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Book Review: ‘An Ember in the Ashes’ (2015)
The short: 3.5/5 ✦. Features a unique plot, intricate world-building, and insightful characterization that’s ruined by pervasive romance. The long: This book was frustrating. Good – but frustrating. I...
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Essay: Mental Vacancies –‘Dubliners’
“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.” — James Joyce As psychoanalytical critic, Ross C. Murfin, observes, “We are all...
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Book Review: ‘A Passage to Shambhala (The Explorers Guild)’ (2015)
The short: 3/5 ✦. A lengthy, somewhat dense book that mostly captures the aesthetic of early 20th century literature but fails in the most important aspect: heart. The long: This book wasn’t at all...
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Book Review: ‘The Muralist’ (2015)
The short: 3/5 ✦. A somewhat bland fictional story taking place during a fascinating historical era. The long: Just like The Explorers Guild, this book came across my radar as it was advertised in...
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Essay: In Which Ginsberg Uses “America” to Discuss Propaganda
“America how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood?” — Allen Ginsberg Sometimes, talking to yourself is the only way to have an intelligent conversation. In Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “America,” in...
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Book Review: ‘Illuminae’ (2015)
The short: 5/5 ✦. An fast-paced, exciting, horrifyingly fascinating epistolary novel that rocks the stars as much as the genre. The long: I was super excited to read this book. I love epistolary...
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Flash Fiction: Invisible Worth
“Mirrors should think longer before they reflect.” — Jean Cocteau It was Reflection Day. The High Court called it the Day of Determination, but to everyone else, it was Reflection Day – the annual...
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Book Review: ‘A Darker Shade of Magic’ (2015)
The short: 4/5 ✦. An excellently written novel with blood magic, black magic, Red London, Grey London, fancy coats, a future pirate captain, and the young magician caught up in it all. The long: It’s...
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Essay: Allen Ginsberg and America (Or: How He Learned to Ignore Propaganda...
“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” — Allen Ginsberg Like most people living in the United States circa the 1950s, the prolific poet, Allen Ginsberg, was frightened by the threat of...
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Book Review: ‘Steelheart’ (2013)
The short: 4/5 ✦. A fast-paced, action-filled, super-powered novel that subverts (almost all) expectations. The long: Things I liked about Steelheart: That David was a Nerd with capital N. That David...
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Flash Fiction: Transcendence
“The best horse doesn’t always win the race.” — Irish saying It was Philip’s first time at the racetrack. He clutched his ticket in both of his sweaty hands as he wandered away from the booth. The area...
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Book Review: ‘Bits & Pieces’ (2015)
The short: 4/5 ✦. A varied collection of interesting, sad, heroic, and zombified short stories of the Rot & Ruin series. The long: I think I’m in love with the title of this book, simply because it...
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Essay: Down on Skid Row
“The city, no matter how small, is corrupt and unrepentant, while the sun shines brighter in the country, making people more wholesome.” ― Lori Lansens, The Girls “The common image of the country is...
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Book Review: ‘A Monster Calls’ (2011)
The short: 4/5 ✦. A beautifully moving novel about grief, love, sacrifice, and monsters. The long: It’s hard to review a book like this, because a book like this is hard to dislike. A young boy’s...
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Journal: January 2016 Challenge
“Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.” — Christina Baldwin It’s time for another end of the month journal roundup thing! Yay! Again, these are technically supposed to be done on a daily basis,...
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Book Review: ‘The Accident Season’ (2015)
The short: 3.5/5 ✦. A well-written, if utterly baffling, book that ends up being more than what it seems. The long: I’ll be honest: this book confused me. Now, I consider myself to be a relatively...
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Essay: We Are All Just Prisoners Here
“Country things are the necessary root of our life – and that remains true even of a rootless and tragically urban civilization. To live permanently away from the country is a form of slow death.” —...
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Book Review: ‘Firefight’ (2015)
The short: 4.5/5 ✦. An excellently thrilling middle novel in this exciting, trope-twisting trilogy. The long: I really need to work on managing my expectations. To be fair, when you read a lot of...
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VeggieTales in the House Review: “The Great Ice Cream Chase” / “The Guppy...
The first and second episodes of Season 2 of VeggieTales in the House, now available on Netflix! In “The Great Ice Cream Chase,” Bob gets his tonsils removed, and in “The Guppy Whisperer,” Jimmy and...
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Short Story: A Matter of Time
“But know this; the ones that love us never really leave us.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban “I’m back!” Holly announced. She set her newly acquired coffee on the low wooden...
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