Returning to the Past.

The other night I was walking to the local fireworks display and I heard a man's voice behind me, stating something to the effect of "There goes our local celebrity author.".

I didn't know what to do. I had not written anything in months,had not posted anything on my author page in months as Facebook kept reminding me. And while I was curious as to who it was, I was unsure if I should turn around. Were they being cynical? Sarcastic? Or simply an attempt at good-natured community relations?

I felt apprehensive, and conflicted. I felt ashamed about my abandonment of my literary dream. Days previous, my daughter had asked what I would do if money was not an object after I explained the finer details of how my credit card debt works against me buying a new truck to replace our current one that is, but for lack of better words, gradually expiring. I successfully evaded the question.

Yet, I do still want to be known as a celebrity author. I do want people to come up to me and say 'Hey, I enjoyed your book.' leaving me red-faced and proud while trying to scope out the nearest exit strategy as they say 'would you mind signing my copy?'

"Hey, celebrity author..."

But I'm a long way from that. I've stalled out on self-marketing, put my chips into getting an education so I can have a piece of paper that officially agrees that I am good at something I have been doing for years, therefore giving me more earning power. That is how this world works.

And then I got a little push from, of all things, a book on letters. Specifically, the letters of Kurt Vonnegut, a man I admire and who transcended literary genres. I found out it took nearly a decade from the publication of his first novel to his second, as life and bills got in the way.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) he was also able to start his career in the last great days of short story publishing - his first story earned him $750 (The Barnstable Effect) in 1950. It was roughly 15,000 words. It was bought by a magazine named Collier's.

$750 for 15,000 words! In today's dollars that would be equal to nearly $8000 US dollars!

Such was the value of written stories in those days.

With that financial success, and a few others under his belt, he felt confident enough to quit his desk job at G.E, and concentrate on the writing of his first full novel, Player Piano. His next novel, Sirens of Titan, wasn't published until 1959.

Because Television came along.

In the following years, as magazines went out of business, the value of a Kurt Vonnegut story, as well as all others, dropped to $100-$200, depending on length, as the publishing world imploded, shrinking as the Golden Age of Television decimated the value of the written word as visual content became the opium of the masses.

It took seven years for him to return to where he thought he was going to be after Player Piano, making excuses, mental confusion and exhaustion trying to provide for his growing household in any way he could. His dream took a back seat to his reality.

And here I am, bemoaning somebody at least knew I am an author and expressed it out loud, either cynically or respectfully.

I should have turned around and said 'Thank you for reminding me.'

I should have immediately returned to believing that one day I will become more than a local neighbourhood celebrity author.

I didn't that night but I am here now, for the first time in months, writing about myself and my works so thank you, stranger, for the push.

So here is a link to my last book, Karmageddon. It is a collection of short stories based around a nuclear Armageddon created by the events in Enter a Fistful of Marijuana. It was entered into the Stephen Leacock Awards for Canadian humour but didn't make the cut. I'd be lying if I said that didn't hurt a little. It is funny and sad and makes a commentary on our priorities when disaster strikes.

It is available on Lulu.com, a Canadian version of Amazon so if you want to shop national, here is where you can start.

They even provided me this fancy link to my book:

Enter a Fistful of Marijuana, the basis of Karmageddon and based very loosely on Kentucky Fried Movie's A Fistful of Yen, can be found here.

Stoner, Unincorporated, my attempt at an existential love story of sorts, can be found here.

These books, along with my novellas are all available electronically here.

One day I may eat my humble pie and convert all my works to Kindle, to join the masses such as myself on Amazon. I will continue to submit and be rejected, one by one, by big and little publishing houses that continue to raise the bar in terms of acceptance.

And I understand. For their investments are gambles and the more name recognition, the lesser the gamble. Anyone can google me and they can also review me by what my readers say. It might help, it might not. If you have read anything of mine, please add your thoughts to Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords etc.

I chose Smashwords, Createspace and Lulu because I wanted to promote choice and patriotism: Lulu being Canadian, Smashwords and Createspace not being Amazon. Createspace has since been bought by Amazon and converted my works to Kindle as well. That is the way the world works.

Every sale either makes a difference or prolongs the inevitable.

Thank you for reading, in all manners of the word.

Jay Royston

short story start 2076 circa 2013

In 2074;

In what could be considered the greatest tragedy or the greatest victory for the human race depending on one's pragmatic views 3 nuclear bombs were detonated, destroying Jerusalem (death toll; in the millions), Vatican City (388 dead) and the Cayman Islands, which created a mass economic murder as corporations, banks throughout the world lost the 'paper trail' of assets that were sequestered there.

There was much bible thumping and Quran throwing however with each side indicting the other for the mass genocide neither could put up a strong case as to the organization responsible.

Most blamed the United States, except for the United States who blamed secular terrorist organizations in 48 different countries who all had links to Al Quaeda which was interesting as the last known Al Quada member had died of natural causes[1] in 2049.

It was the grandparents, long spurned as expendable and over-nostalgic that tried to remind people of the collective internet-based group Anonymous. But their postings were drowned out in reruns of the latest editions of 'So You Think You Are A Thinker' and 'Extreme Bat Fights' on the wall screens of most nation's homes and public supermarkets.

Anonymous was prepared for the backlash. The years of planning, the conspiracy theories started decades ago, the revenue from their shares in duct-tape was more than adequate to fund the operation. 

Yet even they weren't prepared for the general apathy that most of civilization displayed after the discovery that the holy trinity of religions was annihilated to nothing more than radioactive decay. There was a short burst of general disorder and chaos throughout most nations that again, thanks to the proliferation of corporate news agencies was summarily censored and (word to describe mass flaunting) in different parts of the world so that while Californians were aware of the mass killings of French tourists by sharks off the coast of Normandy they were blissfully unaware that over 19 million fellow Californians had disappeared from government data banks.

Everyone knew someone who had been killed, yet nobody knew anybody who made the news, barring a quick one-line throwaway story placed between the search for the Holy Land Destroyers and another cute story about a dog and a cat who were best pals.

So this is where the story begins, at the end of religion.

---

[1] he fell to his death after he was headbutted off of a rocky crag in Afghanistan by a unruly mountain goat.

Kurt Vonnegut rules

Kurt Vonnegut

Eight rules for writing fiction:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. Now matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

-- Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1999), 9-10.

Kurt Vonnegut: How to Write with Style

Big BOoTY List #15 - Monstrous Regiment

#15


Needing to slip back into something a little more comfortable, I went for my go-to; Terry Pratchett.
Monstrous Regiment is the story of a country ravaged by war, and the last troop of soldiers to be recruited to head to the front. It has all the stereotypes; the headstrong tougher than nails sergeant, the weaselly, never-seen-action, lieutenant. The troll, the vampire, the Igor, you know, usual Pratchett.

The main protagonist is a bar-girl and shades of Mulan, pretends to be a man to join the army. The ragtag group of Missfits head towards the front lines where a certain Commander Vimes is waiting to welcome them and hopefully bring some peace to the area. Commander Vimes and his Night Watch feature very little in the book, which is a shame because we all could use a little Nobby.

Big BOoTY List #14 Galagapos

#14 Galagapos



I went for a third book of KV's, something I had yet to read. This one is a bit strange in narrative style, and reading his bibliography, it came out about 5 years before Hocus Pocus, which is similar in style but better executed.

Another 'end of the world' type thing, written 1 million years in the future, looking back at the moments that lead to an evolved human race, which through subtle clues are some type of seal/people. The narrator of the story is a ghost, the son of Kilgore Trout, whom most Vonnegut fans will be familiar with. I would have preferred to know that earlier in the story, which is why maybe that comes as a bit of a spoiler alert but whatever... the book was written in 1985.

Big BOoty List #12 and #13 Sirens of Titan/Mother Night

Sirens of Titan

Wow. Started strong this year and then Spring happened and all the chores/kids/lawn care/school practicum and things caught up with me, leaving little 'me' time to read anything other than skimming through social media posts.

But I did re-read this great piece of sarcasm from Kurt Vonnegut; one of his earlier works which generated enough interest for him to continue writing. It also made me want to brush off another work of his I own, Mother Night, and re-read that as well. Two different styles, two great books.

Sirens of Titan is about a series of events which answer the philosophical question as to 'Why are we here?' It delves into religions, civilizations, space travel, inter-dimensional travel, capitalism and the need for people to believe we are here for some purpose. It turns out we are, but it's not what you might expect.

#13 Mother Night

After Sirens, I needed more Vonnegut so I went to the bookshelf and pulled out this one, a little find from Parry Sound, childhood home of my wife and little-known hockey legend, Bobby Orr.

Mother Night is a first person account of Howard Campbell, an American who is awaiting trial in Israel for Crimes Against Humanity and treason sometime in the late 50s. He was a German radio propagandist, working with the German High Command to promote hatred towards Jews and is beloved by American racists and finds himself outed by a white supremacist group which leads to his arrest. He claims he was a spy, working for America in sending secret messages through his broadcasts but the only problem is, he doesn't know who the man was that recruited him.

The book talks of his life in Germany, the loss of his love and the moments of civility he saw in a time of lunacy. In a brief conversation, his character answers the age-old wannabe writer's question of 'inspiration or dedication?' - does one wait for inspiration to write or simply write every day, no matter what the output may be? I think Vonnegut answers for himself, a hint into his writing style when he says it is dedication, not inspiration.

Sadly, I have not had that dedication lately.

Big BOoTy List #11 - The Collapse of Parenting

Big BOoTy List #11 - The Collapse of Parenting - Dr Sax


Funnily enough I found this book for my wife as I knew she would love the provocative title and it wasn't until after I read #9, Boys Adrift I found out it was written by the same person.

Basically, man up, parents. Especially you in the USA. No, the whole world isn't like your kids; your kids are future and current problems caused by parental lack of responsibility, changing social values, lack of ambition, fame-fucking and over-medication.

Problem is with these type of books, the only ones likely to read them are good parents, not the majority of parents who want to avoid the leadership needed in being a parent first, friend second.

Big BOoTy List #10 - Night Watch

Big BOoTy List #10 - Night Watch - Terry Pratchett

Again. This guy is amazing. If you know Discworld, you know that Guards! Guards! is often recommended as a great book to introduce you to the world and dynamics of Ankh-Morpork, the biggest city on Discworld, the flat world which rides on the back of four elephants which are standing on the top of the great space turtle A'Tuin as it swims through the universe.

Of course you knew that.

In Guards! Guards! you are introduced to the honourable, yet drunken and cynical Sgt. Samuel Vimes, a City Watch officer who tries his best to do his job, despite the evil that men do. I won't get into it only to say, like many others, it's a must-read.

In Night Watch, it is many, many years, books and promotions later, Sgt Vimes is now the City Watch Commander and a leading, if unwilling member of high society. Longing for the old days, he takes off in foot pursuit of a man who has killed one of his officers and being Terry Pratchett, magic transports him back in time to what was to become a turning point in the history of the city, full of maniacal leaders, gestapo-like police who 'disappeared people' and most importantly, a young Sam Vimes who has just entered the ranks of the City Watch. Old Sam Vimes now becomes the mentor to his younger self, which makes the brain start to twist.

Now time travel stories always have their share of plot 'what ifs' and Night Watch is outstanding in this way. Sir Terry does a great job in not making the young Sam/old Sam the main plot, instead concentrating on the main villainy of the times.

Fun. Great. Heart. Beautiful book.

Big BOoTy List #9 Boys Adrift

Big BOoTy List #9 Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax




I'm falling behind on my updates! Curses, life... anyways, this is a book about how come 'boys just can't be boys anymore'. It talks about the lack of being outside, binging on the alternate reality of video game worlds, how being the 'provider' to girls/women isn't really a thing anymore, leading to a sort of nancy-boy who doesn't need to go out and make money for the family and the willingness of parents to put their kids on medications instead of adjusting their parenting...

Just a casual, not overly scientific discussion of the changes in parenting and North American social culture is changing the stereotypical 'boy'.

I enjoyed it.

Big BOoTy List #8 - The Daily Show, An Oral History

The Daily Show - An Oral History



One of those 'interview' books that make you feel you are sitting in one giant room with everybody taking turns talking. If you are a fan of the show, you'll enjoy this book.

It got me thinking of how famous Jon Stewart became and how anonymous the writers are in late night humour; we grew up on Dave, Jay, Conan, these other guys who throw out the jokes and get the fame but like how a quarterback is only as good as his offensive linesmen (can anyone name two of Tom Brady's linesmen?) so many people who work hard for that guy to get fame aren't recognized.

I do get there is the risk associated with being 'the face' of the show. And this one makes it known that Jon definitely became King of his show as his show rose in respectability lampooning the so-called 'real news'. The Daily Show was a launching pad for talent such as Steve Carrell, Ed Helms, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Rob Cordry, etc etc.

There is little controversy in the book - some gossip but nothing you wouldn't expect if one was to write a story about any work environment. The transcripts of some of the show's humourous moments don't really work well for me, perhaps really underlining why those 'faces' are needed to sell the comedy. It doesn't really dig too much into how Jon began interviewing presidents or (something I really respected) his turn towards interviewing and introducing authors to the mainstream of Comedy Central.

Big BOoTy List #7 - Best Laid Plans

Best Laid Plans - Terry Fallis

 In an effort to 'Canadianize' myself more with national authors, I picked 'One Brother Shy' by Terry Fallis from my local library back in the Fall. It was the story of a brother who finds out he has a twin and they reunite through modern technology. It was a good book but seeing as this BOoTY list is for 2019, I'm not counting it.

However, I did discover that Mr. Fallis had won the Leacock award (awarded to best Canadian humour novel) in 2011 and even better, he did it by self-publishing! Now there was an encouraging story for me and Karmageddon, available now.

I ordered Best Laid Plans and also contacted Mr. Fallis for advice and inspiration on how he experienced the self-publishing route. He chose to make BLP into a podcast and created interest that way. In all honesty, I know what a podcast is but have yet to engage in it. It seems like a good idea if you spend a lot of time in public transit but I digress.

When his book made the short-list for the Leacocks, he received a call from a book agent who offered to take him on and the rest was history. He also strongly stated that it was so much better having a book publisher behind him than going the difficult and lonely self-publishing route to which I fully agree but I don't have a book agent calling me yet.

I thanked him and waited for the book, curious and anxious to see why this book won a major award without the support of any major Canadian publishing house.

And here it is, the seventh book of 2019.

First, it is good and well-deserving of the Leacock. There is no way I would guess it as being self-published.

Yet...was this the final product? Or is this after a publisher bought it, sent it through their editorial departments?

To be clear, I really enjoyed this book. It's for a very specific audience. To me, the book re-enforced a stereotype I have of the 'Canadian reader'. That stereotype is a person who reads Farley Mowatt and Alice Munro while sipping on an imported beer or white wine sitting in their cottage overlooking 'the lake'. It's a beautiful image, one I think every writer aspires to be. I am no exception yet it made me realize that is not the audience I am writing for and if that is true, then perhaps entering Karmageddon into the Leacock Awards was a mistake.

Best Laid Plans is centered on Federal politics, has university-educated protagonists, call-outs to proper English usage and centers on the older-50 crowd. There's an element of sexual depravity in there and also romance, both old and new. All of it is handled beautifully and diary entries help to create that second point of view of the B story. It's not heavy-handed which is what makes it so good. It's Canadian and gossipy; due to Mr. Fallis' time in politics it's not hard to imagine there is some general subtext between the lines.

I could see why he won the award; the humour is more of overall context than situational. It is distinctly Eastern Canadian yet the setting of Parliament is inclusive of us all.

I can't see this book being enjoyed by younger Canadians who have no interest in government which I guess is my only criticism. The only two young characters are university students who dress like anarchists yet are the only volunteers for the political candidate. It relies heavily on the reader being educated and politically conscious which sadly re-enforces the my own biased view that award-winning books aren't meant for those just struggling to get through this thing called Life...

Big BOoTY List #6 Carpe Jugulum

#6 Carpe Jugulum Terry Pratchett


I found this rare Discworld find at a used book store a few weeks ago. Rare, as in I NEVER find any Pratchetts at Value Village, Sally Ann's or any other used book stores I go to. Pratchetts have always been rare in my neck in the woods.

After reading 'Going Postal' I needed a bit more of this man's hilarity in my life and while I might have this book in my soft-cover collection, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy a hard-cover edition at $8.

For those that know Pratchett and Discworld, this is a Granny Weatherwax story, a semi-recurring character in Discworld. She is a witch and perhaps one of the strongest personalities in all of Pratchett's tales.

The King of Lancre has married Magrat, the youngest of the three witches and a Granny protege. In a misguided attempt at diplomacy he has invited all the neighbouring countries dignitaries to the naming of their first child. Unfortunately, this includes the rather forward-thinking Magpyr family, who happen to be vampires.

And it embarrasses me to acknowledge that as i read that sentence, I realize Magpyr rhymes with vampire; so it is the Vampire Magpyrs. Pratchett is full of wonderful finds like this.

The Magpyrs are an aristocratic clan with their own family issues; Dad has taken great lengths to 'climatize' his kids to all those generic vampire cruxes. The vampire kids grew up with garlic pillows, they've been exposed to small amounts of daylight, their castle is decorated with all the holy symbols of the land. But not all is well in the Magpyr family; their daughter rebels by hanging out with other vampire teens and renaming themselves; Laciemosa is now Tracey; Grendell is Alan who plays at being an accountant, etc.

Anyways, the Magpyrs take over the castle and all of Lancre; they look at the people as 'walking food' and have put everyone under their spell, barring Granny Weatherwax and Agnes, a bi-split personality who is all fat on the outside but her inner voice is ruled by Perdita, a skinny bitch with an attitude.

Carpe Jugulum is full of strong female personalities; another great Pratchettism; he is wonderful with the lore of covens and witches, has a great knowledge of the tropes of vampirism and the practicalities of Igors and Phoenix.

There are just too many great side characters here as well; from Igor to Hodgesarrgh; the royal bird trainer. Awesome book.

Bit BooTY List #5 - Ablutions

#5 Ablutions Patrick DeWitt


The problem with contemporary fiction is there is JUST SO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM! I mean, talk about a forest of stories just waiting for you in your local bookstore or library. I get overwhelmed when I see so many titles waiting for my selection and often seek out the tried and true.

Now this guy, he's probably one of the most current authors I ever read. I picked up a free copy of Sisters Brothers from the local Free Book Tree (if you don't have one of these, you need one). It was near mint condition and the winner of the Governor General's Literary Award. Anyways, that book, The Sisters Brothers was AMAZING and although the movie wasn't, I still went out of my way to find something else written by DeWitt and found this little gem about a bartender, written while DeWitt was apparently a bartender.

Ablutions is unique in that it tells a tale entirely in the second person. That is to say, he uses the word 'you' throughout. He commands 'you' to discuss 'your' wife and 'your' life as an alcoholic bartender on the fringes of Hollywood. He, through the second person, makes you experience a totally different life, full of bad choices, quick sexual flings, criminal activity and day-to-day interactions with coke addicts, machete-wielding drunks and androgynous con artists.

It's definitely not for everyone but I can see a few people I know liking it, particularly Jay F, who if he is reading this should know that just because the writer is tall and lanky and has a chin like Superman, doesn't mean I thought of him in the title role.

The Big BooTY list #2, #3, and #4

Books Ogled Over The Year #2, 3, and 4


I feel I should include the books I started in December in this as well. I tend to have two or three books on the go, strategically placed around the house. A couple in the bathroom, one in my car, another one or two on my dresser. I just never know when I feel it is time for me to put down my phone and actually read something of merit.

So some of these books read may come in spurts. I have three I recently completed and will check off here;  Cat's Cradle, Going Postal and Flowers for Algernon.


#2 Cat's Cradle, Kirk Vonnegut 

 I love me my Kirk. I love his unique style, his minimalist ability to create a scene without too much attention to detail. This was the 2nd time I read Cat's Cradle, a book which I recommended to my wife yet she was unable to finish and so sat on her bedside table for months, beckoning me to finish it. So I did. 

It's an Apocalyptic novel in which he also sets forward the theme we are all connected. There are certain members on our 'team' which creates amazing coincidences throughout our lives. For the author, this leads from him writing a story on a man who invented an atom bomb to the writer becoming the leader of a small Caribbean country which leads to the Apocalypse. It's a funny/not funny type of read, which I find of most of KV's novels.





#3 Going Postal, Terry Pratchett

I sped-red this (yes I know that's a typo but phonetically it makes my point) after picking it up at the local library because I had to have it back in three weeks. I have about 20 of Pratchett's earlier works but don't own many of the last 20 books he published but probably have read about another 10.

This man knows good story and it helps his stories are set on Discworld, a medieval-esque world where wizards run the university, an orangtuan is the local librarian, there is a werewolf on the police force and trolls, vampires, dwarves and humans live together and occasionally kill each other in the great metropolis of Ankh-Morpork. His stories are rife with philosophical moments, satirical comments and a from-the-hip comedic overtone which hides how brilliant a message he often puts in his stories.

In Going Postal, it is the story of a con man, Moist Von Lipwig, charged with bringing the Post Office back to it's former glory while competing against the 'Clacks', a rudimentary tower system symbolic of emails operated by money-hungry corporate men who care nothing of the power of technology only how much money they can make out of it.

What is interesting about Going Postal that this is also the book where GNU Terry Pratchett originates, a bit of Discworld lore. GNU Terry Pratchett is an insider homage to Sir Terry that some computer coders put into their programs and is taken from the clacks system of coding. It literally means that "a man is not dead if his name is still spoken" and by putting such a code prefix of GNU, they let Terry live on, in the nether of the internet. Loved it.


#4 Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes



This is one of those one-hit wonder books for authors; Keyes apparently only wrote one other novel aside from Flowers for Algernon but what a huge hit this book was. It was originally a short story, an Icarus flying too close to the sun thing. It is often cited on many 'must-read' books on reddit. I read the short story years ago but found this copy at a local 2nd hand shop and put it in the To Be Read pile.

Algernon is a mouse given super-intellectual abilities, Charlie is the human subject upon which the experiment is duplicated. It is often referred to as one of novels which brings tears to the eyes. Not so much for me but it is interesting to read of how science and society had looked at mental retardation over the decades.

Jay's Big BOoTy List (w intro) #1

The Big BOoty List - Books Ogled over The Year

Classic Ogling...

I'm noticing that as the years go by they are doing so with increasing speed. I can't say 2018 will go down in history as my favourite year, especially the last couple months. December was a rotating 'flu-enza' in our house with myself being the lone victor in staying healthy throughout. Career choices, conflicts, criticisms, children... 2018 had it all.

Of course, there was so much stuff I could get angry about outside of my own small life. It was embarrassing the lengths people went to on social media went to demean or debase whoever they didn't vote for, as if our leaders were somehow appointed for life while hundreds of miles up in the air, there is a small glimpse of what our future could be if we only focused on what is good about ourselves instead of what is bad about our neighbours.

I don't know how people can live surrounded by so much negativity in their lives and as such, I'm again trying to limit mine.

Gratefully, amidst that chaos and background of social-loathing, I did manage to finish my 3rd book called Karmageddon. Thanks to everyone who has supported me by purchasing a copy. If you haven't,you can find it here.

I'm fully aware it isn't for everyone and many people may not like it; many may take offense to it. That's okay I guess... everyone has a right to their opinion, despite what others might think. I guess it comes to how offended you are. It's not meant to offend, it's a book. Books are meant to distract you from the world, to provide an escape. Maybe if you learn something along the way, all the better.

Right now, I'm taking a break from writing, despite the voice of many writers who insist 'you have to write every day to succeed'. For those who do it for a living, sure. For those who (like me) do it for the pleasure, go at your own pace.

And as of January 1st, my new year's resolution is to keep track of ALL the books I read over the year. I'll provide a brief recap, mostly for my own amusement.

So without further adieu, welcome to Jay's Big BOoTY List.


Book 1

Emotions Explained With Buff Dudes by Andrew Tsyaston

Let's admit that there is a small type of satisfaction when the clerk behind the till at the book store praises your selection. Like somehow, this insider to the book industry has better taste than you and therefore their opinion is valued. That's what happened here. I bought it thanks to a Xmas gift card from some great people who believe in the dreams of book stores.

A brief skimming of the drawings led me to purchase it. This is a great, but short, easy read of cartoons that reflect and see the humour of depression, our definitions of success, coffee addiction and feeling like on some days life is physically waiting beside your bed for you to wake up so it can punch you in the face. Like, literally... that is one of the cartoons.

If you, or anyone you know tends to slide on occasion down Pessimism Mountains, tend to defeat themselves before entering, then this book might help them get back on track, or at least put a smile on their face long enough for them to fight another day.



*I'm not paid to endorse any of these books, the BOoTY(tm) awards are for my own amusement. If you're interested in any of the books I read, please search them out yourself. If you have any recommendations based on these books, please add them to the comments.*