What Am I Reading?

I just finished a phenomenal book I had to come on here and share. It's called "Kockroach" and its the debut novel from Tyler Knox, (not sure if that's a pen name, but it's pretty catchy). I picked up this book on something of a whim for a very good price at my local Indigo. Not only was I attracted to the cool cover art, I was also intrigued by the Kafka-esqe premise of a cockroach who wakes up one day as a man.
I've mentioned here before how I'm working on a series of stand-alone pulp novels, which collectively tell a larger, more existential story. The series is called The Mantra and I've only just recently finished my first draft of Book #2, entitled Impetus. Anyway, Kockroach, while nothing like Impetus in terms of plot, takes place in the world of American Existential Pulp, a genre aptly coined by Mr. Knox himself. At the end of the book, there's an entertaining Q&A with the author in which he cites various inspirations and influences for the book--the Kafka story, Metamorphasis, being the most apparent. Also, there's a brief essay on the genre of American Existential Pulp, (AEP), which I found truly facinating. I might add, The sensational 100 Bullets series of graphic novels to his already-extensive list of classic and contemporary works. If you haven't heard of it, I highly recommend it. But start from issue one, otherwise you're robbing yourself of a truly rich storytelling experience.
I've been searching for a more succint way to pitch my other The Mantra book, Minutemark, and AEP fits to a tee. Thank you, Tyler Knox.

Check out Tyler Knox's website at www.kochroach.com for more info

D.A.

What Am I Reading?

Hidy ho, neighbourino!

I realize June was a little bit thin in the blog department, but I do have a life, you know? -- at least I'm trying to.

Yesterday I completed, (reading, not writing -- I wish), book #11 of what is, in my opinion, one of the best graphic novels of all time, bar-none, "100 Bullets."

For those of you not in the know, "100 Bullets" is an ongoing saga, (now over, though not yet for me), penned by the master crime-noirist, (my term), Brian Azzarello and illustrated by his supremely awesome other half, Eduardo Risso. Honestly, where one ends and the other begins in this Heaven-sent collaboration, I shall never dare speculate.

Book #11, entitled, "Once Upon a Crime", encompasses issues 76-83 of the increasingly complicated saga, (don't come in on this one, newbies, you'll be lost), and sports a killer introduction by none-other than Tom Fontana, (no slouch in his own right). The guy created one of my favourite show of all time, (Oz), along with a little show called Homicide: Life on The Street, not to mention a few others.

The series was always intended to go 100 issues, (or 'bullets'), which means I have only two more culminations to devour before saying goodbye to Agent Graves, Dizzy Cordova, Lono, Loop, Mr. Shepperd, (technically already dead, but still popping up on occasion), and the rest of The Trust and The Minutemen. Boy will that be a sad day.

But I digress.

Book #11 delves deeply into the origins of Mr. Sheppard, who met with an ugly, (and extremely cool), demise a few books back, along with the building showdown between the Minutemen and The Trust, which I've been waiting for since...well, at least Book #4 or 5. Not that I'm complaining. That would be like begrudging a spectacular meal cuz it wasn't the rich creamy desert. Speaking of which, Italian temptress, Echo returns in this installment, looking sexy as ever. I know she's a drawing but this girl makes Jessica Rabbit look like...well, still hot too, but a little on the plain side, if you ask me. I can't wait to see where her and her myterious painting fit in to the final picture. But if I've taken anything away from this masterpice of art, literature and pure pulpy goodness, it's that patience is the name of this game.

And it's one well worth playing.

But be warned, you may get a bit dirty.

D.A.

What Am I Reading? - Today I Am a Man

I suppose I should remame this post, What was I Reading? cuz I finished this one about a month ago already, but I've been meaning to give it a little love ever since, and not just because I'm a friend of the author.

"Today I Am A Man" is a solid first novel by my friend, Larry Rodness, who, as I understand it, has been wrestling with this story in one form or another for many years, first as a screenplay, then a novel. His ability to find a publisher and get it out there is a testament to his hard work, passion and persistence and I, for one, really apreciate that, considering I have a few similar ambitions of my own.

The story is divided, not-quite-evenly, into two perspectives; that of an adult Steve Goldman, (the main character), following a bold decision to dish out a little street justice on his son's fifteen year-old bully - and the other, that of Steve, the young man, a recipient of bullying himself during an adventrous school year in sunny Califoria in the 1960s.
The majority of the story centres on the latter perspective as we learn Steve's sorted history with bullying and the lingering pain that went with it. By the time we get all the details, adult-Steve's motives for protecting his son at any cost are considerably more clear. The title refers, not only to young-Steve's impending Bar-Mitzvah, but also the journey of a thousand steps every boy must endure to discover what it truly is to be a man in this world - namely, taking responsibility for yourself, standing up for what you feel is right, and facing your own problems with dignity and courage.

I found the book to be a solid read with a few neat surprises thrown in. The prose moves quickly and the balance between the two time-periods was well-paced, creating a sense of urgency that kept me reading.

As I write this, Larry is hard at work on the daunting task of selling books. I had the pleasure of attending his book launch at Indigo Books here in Toronto, where he performed a series of selected readings and book signings. Since then, he's done a few more and is actively pursuing write-ups and reviews from around the country and beyond.
Recently, he was reviewed by The Jewish Tribune. You can read it here: http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201004202899/First-time-novelist-takes-on-bullies.html

Great job, Larry. Keep up the good work and I'll be waiting to read the next one.

D.A.

What Am I Reading? Fanboy and Gothgirl!

Hi there and welcome to my second exciting intallment of 'What Am I Reading?' For those of you who missed the first...for shame... Okay, I forgive you. You can find it in the archives, in any case. Anyway, in there, I explain the intention of this little exercise, which is to give all you kids out there an idea of how to stay inspired. You know, keep that fire burning under you for those long, lonely days of scratching and clawing and cold...so cold...

Where was I?

Right, 'What Am I Reading?' Well, I'm currently reading three books at once! Impressive, huh? It was actually four, but I just finished one; the one I'll be talking about today, go figure. Two novels and two non-fiction, (financial, cuz I kinda need a little guidance in that area) and the other's a novel called Today I Am A Man, written by a friend of mine named Larry Rodness. He's a first-time author and going places, but I'll have to save that for a future installment.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl, (actual title), is a book I found in the 'last copies' bin at my local Indigo. It's a young adult novel written by Barry Lyga, his first but not last. The reason I picked it up was because I'm something of a fanboy myself on occasion and I guess I gravitated toward the title. Mainly though, I'm interested in the children's/young adult fiction market and decided a while back to immerse myself in stuff I'd like to emulate. I recently re-read The Chryslids by my hero, John Wyndham, which I haven't read since 10th grade and it was even better the second time.

Fanboy and Gothgirl is essentially about an awkward fifteen year old boy who is depressed. Believe me, I can relate - but that's another story never to be told. He's something of an intellectual and a huge comic book nerd but has next to no social experience and a stressful homelife. Since I'm not much of a reviewer, I won't go into too many plot details but I found it to be a well-paced, fairly moving story about growing up and accepting change and...all that fun stuff. As well, I found our 'fanboy' to be an intriquing, very relateable lead character, with which many teenagers can no doubt identify.
When he meets Kyra, (aka Gothgirl), he finds someone even more antisocial than him. Their relationship is surprisingly complex as is the character of Kyra, who is portrayed with considerable depth and realism. I found this to be true of all the characters, actually, even though through the first third or so of the book, I had my reservations. I had thought them to be a bit on the 'cliche' end of the spectrum, until they - along with the storyline - started to go in directions I didn't expect. I particularly apreciated the somewhat unresolved conclusion and complementary theme of change and acceptance being more matters of internal perception than external perspective, but maybe I'm just a moron who reads too much.

Though this was his first novel, I've recently discovered Barry Lyga's growing body of work, including a sequel to this very book called Goth Girl Rising, written, (I presume), from the point of few of Kyra herself. Who knows, maybe I'll even give it a read some time.

I've just completed an outline for a middle-grade novel called Flotsam, which I hope to move forward on soon. Writers like Lyga are excellent sources of inspiration. If you want to check out this book or this author, or if you'd like to learn more about reading...(just kidding), check him out here. http://barrylyga.com/new/

See you next time and remember kids, give a hoot, read a book.

D.A.