Nicolas Cage)

From Saturn Films, the company who brought us Next, we have Lord of War. It's an autobiographical-style film, like The Weather Man or Blow (with Johnny Depp), only it's about a big league gun runner. I kept expecting Cage's character to immediately turn into an action hero, but he doesn't. Instead Yuri Orlov (played by Cage) goes on a hero's journey, going darker and darker, providing more weapons for more deaths. Even still, he can't cease to be a human, with human feelings. What conflict!

There are some very cheesey times, like a modern version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, playing in full during the film's most emotional moment. There's also the part when Yuri and his brother Vitaly (played by Jared Leto) get into cocaine, and Eric Clapton's Cocaine plays in the background. Leto's Vitaly cooks at the family restaurant, always rocking his cool emo hair, and never ages as the early 80s roll into some time in the 90s.

I almost expected this film to be based off a true story, because most of the characters do behave like real people, and make the types of decisions real people make. The credits tell us it's based on true events, but to what specifics? Maybe they just said that to scare me, and make me tell others how they must see it. Ethan Hawke also has a small, surprise, role. His presence alone might grant this film a few extra ranks, but no... I had to be fair! Still, I take liberties regarding personal taste. A silly romantic comedy will always win over a serious movie about gun violence and tragedy.

1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Adaptation
4. Birdy
5. Wild at Heart
6. Color Out of Space
7. Peggy Sue Got Married
8. City of Angels
9. Lord of War
10. Gone in 60 Seconds
11. Matchstick Men
12. Vampire's Kiss
13. Con Air
14. Face/Off
15. Honeymoon in Vegas
16. The Family Man
17. It Could Happen to You
18. 8mm
19. Ghost Rider
20. Next
21. The Weather Man
22. The Croods

On Writing by Stephen King

I think this is a good book for the aspiring writer. King talks about carving out the story and discovering all of its facets, instead of outlining. And I see the arguments for outlining versus discovering the story. However, I don't think King can write every kind of story. Mostly he writes the kind of stuff he writes, and it's great stuff.

Subtitled 'A Memoir of the Craft', the first part of this book told King's life story. Though interesting, I was a bit disappointed until he got into the section called 'On Writing', in which he gave tons of practical advice; all kinds of stuff your creative writing professor won't tell you. King would know, he was once a high school english teacher.

Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin

I've read Le Guin's Earthsea books and found them to be classic and altogether pretty cool. But also boring for high fantasy adventures. Le Guin is however, a master in her own way, and I'm trying to read as many books as I can about writing and how to write a good novel.

Steering the Craft is just the book I wanted. A how-to on the craft of narrative storytelling. It even contained writing excercises and tips for whenever I find a writing group, which may never happen. Le Guin thinks I need to show more of an interest in the classics. She is also of the opinion that great stories don't need conflict. Okay. I'll think about that later. Thanks for the tips.

How to Avoid Making Art (or Anything Else You Enjoy) by Julia Cameron

I read the ebook of this, expecting it to be a longer, with more details. Among illustrations, it illuminates all the excuses people make for not doing creative work, no matter how passionate they are. Often alleged artists don’t know how to get back on track, especially once they’ve gone into adult mode. The need to be artistic is often trumped by the need for security.

It is commonly considered responsible to follow every suggestion made by our parents, employers, and the fear-mongering media. Why should we be troubled to make art? We are exhausted from doing everything we are told and if we are doing everything we are told, then why should we need to do anything else? Due to our lack of creative fulfillment, we find ourselves compelled to follow even more responsible suggestions.

By eliminating creative outlets, I find people tend to remedy their lack of satisfaction by consuming more instead of creating anything. Why not? Don’t you sometimes feel guilty in the face of so much targeted advertising? Tangent over. This book doesn’t go into any deep theories, however it does show that excuses can take a lot of time and effort to validate. I know what it’s like to want to make more art and to not do it. If you find yourself in that situation, I strongly recommend this little book. It's probably at the library.

The Last Days of Socrates by Plato

Sometimes in life I have a hard time solving for Y.* You too? Suppose there is a certain wisdom to admitting you don’t know the answers. Suppose there is evidence of the afterlife in our inherent human forms? The Last Days of Socrates is a collection of Socrates’s most notable and important dialogues. As you might expect, he was a next-level thinker. Thinking was what he was passionate about and why not? If you are really good at thinking, then you can likely rationalize your way out of all suffering.

I probably could have read more about this book before diving in, but philosophy seems like a tough thing to summarize. In his Phaedo argument, Socrates tries to prove reincarnation with the same logic of why two can never be three at the same time. Aside from this last (near death) dialogue, I think the rest of his arguments are quite nice.

Of course I would like to learn some more modern philosophies but it seemed logos to start at the beginning if I am going to co-opt any preexisting worldviews. Should you read The Last Days of Socrates? Sure. Especially if you are pretending to know about philosophy.

*Solving for Y is a reference to an episode Pete and Pete in which Ellen boycotts math because she can’t use algebra to solve for Why.

Little Girl Lost by Drew Barrymore with Todd Gold

Little Girl Lost is like a very long magazine article. It's comprised of Barrymore's autobiographical narratives, always followed Todd Gold's tell-all pieces, regarding Drew’s childhood descent into drug and alcohol addiction. I was interested in seeing how children do end up doing drugs and alcohol, since as a kid, I didn’t know where to begin. I remember 6th grade rumors about kids who were druggies and burnouts. How did they manage that?

Sometimes I forget that not all parents are as involved in their kids lives as mine were. I’m lucky my parents were married and my mom was usually home until my younger sisters were old enough to go to daycare. Of course you might argue that Drew Barrymore was lucky, due to being a rich movie star. And I wonder if there are a lot of people who overlook every other factor because they’re mad about not having wealth, as if being rich or famous would make them a better person. Look what happened to Drew. Would we be interested if she were not rich and famous? Maybe. But we’d probably also never find a book of her story.

The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

The Bullet Journal Method is really cool. Did I need to read a whole book on it? No. In fact, the supplemental book to the popular method is mostly compiled of self-helpy analogies while intermittently telling you how to BuJo. The BuJo method is, however, very cool. I consider it a solid 3rd party supplement to my functionality.

Are you one of those people who wants to do things but ends up instead not doing things? Do you think it would be helpful to keep track of your activities and experiences? The Bullet Journal Method is designed to keep us on track with our goals while living intentionally. I think it’s great and you should try it out. There doesn’t need to be a book about it unless you’re assigning a book to your team of corporate underlings who still don’t know how to properly manage themselves.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

I got the ebook and read Deep Work when what I meant to do was download and read this book instead. I’ll admit it. At times, I have been addicted to Facebook. Sometimes I don’t want to think. I just want to scroll the feed and find out what everyone else maybe thinks before I act on anything because I’m afraid to act or be noticed because everyone on the internet is saying mean things about each other. So I took this step to control what I use the internet for.

It feels strange to forcefully remind myself of my intentions before I do (or while I’m not doing) anything. But it must be done if I want to retain control of my time, instead of just letting social media devour my time and attention.

If you struggle with this kind of thing, Digital Minimalism would be a good book for you. It feels like a rushed supplement to Deep Work, which I think is a better read. I think Digital Minimalism is longer than it needs to be, overstuffed with self-help things when it could be something short and pointedly useful. Like it or not. We all need a little self-help, right?

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Like anyone, I have a bit of an attention deficit when sitting at my computer. Any time I have to wait for anything, I want to hop on over to the other tab and see if there are any new posts, emails, notifications, deals, news, etc. I even have a hard time keeping my eyes on the page as I’m reading. So instead, I will just sit there for who knows how long. To Cal Newport day dreaming seems fine, especially when it is intentional.

As it turns out, we have a lot to think about and we don’t always give ourselves time to do that thinking. So we end up having anxiety and what do we do when we’re anxious? Often we try to distract ourselves from our anxieties and end up in a constant state of distraction.

I used to always just like to have something on in the background, like a boring tv show. As it turns out, I work more effectively and think deeper thoughts without distractions and interruptions. Newport hypothesizes that deep work is becoming increasingly rare at the exact same rate it is becoming increasingly valuable.

I buy it. Deep Work suggests many strategies for achieving deep work and enhancing the effectiveness of the work you do. It’s a great read if you are interested in someday expanding on your sense of achievement.