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August 7, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of The Wrack by John Bierce

The Wrack by John Bierce My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. I also completely understand why this book seems not to have worked for many of my fellow reviewers. It’s not a traditional narrative with characters who have arcs. The main focus of the book is The Wrack,...

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July 19, 2021

The Letters of Tolkien

I recently read The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. I did a Goodreads review of the book that may help a fan of Lord of the Rings, or even just someone who is curious about Tolkien, decide if the book is for them or not. On the blog, I wanted to talk a little more about how the book made me...

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June 29, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of Sandkings by George RR Martin

Sandkings by George R.R. Martin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of my favorite George R. R. Martin short stories/novellas. It’s done in the style of a typical Twilight Zone episode, which is no coincidence as Martin worked on an iteration of that show as well. What really sells the story for me is the concept of...

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June 27, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of Ghost Hunters Adventure Club

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau by Cecil H.H. Mills My rating: 4 of 5 stars Literary juggernaut, Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills has made a transition into young adult literature that is delightful as it is surprising. Many thought that the failure of his magnum opus “Cerberus, From on High” would be a career ender,...

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June 23, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of Promise of Blood

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan My rating: 3 of 5 stars There’s some interesting things going on in this book, but ultimately it is not my thing. I’ll admit a slight bias here in that I have never liked a book where the narrative and prose take a back seat to the magic system. I’d happily play an RPG...

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June 12, 2021

Ben’s Book Review Philosophy

Goodreads and 5-star Ratings First, let’s talk about the “Goodreads problem.” Goodreads is a troubled site that most of its active user base hates. The technology and design of the site are outdated. There are numerous bots and hacked accounts that go around liking posts in an effort to get you to click on their shady, shortened urls. In a...

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May 23, 2021

Shocking Scenes: How Far Is too Far?

Editing your own podcast can be an introspective experience. We record Words About Books episodes much faster than we can edit them. Often, enough time passes between recording and editing that I will have forgotten which points we brought up. I definitely do not remember what exactly I said. It may interest listeners to know that Nate does not share...

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May 17, 2021

Nate’s Top 5ish Guesses for How Twilight Ends

Hey everyone it’s me, Nate. I promised you Twilight blogs and damnit I’m giving you twilight blogs. If you haven’t checked it out yet, Ben and I read Midnight Sun for the podcast. So as I’m reading the book I’m going to share with you my conspiracy theories on where I think the book is going yet. Please note I’ve...

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February 18, 2021

I Think Ready Player One Is Bad

This is the first time that I have ever started writing a blog post about a book before we’ve recorded the episodes for said book. Such is my hatred for Ready Player One. In my Goodreads review for Ready Player One I called it “the worst and most intellectually lazy book that I have ever read,” and I mean that...

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February 14, 2021

Cynical English Class With Professor Ben

First things first: I’m not a professor. I’m not an educator of any kind. I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, and I’m not even particularly good at that. Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I understand that there are sensitive issues wrapped up in what I plan to talk about, and I very much want...

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