Five...Plus More

A listing of recommends and things that have caught my attention lately...

1) The End of the F***ing World. Best show I’ve seen all year. It’s a mini-series on Netflix about two dour (and destructive) teens. Think reverse Moonlight Kingdom. With just eight twenty-five minute episodes, The End of the F***ing World is the perfect binge watch.

• “The End of the F***ing World”: The Rare Convincing Teen Romance

2) Miami Heat “Vice” jerseys. They’re beautiful, that’s all.

3) Shinsuke Nakamura. Somehow I went deep on WWE superstar Nakamura, a Japanese import who has the most interesting style and entrance music I’ve ever seen. While I haven’t paid any attention to pro wrestling since I was a teen, diving in on Nakamura — and his backstory and growing US fanbase — was a nostalgia call of sorts. Also, I did a little look see at Asuka, another Japanese import who just won’t the woman’s side of the Royal Rumble (which Nakamura did for the men).

• Shinsuke Nakamura's SummerSlam 2017 Entrance
• Royal Rumble Winners: 10 Things Fans Didn’t Know About Asuka (And 10 About Shinsuke Nakamura)

4) Echo Fox. I have been playing League of Legends for about a year now. “Playing” is an understatement, but that’s okay. Originally my friend just got me on-board so we could follow the eSport, but now I crave hour long sessions of LoL. Anyway, I’ve thrown my support behind Echo Fox (based on logo alone), which just happens to be owned by ex-NBA player Rick Fox. League games are weekly and I’ve not only been following Echo Fox but also signed up for a fantasy team of LoL players because why not?

• NA LCS Logo Rankings (2017)

5) Danny Chau, “Chau Down: A New Orleans Food Diary.” It wasn’t the food talk that captured me, but Chau’s reflections about his immigrant family. Specifically this, from the beginning:

"My brother’s first meal in America was a piece of fried chicken. It was specifically the aroma wafting within the car that he remembers so fondly, the smell of something completely foreign. That was his first memory of the States, a Proustian moment so vivid even our cousin retells the story as though it were her own. My dad’s first memory of America was of the giant mosquito that bit him just as he opened the airport doors. Two generations, two different perspectives; one rapt by the newness of it all, the other acutely aware of the challenges ahead. I was two years away.”

6) Night Call. A new podcast from Emily Yoshida, Molly Lambert, and Tess Lynch, three ex-Grantlanders whose old podcast, Girls in Hoodies, was brilliant. Their chemistry is unparalleled. The debut episode starts with a discussion about shower rat and then segues into Paddington 2 and Black Mirror, which is exactly as to be expected from "a free jazz blend of pop culture theory, internet fascinations, and venture down a plethora of half-baked conspiracy theory rabbit holes."

7) The Girls, Emma Cline. I completely missed this 2016 literary hit, but have read it now and it’s great. Ostensibly set around the Manson Family murders, Cline’s multi-million dollar garnering debut book is better than expected and it’s really not about the salacious hook at all.

8) Jada Yuan. The New York Times was looking for someone to travel to their 2018 places to go, one per week for a year. They found her! Margot and I were speculating who the NYT might pick and Margot wasn't far off. Yuan is a half-Asian, a writer (mainly of celebrity profiles), and of a nice medium age. Let's all follow Jada on her adventures!

• She Has 52 Places to See and One Year to Do It
• I Tried Dating in 6 Different U.S Cities. Here's What I Found Out (2017)

Five Times Five

Once upon a time I did semi-weekly feature of five things I co-sign. I should bring that back actually. Anyway, here’s a short list of things I’ve been intaking, because making lists is the best way to feel productive.

Also, speaking of lists, I just found out about BJ Novak's (Ryan from The Office) iOS app, The List App. It's essentially a social network based around sharing lists. You can make lists about anything, and the blank prompts include "what I wanted to be growing up, chronologically," "my go-to karaoke songs," and "my favorite emojis and why." It's the non-generic lists that are really good though. Go download the app and take a look.

Podcasts

• Food News - Fifteen minutes of news including a taste test to conclude each episode. Juliet and Jacoby have the best chemistry of any podcast hosts. Unfortunately, Juliet just resigned from Grantland so I think the show's over. The archives are worth digging through though. Come back Food News!
• Explain Things to Me - Anna Akana and Brad Gage do interviews with people about their areas of expertise. I wish I had started this podcast... I wish I knew Anna Akana...
• Dear Sugar - Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond, the original Sugars, take reader submitted questions and offer their advice.
• Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men - If you're into the X-Men (comics), this duo is going through back issues in-depth. I think they're up to when Storm takes over the Morlocks, so it's solidly when I was still an avid reader.
• Pistol Shrimps Radio - The Pistol Shrimps are the "Hottest Pickup Basketball Team in America." And I wouldn't disagree. I've been following via every available platform for awhile now, and this podcast is captured live in-game. It's the most unbasketball basketball podcast around.

iOS Games

• Neko Atsume - Kotaku called it "The Japanese Game That We Can't Stop Playing" and it's absolutely true. I got many people around me hooked on it and most of my spring/summer was spent taking care of digital cats.
• Mitchiri Neko Mix 2 - If you like one Japanese cat game, why not two?! Mitchiri Neko isn't quite as addicting as Neko Atsume, but there's a fun Pokemon collection-like thrill in mixing two types of cats together to create another one. And this music video for the game, "Mitchiri Neko March," is all sorts of amazing. I bet you can't resist putting it on repeat. Guide to Mitchiri Neko 1 & 2.
• Vainglory - I've never played a MOBA before. And now I play the shit out of this one. I started off using Hello Kitty Koshka, but now I'm a Krul guy through and through. I need to stop playing this game. If you play Vainglory, friend me! And if you need a good podcast about the game, may I suggest The Fold?
• Fallout Shelter - A sort of Tiny Towers game but with far more interactivity. It's a post-apocalyptic world and you need to rescue dwellers from the wasteland and keep them healthy and alive. Plus armored. I got really really into this for a few weeks.
• Dreeps - It's an "alarm playing game" where your character goes on an RPG-like adventure but all you do is set an alarm. I don't actually know what I'm doing yet but I love the art, music, and idea of the game. Also I like saying "dreep!"

Songs

• Nightcrawler, “Road Blaster" - Found this under a YouTube channel called NewRetroWave. Sounds as enticing as it, well, sounds.
• Passion Pit, “Where the Sky Hangs” - I forgot how much I like Passion Pit. And I kind of miss posting song's on AMR's music blog, The End Starts Today.
• Miniature Tigers, “Oblivious” - The best part of a so-so movie, Sleeping with Other People. Also makes for a pretty good Spotify Radio lead track.
• Justin Bieber, "What Do You Mean?” - The lyric video features skateboarding. Also, this song is undeniable. Don't deny it.
• Phil Collins, “I Wish It Would Rain Down” - Someone made a rain inspired playlist on my Spotify and this track called out to me, from 1989.

Articles/Sites

• Judy Syfers "Why I Want a Wife"  (1971) - "My God, who wouldn't want a wife?"
• The Short Form (Oct 2012 - Mar 2014) - A two person operation, Sarahana and Peter, recommend short stories and link to excerpts. Kind of great, even if they seemed to have shut down.
• Jenny Zhang, "They Pretend To Be Us While Pretending We Don’t Exist” - There was a big thing with where a white poet used a Chinese name and subsequently got into The Best American Poetry anthology. Zhang has a great response.
• Geoff Manaugh, "A Burglar's Guide to the City” - Looking at a city and its buildings through the eyes of criminals. This is the book for me!
• "I Could Do That!" - An art curator explains to you why your kid went to art school.

My League Pass Teams

• Boston Celtics - Duh!
• Minnesota Timberwolves - I have both Ricky Rubio and #1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns on my fantasy team. I'm invested.
• Los Angeles Clippers - Having Paul Pierce added on just makes this better. I want the Clips to win it all this year! But they probably won't...
• Milwaukee Bucks - Long limbed weirdos at every position, plus great uniforms and court!
• Sacramento Kings - Will Rondo add to the destruction? Or just keep Rondo-ing?
• Brooklyn Nets - Actually I'm not really watching them, so much as waiting for them to lose so the Celtics can get their first round pick.

Miscellaneous

• The Best Toaster - The Sweethome review I've been waiting for!
• Lenny Letter - Lena Dunham's feminist newsletter / magazine interviewed Hillary Clinton for its first issues and features bylines from some of my favorite Internet follows.
• Luke's Change: An Inside Job (2013) - An alternate theory about what really happened to the Death Star...
• Solo-ish - From the Washington Post, a column for the "unmarried, but far from alone..."
• Artist Suffering From Anxiety Illustrates Mental Illnesses As Real Monsters - These illustrations from Toby Allen are amazing.

Five Times Five

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) What Claudia Wore. Babysitter's Club fans, this one's for you. Everyone else, this is also for you. 

(2) Signing Tour: The Reality TV Show. I would like to expand on this and take it to the next level. The level where it actually happens.

(3) Life in Publishing Tumblr. I usually can't do animated GIF blogs but this one is just too good. Plus a companion Why Authors Are Crazy version. Whoever you anonymous geniuses are, thank you.

(4) Let's Discuss Disqus. As Disqus is my preferred commenting platform -- Blogger's generic comments are the worst -- here's Forever Young Adult's breakdown.

(5) Help Revitalize Books of Wonder. If you go to any children's book events in New York, you know about BoW. Now they need some help so go donate at their Indiegogo campaign!

Five O'Clock

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) McSweeney's Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. There's a reference to Balki Bartokomous. That is all.

(2) The Klein Pyramid of Literary Quality. I like when people try to structure things. Also, I'm totally into Cheryl's podcast, Narrative Breakdown.

(3) Bad Little Children's Books. These are just wonderful aren't they? "A Good Place to Hide the Body Parts."

(4) CBC List of Recognized Publishers. I found it of interest to see how many books each publisher pumps out annually. Yes, someone published zero...just like me!

(5) Writing in the Dark. "I sometimes think I would give anything to be a morning person -- one of those writers who wakes naturally at six, does an honest day's work by noon, and is free to socialize all evening." Never I say, never! #niteowls4eva

Five by Five

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Against Enthusiasm: The epidemic of niceness in online book culture. I've been thinking this myself. How much nice is too nice? I think it should be two bad things said for every one good. Oh wait, that is not the golden rule. (Also Emma Straub's response.)

(2) The Best Blogs for Young Adult Books. A definitive list, finally! If I'm only following two of the top ten, does that mean I have crappy taste in YA blogs?

(3) Once Upon a Time: The lure of the fairy tale. The best article I've read all year about the Brothers Grimm. Coincidentally also the only article I've read all year about the Brothers Grimm.

(4) Jessica Corra. A personal blog of a YA author that is both introspective and well, personal. It reminds me of back in the day when blogs were intimate and quiet. Start with this entry, "Worth and the Writer." Jessica's After You comes out Spring 2013.

(5) Social Media is Not the Bullet. If social media is supposed to be a marketing tool, I've been weaponizing it all wrong. Wait, it's not for posting overly enthusiastically about things?

(*) Also, this NPR Best-Ever Teen Novels is such a sham. Don't people see that it's all link bait? Don't you see?! "Voting is now closed. Check back next week to see the list of 100 winners." A hundred winners? C'mon. We all know the real winner here is NPR. (I would vote for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Where the Red Fern Grows but one would probably be deemed too violent and the other too sad for today's impressionable youth.)

Starting Five

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) YA Bashing as an Excuse for Teen Bashing. I really couldn't love s.e. smith's blog more. It's the smartest blog about young adult books out there. And it's not even a YA blog.

(2) Nora Ephron on books that made a difference. I'm currently reading through Ephron's collections of essays now, so this was a nice companion piece.

(3) Natalie Whipple's Inside A Year Post Book Deal. Her advice for what to do is pretty much spot on: work on the next book.

(4) How to Have a Career: Advice to Young Writers. "Calling enemies out in public makes you look weak; in the company of others, act as if no enemy could possibly hurt you." What's not to love?

(5) What is NetGalley? In the aftermath of ARCgate, here's an introduction to e-ARCs and how to get in on the action. I'm excited for eARCgate already!

5 & A Dime

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Atlantic Wire's YA for Grownup series. You knew about this weekly column from Jen Doll right? How about the The Guardian's teen books section?

(2) Sara Sciuto of Full Circle Literary. Literary Rambles just did a fantastic spotlight on Sara from my agency!

(3) Get Your Mermaids While They're Hot. I've been patiently waiting for the mermaid resurgence for awhile. I thought they were set up to take out vampires and werewolves a few years ago but maybe now is finally the time.

(4) Dear Publishing Industry, We Need To Talk. Kristina Springer (My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours, The Espressologist) wonders where the rom-com books went.

(5) The Gossip Mill: Devising the perfect teen entertainment. You might have missed this 2009 article by Rebecca Mead focusing on YA packaging company Alloy Entertainment. Here in full if you don't have access to New Yorker archives. Bonus: Mead wrote the seminal blog article, "You've Got Blog," way back in 2000.

Five Stars

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) The Return of the Novella, the Original #Longread. Everyone loves a comeback story. Also, I'm all for lower word counts.

(2) Ashley went to the San Diego stop for the YA or Bust Tour. And it was the best night ever! (Sadly I couldn't attend so I'm living vicariously.)

(3) Why I'm Nervous About a Film Adaptation of The Fault In Our Stars. From the always thought provoking s.e. smith.

(4) No Sympathy for the Creative Class. Wait, there's a pampered class of artists in the US? Where are these people? How do I get in?

(5) End of Gender: Not Your Mother's Storybooks. A look at children's books for kids who don't conform to their gender. And also, Lee Wind's blog I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? is top quality.

Five On It

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Getting By on a Writer’s Income. Written in 1981 but still very relevant. I mean, except sardines probably aren't 15¢ a can anymore.

(2) Allison Winn Scotch's entire blog. My favorite author blog out there! Allison's fourth book, The Song Remains the Same, drops this Thursday. Everything else is great every day.

(3) How Game of Thrones Masters the Art of Adapting Novels for TV. I haven't read the books, and can't commit to the TV series, but this was interesting anyway.

(4) DRM is crushing indie booksellers online. Ruth Curry of Emily Books adds to the anti-DRM debate. I'm with it.

(5) Five Web Comics Writers Should Read. SM Robertson had me at "squid."

District 5

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) What Occupy can learn from the Hunger Games. With the Hunger Games movie coming right around the corner, I love how people have tried to tie it into everything.

(2) Downside to Rereading. Wicked is a great book, end of story.

(3) Michael Chabon Attacks Prejudice Against Science Fiction. I don't really get why science fiction and fantasy needs constant defending, but then again I don't really get why people play tower defense games either.

(4) Something Geeky. Where does Vanessa Di Gregorio finds all these amazing images? I'll just keep hearting them and saving special ones for iPhone wallpapers. Art Deco Mega Man!

(5) The making of a blockbuster. You've read this already, I'm sure. A fellow author tweeted: "That story about how Hunger Games became a blockbuster is everything I hate about the industry I'm in." Hmmm.

Five Spot

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Why I Don't Want to Join Your Shitty Book Club. A strong stance to take. Personally I would love to join your book club, but nobody ever asks. Sigh.

(2) YA March Madness Tourney. There's a sci-fi/dystopia, paranormal, contemporary, and a fantasy bracket. It's a shame you can't place bets on these and make an office pool. Or can you?

(3) Amazon & The Importance of Popularity. Everything is like high school, everything.

(4) On the Rise of the Book Trailer. Just give me a synopsis and few sample pages. Unless Ryan Gosling or Emma Stone is in your trailer, then I'll re-watch it over and over again.

(5) Lisa Simpson Book Club. I was never really into The Simpsons but this is gold. This is a book club we can all get behind.

Five Step Plan

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) 25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore. I'd like to work in a book store someday but they've never called me back. Not once.

(2) Cometbus #51: The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah. The history of Telegraph Avenue's book stores, as told by one of my favorite writers.

(3) How Many Book Sales Equals "Success?" The easy answer is "more" but that's probably not precise enough.

(4) A Call for a Unified E-book Market. Proprietary formats suck. Kill the DRM too, whatever that acronym stands for.

(5) The Plagiarist's Tale. Want book deals, critical acclaim, fame, and a pity me memoir? Just start mashing up novels! Excuse me while I go remix a few best sellers.

Five Cents

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) YA Book Club. I heart the logo for this book club. Okay that's not the reason I'm joining. Okay maybe it is. This month they're reading The Fault In Our Stars.

(2) Bad review bingo. Definitely my new favorite game. Now I just need to gather a living room full of defensive authors together to play. Can I count on you plus one?

(3) John Scalzi answers when you can call yourself a "writer" or a "good writer." My personal answer for both is: "Tomorrow? Please?"

(4) Possible Problems and Obstacles for Superheroes to Face Besides Supervillains. They left out "bad movie adaptations" but that's alright, I still love Superhero Nation because it offers advice on how to write, edit, and sell novels and comic books.

(5) 2012 YA Releases About POC. In case you didn't know, "POC" is "people of color." Please say you knew that.

Five and Dime

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Diversity in YA Fiction website and tour just came to an end. So sad, so true, but here is Melinda and Cindy's wrap up post!

(2) Plotto: The Master Book of All Plots. 1,462 plots for you to use. I guess it's more varied than following Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey arc right?

(3) How Not to Blog: Beginning Blogging for Authors Part II. If I could find the proper motivation I'd like to do one of these posts as I have some strong feelings about author/writing blogs.

(4) Can a YA Writer "make it" as an indie? Katie Klein's been at it for a year and she's here to share her insights and numbers.

(5) Hating on Writing Exercises. I haven't taken a lot of writing classes but I coudn't agree with this more. I hate the fifteen minutes when you're given a prompt. Usually I just take the time to check email.

Feature Five

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Ten Cent Notes' Favorite YA-ish Blogs of 2011. When in doubt, I trust Jordyn.

(2) s.e. smith's book review of Lauren Myracle's Shine. Actually anything s.e. smith writes. Her blog at meloukhia.net is amazing.

(3) The Truth About Book Publicity. Basically it's all hit or miss. The best quote from a commenter: "My writing quality is insanely hit and miss..."

(4) Gwalingo. "Gwarlingo highlights some of the most inventive work being made today in music, writing, film, performance, and the visual arts." Plus, Michelle likes Slinkachu so she's cool by me.

(5) Noah Berlatsky's post, "Cinderella, Feminist." You may remember Berlatsky as the writer of that much passed around Atlantic article about Bella.

Five Up

A sorta weekly feature of things I co-sign:

(1) Evaluating a Traditional Publisher. Kristine Kathryn Rusch takes you through some question you could ask. I generally just say "Sign where? Here? OK!" But maybe you're more discerning.

(2) Neesha Meminger on From Margin to Center: Writing Characters of Color (2009)

(3) The Art of Leviathan. Part one with Scott Westerfeld, part two with artist Keith Thompson. (2009)

(4) Book-o-nomics: An insider look at Greenlight Bookstores ledgers and a video (2010)

(5) Portlandia: Did You Read? I don't watch this show but many of the clips are hilarious.

Five For Fighting

A weekly feature of things I co-sign: 

(1) Bark: A Blog of Literature, Culture, and Art. Everything is just good on this.

(2) Forces of Nature, Acts of God, and Other Reasons a Book Can Flop. Oh, good to know. Actually, Rachel Stark's entire Trac Changes blog is quite follow worthy.

(3) Days of Yore. Interviews with artists before they made it.  The one with Daniel Chun initially caught my eye. Other ones with Jennifer Egan and James Franco will catch yours.

(4) Saundra Mitchell's "I Have a Life!" Marketing Plan. Saundra knows so much about book marketing it's scary. And here she is with a fantastic bare bones solution.

(5) Writer's Guide to Hunger Games. I just finished Catching Fire so I'm ready to examine why the series captures the attention so. Thankfully Jenna Cooper is taking care of this for me.

High Five

A new weekly feature of things I co-sign (actually "feature" is a bit grandiose):

(1) The Other Side of the Story. Most writing advice blogs lose my interest pretty quickly but Janice Hardy's is great because it's organized well and filled with tons of content. Also, Super Hero Nation, a blog specifically geared toward writing the super powered.

(2) Nova Ren Suma's "What Inspires You?" blog series. I found myself coming back over and over the past month.  Also, I can't wait to read Fade Out, formerly known as Dani Noir.

(3) Kirkus On Demand.  I didn't realize you could just pay Kirkus to do a review for you. I wonder if you can also just buy a star like you can a vowel.

(4) Stephen Sondheim on critics. "If you're going to believe your good reviews, you're going to have to believe the less good ones as well, unless you're deeply self-delusional."

(5) Malinda Lo looks at YA sci-fi covers. I believe that is a harmonica on the cover of Singing the Dogstar Blues. I love it.