Mid-Week Review | Rage by Zygmunt Miloszewski

This post is from a series where I review products during the week

 

This book breaks the cardinal rule of writing.

If you have an Amazon Prime subscription you get books hawked at you each month. I’m not sure what vetting process these books go through but apparently it’s easier than getting on American Idol. In my experience these books are down-right awful. See my reviews below for more proof on this topic.

My most recent experience was “Rage” by Zygmunt Miloszewski. I received an email from Amazon and the description looked interesting…

“All eyes are on famous prosecutor Teodor Szacki when he investigates a skeleton discovered at a construction site in the idyllic Polish city of Olsztyn.”

So I got the free book and started reading it on the Kindle. It wasn’t long before I ran into a problem.

In the book some dude found a body who thought it may have been a corpse left over from World War II (the story takes place in Poland or something). I’m sure the plot would slowly reveal that not to be true – eventually. The same character gave some lame speech at a children’s school assembly. Then he described a bunch of stuff including buildings and the fact that it rained a lot.

It was SO BORING. I kept reading as much as I could but it just felt like it wouldn’t be worth it so I put it down. I can read a horrible book. I can read a book that is over 100 years old, but I CAN NOT stand a boring book. I dropped The Reivers by William Faulkner after the first 20 pages because it was boring. If you haven’t heard of that book by Faulkner, there’s a reason.

Out of all the difficult things that writing a story involve, making it NOT BORING is the most important. Here’s the thing – IT’S ALSO THE EASIEST THING TO DO. Just add something. Add anything to a story and it becomes interesting. Take a bland story and toss in one thing and BAM – now it’s worth reading. Throw in ghosts, magic, a creepy guy watching the main character from far away, unicorns, elves, a tornado, a cab driver with an a vast knowledge of the different types of marsupials, ANYTHING, LITERALLY ANYTHING, and you have a more interesting story. It might not be a good story, but at least it’s not boring.

Maybe there was something missed in translating this book to English but I don’t think that alone can be blamed.

The real tragedy here isn’t in how much this book sucks. It’s really a reflection of Amazon Prime’s selection for it’s members. It’s bad enough that the “Recently Added to Prime” section of Amazon Video could be renamed to “Scroll through this until you get disappointed and give up” but now it seems their book selection has gone the same route.

If my choice is a boring book for free or nothing. Give me nothing.

If you liked this post you may also enjoy:

• Mid-Week Review: The Good Neighbor -crap
• Mid-Week Review: Descent: A Novel -also crap*

*On a side note I tweeted my awful review to the author and he “liked it.” I just thought that was funny.

Amazing Reviews: Hemingway

This is a series looking at the best worst reviews of popular books on Amazon

Few authors have been able to capture the literally spotlight of an entire generation like Ernest Hemingway. He is one of the greatest writers in literature and one of America’s greatest exports. Since his untimely death, no book has been synonymous with his name like The Old Man and the Sea. It won the Pulitzer Prize and has long held its spot on reading lists across the globe.

Of course, as I have come to learn with this series, not everyone is a fan. There are a few outliers that just disagree with pretty much every other person in the history of the world who happened to read this story. Let’s hear a few thoughts from the detractors.

Hindsight is 20/20 so please don’t waste your money 1 Star on October 1, 2015

Unfortunately I had to give this one star. There was not an option for zero because that’s not a real number. It’s only a placeholder like we all learned in second grade. I digress…The fact that this book won the Pulitzer Prize is appalling. If something as painful as this is capable of winning something of that caliber, then I guarantee my used toilet paper could easily win the Nobel Peace Prize.

First off, zero IS a number. I know because I had to look it up. I’ll give it to this reviewer. Working in “hindsight” and toilet paper into a review and still sound like you were talking about a book is tricky, but you pulled it off. Well done.

boring 1 Star on November 4, 2014

This book is so boring. The only thing I remember about it is that the old man went to the bathroom twice during the whole book. That’s how bad it is.

Another bathroom reference. I’m starting to see a trend here.

Such a stupid book. This guy kills a beautiful creature just…1 Star on August 9, 2015

Such a stupid book. This guy kills a beautiful creature just to see it destroyed before putting it to use. Ugh!!

That’s kind of the reason the book was a classic. Man fought so hard to catch this beautiful creature only to have it totally squandered. Pretty sure that’s why it won a Pulitzer . . .

it was boring 1 Star on March 29, 1999

the book went on and on for 60 pages about the fish and the old man

It’s called THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. What were your expectations this book? If you were expecting anything other than a story involving an elderly man and a body of water you need to stop reading because you are doing it wrong.

Forget Lullabys… read Hemmingway! 1 Star on October 9, 2001

When I found out I had to read this book for school I was actually pretty happy! It only has about 150 pages! but then before I sarted reading it my friend say the book in my poseesion and siad,”That book is the esence of the devil!” I was like- yea, sure it can’t be THAT bad! Boy, was i wrong!! I (usually) am a super- fast reader! a 400 page novel MAY take me 2 days if its good but Old Man and the Sea took me over a month! I put it on my chair in my bedroom and left it there! I would read it at 12 ot night just to make me tired! At least it was good for something! So- unless you can’t get yourself to sleep at night- DONT READ THIS BORING BOOK!…

 The comment on this review is priceless:

4 years ago: oh…my god…are you twelve?

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• Another Graph-ic Post
• Mid-Week Review: The Good Neighbor

Amazing Reviews: Meyer

This is a series where I review the best, worst book reviews from Amazon

This book was a bookshelf staple for many young girls and middle-aged women across the world. It spawned a movie series that launched the young career of Kristen Stewart as she played an awkward girl, a role that must have truly been a reach for her. Despite the unlikely combination of a whiny teenage girl, Native American werewolves, and the most shiny, uncharismatic vampires in the history of literature this book was a massive success. Thankfully there are those that withstood the trance of this teenage Nosferatu. Here are some of their thoughts:

Let Me Save You The Trouble Of Reading This Book: 1 Star on December 30, 2009

Chapter 1: Meet Bella. She is angry and depressed and moving to rainy depressing Forks WA to live with her Dad.
Chapter 2: Bella meets Edward and finds him very handsome. She is depressed and angry over it.
Chapters 3-13: Bella thinks about Edward a lot and is angry and depressed about it.
Chapter 14: Bella and Edward become an item she finds out he is a vampire. She is depressed and angry about it.
Chapters 15-21: Bella is angry and depressed and in love with Edward who fights off biting Bella.
Chapter 22: Bella gets attacked by another vampire. Edward saves Bella. She is angry and depressed about it.
Chapters 23 and 24: Bella is in the hospital recovering. She is outraged and depressed.
Epilogue: Edward surprises Bella taking her to prom. She is angry about it. The end

A concise breakdown of this book and much to my surprise it was met with nothing by agreement by commenters on this review. Bravo!

LOL Fun for the whole family! 1 Star on February 7, 2010

You know, if your family are all the victims of head trauma. Or in a home for the criminally delusional. This is the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. And thank goodness Ms. Meyer is encouraging young girls to develop relationships with abusive jerks who withold sexy-time as another means of controlling them into a freaky spiral of obsession! AND. I guess this means a few more years of the tiresome goth movement. I get it — you’re sad and you like bats.Oh, go play in an old fridge. Take Bella with you.

This review caught my eye because it’s not so much of a critique of the book as it voicing their own emotional history. With references to head trauma and equating abstinence to an abusive relationship, I’d say this reviewer has more things to worry about than the on-going “goth movement.”

just plain bad 1 Star on July 27, 2008

I really did not like this book. I picked it up because everyone said it is a must read, and that it was the best book ever. But when I actually read I figured out that it was a stupid book without a real plot. Now before you yell at me listen to this, Bella and Edward are in love right, but Stephanie Meyer doesn’t show you that in the book. They are just all of a sudden together, I mean theres no falling in love they are kind of just wary of each other then proffesing undying love. And they both say practically the same sentence throughout the entire book. Bella says “I love you!” and thats about it. And Edward says “I love you. But Im a vampire” and “I want to eat you, you smell so good.” And thats pretty much the whole book.

Okay that’s actually pretty good.

No Sexual Predators please 1 Star on February 27, 2009

Why is this book marketed to the 12 year old & up? I thought the book would be harmless for my daughter to read but when she shared some of the story with me I decided to read it for myself. Bella, the main character, is a willing victim, which is the worst kind of role model for a young reader. I had a thorough discussion with my daughter about why Bella’s actions were the absolute wrong thing to do in several incidents in the story. Bella walks through a desolate area of town & is threatened by four men. She knows rape is possible but doesn’t get herself out of the situation. Not to mention the 100 year old man, parading as a 17 year old high school student, who is sexually attracted to her. Creepy if he were her father’s friend but somehow ok because he’s a Vampire? And near the end Bella gives herself up to a different vampire for no discernible reason. She is disconnected from her family & obsessed with danger, but in a bipolar suicidal way. Horrible story, reprehensible characters, badly written. Please don’t buy this book.

Even though this reviewer is pretty much saying that if Bella is raped it’s her own fault, she does make at least one valid point. Edward can be considered  a 100 yr old sexual predator. If he had said this stuff in an internet chat room he’d have NBC & Chris Hansen knocking on his door.

So those are a few of the best reviews I read. And by ”best” I mean short enough to copy and paste as most of the one star reviews were three pages long. Among the reviews there were also a few good responses. This one is my favorite and I’ll leave it with you as my parting gift:

I’m an adult with grandchildren and I loved the book. Go figure.

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Amazing Reviews: George R. R. Martin

By now we all know that Winter is Coming. We’ve followed the remaining members of the Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, and Targaryens for years now on television but the entire world was built back in 1996 with George R. R. Martin’s masterpiece A Game of Thrones. While the name of the first novel went on to become the title of the popular show on HBO, the series of A Song of Ice and Fire has been a must-read on lists for decades. Not everyone appreciates the saga of Westeros. Let’s hear what they have to say about it all:

Total crap 1 Star on October 29, 2013

I could care less about portrayals of women and sex and rape and all that. If something is important to the story and organic to the character, I can run with almost anything. It’s the writing and the manipulation that have me passionately hating this book. The writing is abysmally terrible. Lots of telling, little showing, point of view issues. There is miles and miles and miles of description without end that contributes nothing to the story. The characters are all hateful. I feel like the author is manipulating the characters to doing terrible, horrible things to incite the big war or conflict or whatever is coming. Doesn’t feel real. I was hating the story before I got to the part where Ned killed Lady, but once that weakling killed an innocent animal for no reason, I was completely over it. I am baffled by the story’s popularity. Utterly baffled.

This reviewer is totally fine with rape and all that, but if you euthanize a giant wolf you’ve crossed the line mister!

Need a newish language, do you enjoy unpronounceable polysylabic names? 1 Star on May 1, 2013

Are you captivated by page after page of repetitious and adverbial sword slashing? In love with shallow–at best one dimensional, characters? If so, “Game of Thrones” is for you!! Even the predictable births in the final pages aren’t enough to tempt me towards volume two. Drek.

Marketing this book for the linguistic crowd is a new spin on the modern classic. And I like the shout-out to Shrek’s younger brother at the end.

NO 1 Star on April 24, 2013

I di dnot [sic] care for this book at all. Matter of face it put it down after 100 pages. If the author hasn’t caught me by the 100 pages–away it goes. It was depressing. There is enough depressing and terror items in our real life–I don’t need to read about it too.

OKAY, first off 100 pages is nearly one-half to one-third of most books. Unfortunately that covers less than one-eighth with A Game of Thrones. Also, what were your expectations of this book? The possibility of conflict is implied right off the bat with the words FIRE AND ICE in the title. Were you hoping for an uplifting, inspirational story from a book with a chair made out of swords on the cover?

So this last review is a little lengthy and actually refers to the quality of the eBook, not the actual writing of Mr. Martin. But keep reading – I promise it’s worth it!

I love this series. I have read books 1-4 over and over again. When I saw HBO was shooting Game of Thrones, I wanted to read it once more before that series begins next year, so I grabbed the Kindle version. The amount of typos in this version is completely unacceptable. It was obviously transcribed and never even perused before being uploaded. It makes Bantam look bad, makes Martin look bad, and makes me so mad that I am having a hard time enjoying the book. The types of mistakes range from the most basic: a completely wrong word such as “he” instead of “had” or a basic typo such as “sex” instead of “ser” to the unexplainable: italicizing a word and splitting it into hyphenated syllables for no apparent reason. It is averaging an error each page near the end, as if the transcriber had checked out completely by this point. Do yourself a favor, especially if this is your first time reading this amazing book. DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION!

As I said, the review was regarding typos in the ebook. And here is the payoff:

Commenter: Why do you let typos bother you so much? Do you feel superior when you discover them? Just food for thought from an avid reader.

Reviewer’s Response: No, I don’t feel superior when I find a typo. Pssh… Pfft… Pssh… If I spend money on a book, I would rather know for sure that a character’s name is Arnold and not Amold. What if I were to join a book club and I said, “I really like that character Amold!” And everyone looks at me like I’m the biggest idiot in the world, and then because I can’t see through the tears when I’m driving home, I hit your dog. Yeah. All because of a typo. Bam. Dead dog. Think about it.

Winter is Coming folks. Bring those dogs indoors!

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Amazing Reviews: Rowling

This is a series where I’ll review the best, worst book reviews from Amazon

I started this new series out of a personal love for reviews. There are some that sound as though they were written by a prominent contributor of the New Yorker, while others sound like this is the first time they’ve written on anything outside a bathroom stall. Amazon reviews give a voice to all types of people and their words are nothing short of amazing.

I wanted to kick this off with a book that for many began a lifelong addiction to reading, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Storms of children raided bookstores when it was released. Fans re-read this classic every year. The movies went on to break millions of box office records. People everywhere loved this book, while a select few did not. Let’s hear from the few that didn’t. I’ll post a review, then my rebuttal.

hate this book 1 out of 5 Stars on August 6, 2015 seriously that is all I have to say now: I hate this book. Now I’ll just need to say more because there has to be at least 20 words long. Really it is no different from many other magic books.

I appreciate this person’s commitment to adding a poor review and seeking out at least 20 words to make sure their impact is felt on the reading community. Job well done!

 This book is horrible! 1 out of 5 Stars on December 11, 2004 And I don’t mean the way stuff is written. I’m referring to the story! Not only does it have snake prejudice (i.e. Slytherin(pure evil)=snakes), but it just puts things as black and white (referring to good or bad). Think about it: the only exception is Professor Snape, the Potions teacher Harry has prejudice against.

And it also leaves some questions. Why would perfect Albus Dumbledore let “bad” kids join the school when they might commit crimes there (i.e., students like Voldemort)? And why would snakes side with Voldemort in symbolism and literalism (you find this out in the later books), simply because he’s evil!?!

In fact, I don’t see what’s to like about the book (in terms of things that I like): Snake prejudice (HOW COULD anyone!?!?!), witchcraft, geeks like Ron Weasley as perfect brats!?!

 I think we can all agree that snake prejudice needs to stop. The Book of Genesis, St. Patrick, and now Harry Potter is in on this discrimination. The time is now. Also I think this reviewer really likes parentheses (am I right?).

 Paper Thin Characters Supported by a Ripped Off Plot 1 out of 5 Stars on February 5, 2005 This supposed “original”, “amazing” books are nothing more than piles of junk. First off, the characters are paper thin, extremely predictable and disgustingly stereotypical. Take, Dudley for example – how many books have you read with a fat kid as the evil person, some greedy jerk! Maybe have an ORIGINAL story and have the overweight kid be the main character of a story some time! And Hermione, she’s a geek the exact stereotype of a girl! Supposed to be smart and preppy and always attentive in class, it sickens me! Also the characters had no demension, I felt no feelings when Sirius died and simply thought ‘wow thats nice’, not how I was ‘supposed’ to like some authors manage to make me. Also the plot was completely ripped off as well. Pathetic, Rowling couldnt even come up with her own ideas. She stole bunches of ideas from other, MUCH more quality pieces of literature, twisted and warped them to make you think its good writing. Take Aragog for example, how about Tolkien’s Shelob? Or the dementors, what ever happened to Tolkien’s Black Riders? In the prototypes for the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf was named ‘Dumbledore’. More then just a coincidence, and I dont think it was Tolkien, considering his books were written about 50 years before Rowling’s trash. Or how about the bodyless evil? Wasnt Sauron from Tolkien’s story a bodyless evil that couldnt take a human form? So where’d Voldemort come from? More then half of the plot ideas came from Tolkien’s amazing work, not her own head. This book along with the rest of the series, is a weak, pathetic imitation of literature that doesnt even deserve to be called a book.

Now that’s a long read and it is one of the more detailed critical reviews of the book. As you can imagine, it was not met without some backlash from the Hogwarts hopefuls on Amazon. The replies to this are priceless:

In the prototypes of LoTR Gandalf was named Dumbledore? Where the hell did you figure that out? Especially since it is completely false. Also, ADD A SERIES SPOILER ALERT! maybe not everyone has read the whole series (I have, but for someone who has not that is horrible). Oh, and PS- Dudley is not evil, he is just a jerk.

if you can’t see how amazing this book is you should’nt even be a reader you hater

Your parents are republicans, aren’t they?

If you’re going to tell someone to stop reading, you have to do it with correct grammar and punctuation. And we all know how those right-wing children have been trying to take down the Harry Potter fans for years. I’m glad someone finally wasn’t afraid to confront it . . . along with “snake prejudice.”

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The Best Brand in College Football

College Football Questions | Finding CFB’s best answers

 

As branding is a dynamic process and can evolve over time, so too can the impact that brand carries on the collegiate culture. To put it another way, just because you are the oldest national program, that doesn’t mean people are buying your things now.

These rankings are broken into two tiers, with the top tier having the most influence. A number of factors influence a brand’s current impact but I specifically looked at merchandise sales, attendance, net worth, wins and losses, brand recognition, newsworthiness and influence on the sport.

Top Tier

Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas – Multiple championships, recent to semi-recent success, iconic coaches and players, distinctly recognizable uniforms, top facilities, consistent top attendance, continual top recruiters, merchandise sales, national newsworthy respect

You could make the argument that Texas does not belong in this category but you’d be wrong. Even with recent lack of success, they are still a national program with influence that has remained intact, despite never getting back to where they were before Nick Saban destroyed their entire regime. Other Texas schools are up-and-coming, but they still measure themselves by a longhorn yardstick. What Michigan lacks in recent success they make up for in tradition, sales, regional dominance, and a coach that is being seen everywhere

Second Tier

Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Southern Cal, Tennessee – Iconic players, coaches, and traditions, unrivaled dominance of state or region, consistent attendance records, recent to semi-recent on-field success not exceeding tier one status

Florida and Florida State are neck and neck here. Both tie for state dominance. Both have recent iconic college QBs with a history of players and coaches that established their programs. Even though FSU’s celebrity quarterback was a punk and alleged-rapist and Florida’s was the epitome athletic role models, both have faithful fans that spend tons of money and nationally recognizable brands. Oregon is consistent and a trendsetter. Fans and non-fans buy their merchandise. They were the first fast on the field to take it to recent success. Along with Hollywood and liberals, Southern Cal will always own the state of California. No win-loss record will change that. Tennessee owns their state like no other school can claim. They have a storied program with some of the best coaches and players in college football history. Attendance records and merch sales are some of the best in country year in, year out. They can play a song 20 times a game and fans still come to sing every word of “Rocky Top.” Notre Dame is Notre Dame and no matter what happens they’ll always be one of the best.

Honorable Mention: Michigan State, Auburn, Miami, Oklahoma, Penn State

Auburn, Miami, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Penn State– These schools will always be compared to another in their state or region. No matter how much success they achieve, they will always be measured against another program. Right or wrong, that’s just the way it will be. Penn State…well that’s kind of obvious. What can I say – It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, if you let a child molester walk around and host “camps” on your campus, it MIGHT hurt your brand just a bit. That’s stink that won’t wash off any time soon.

By the Numbers

Sales

In 2015 Walmart provided the top 25 team merchandise sales and it was no surprise that two titans of the grid iron topped the list. Alabama and Ohio State ranked one and two. Now here’s the interesting part – this is from sales just in August 2015, before Alabama went on to win the National Championship and just after Ohio State’s dominating run of the 2014 season. Here’s a list of the notable teams:

• 1 Alabama
• 2 Ohio State
• 4 Georgia
• 5 Texas
• 6 Tennessee
• 11 Florida
• 14 LSU
• 18 Michigan
• 20 Florida State

Of course, a total of 12 SEC teams topped out the Walmart Top 25 because if there’s anything synonymous with the South and college football, it’s Walmart. Just spend a few minutes on People of Walmart and you’re bound to find some SEC gear pop up.

A more credible source of sales is from the Collegiate Licensing Company, CLC, (shout-out to Bill Battle!) which had the following schools listed as top selling schools based on merchandise. Here are a few notables:

• 1 Alabama
• 2 Texas
• 3 Notre Dame
• 4 Michigan
• 8 Florida
• 10 Tennessee
• 12 Florida State
• The CLC does not represent Ohio State, Oregon, or USC so they are not included in the ranking.

Attendance

Few things provide a brand as much strength as thousands of fans chanting its name every Saturday. That’s why attendance is a great indicator of a brand’s success. Attendance is a something that is both fluid and measurable. It’s one of the few things than can equally be driven by and drive the success of a program. Heck, Michigan gave tickets away to keep a streak alive back in 2014. It didn’t work for UAB and it didn’t work for Michigan either.

In an article for CBSSports.com, Jon Solomon provided data showing the 2015 top ten ranked teams for attendance:

1. Michigan
2. Ohio State
3. Texas A&M
4. Alabama
5. Tennessee
6. Penn State
7. LSU
8. Georgia
9. Florida
10. Texas

• Notre Dame (15th)
• USC (18th)
• Florida State (20)

The NCAA home attendance rankings for 2014 (last publically available) were:

• 1Ohio State
• 2Texas A&M
• 3Michigan 
• 6Alabama
• 7Tennessee
• 8Texas 
• 12Florida
• 14Florida State 
• 17Notre Dame
• 21USC

Worth

Money talks and the brands with the most money behind it tend to make the most noise. The Wall Street Journal’s article from earlier this year listed the most valuable teams in college football. To tell you just how significant these brands are, he measured them by the millions;

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Notre Dame
5. Alabama
6. Oklahoma
7. Florida
8. Georgia
9. LSU
10. Penn State 

• Tennessee (13th)  
• Oregon (18)
• Florida State (21)
• USC (24)

Winning

Nothing makes people notice you more than when you are holding a trophy. Hold it a few times in a row and, like it or not, people form their own theory of expectations for you.

One name you may notice missing from the list is last year’s title contender Clemson. That was intentional. Clemson had a great season and will, by most accounts, be poised for another run at the championship this year. Nevertheless, until they do, they will not be seen as a perennial team on the national stage. They’ve come close, gotten their once, but have not shown us that’s where they belong. Other teams have. Other teams have that on-going expectation.

We recognize that the paths they have taken in past seasons and we know that they know how to get there.

Recognition

Some brands just have it. It means that wherever you go in the U.S., sometimes even globally, people know what that certain arrangement of letters mean. People are able to take one look at the almost spherical yellow “O” or the old block letter grey and scarlet one and know who they mean. It can be cow horns, ancient helmets, or just cursive letters but some teams have brand recognition and some just don’t.

However that’s not all you need to be a great brand. People recognize Miami as “The U” but the program should begin thinking of going to “The I” for irrelevant.  USC seems to have forgotten that they are a winning program, but, because of their brand, they continue to recruit the nation’s top talent.

Influence

The “law of influence” is a frequently used idea by John Maxwell when referring to leadership qualities. In business it’s leadership, in marketing, it’s the brand. There have been several programs that changed the way the game was played. Back in the 1960’s, coaching towers became the rage when Bear Bryant found success using them in practice. Soon even professional league coaches started climbing them every day.

Some programs change practices and some change the entire offensive concepts of the game, but few teams have been able to change the way the game looks like Oregon.

In 1999, Oregon unveiled their first eye-popping uniform featuring black, green, neon yellow, and the iconic space-age “O” on the side of their helmets. The combination would been seen as boring by today’s standards, but it was miles ahead of what anyone else was doing. Since that time Oregon has gone on to add all-black uniforms, subtle jersey patters, metal wings on shoulder pads, neon socks, and chrome helmets.

Granted Oregon’s alternate uniforms have much due to Nike and Phil Knight, but it was their program that made the change a trend. No every school seems to have a neon version of their own colors or a chrome helmet to wear at some point during the season. When traditional throwback uniforms become all the rage again, they won’t attribute the trend to Penn State or even USC. They’ll say it was because of Alabama & the power of their brand’s influence.

Newsworthy

When its golf, it’s Tiger. When it’s basketball, it’s Lebron. When it’s college football it’s . . . . . somewhat of a toss-up. I’ll explain.

Newsworthiness is the combination of five factors that actually make a story ”news”; timing, significance, proximity, prominence, & human interest.  For college football purposes, news at one school will get more media coverage than the same news at a smaller with no national recognition.

A perfect example of all of this is Notre Dame. You may remember the name of a player who lost his mother and lost his girlfriend (although invisible) and become a semi-household name in the sports world. Forget the fact that this guy well-spoken and had a very wholesome appearance or was an on-the-field stand-out player for one of the country’s best college defense at the time. No, what brought this guy forward was the intertwined “ND” on his uniform. Manti Teo was catfished and it was national news because of who he played for at the time.

Conclusion

The findings are clear and provide a way for fans to see which brands are the best. This is not to say that these teams are the best or deserve the most glory. This only means that these programs carry more weight. Sometimes that weight is equal to the strength required to lift the trophy, but more often than not, it’s the weight of a crushing loss sitting on their shoulders as fans realize that although their brand is strong, their season is finished.

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Another Graph-ic Post

There’s an epidemic in our society today. And it has to stop. GRAPHS.

Graphs are a great way to measure the world around us. We can use them to chart finances or performances. We can check our vitals and see how healthy are.

But sadly, graphs are under utilized.

Data and findings go unnoticed, undocumented, and unloved every single day.

I’ve taken a stand to stop this trend before with A Graph-ic Post and A Graphi-c Post Too.  Let’s continue the mission below.

 

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Mid-Week Review | Descent: A Novel

This post is from a series where I review products during the week

I was looking for a good mystery. A page-turning, who-done-it and I thought this cover was pretty interesting. Here’s a tip for authors:

Don’t let your novel PEAK with the cover.

Descent: A Novel –The Rocky Mountains have cast their spell over the Courtlands, who are taking a family vacation before their daughter leaves for college. But when Caitlin and her younger brother, Sean, go out for an early morning run and only Sean returns, the mountains become as terrifying as they are majestic. 

Written with a precision that captures every emotion, every moment of fear, as each member of the family searches for answers, Descent races like an avalanche toward its heart-pounding conclusion.

Let me begin by saying I was very excited to read this book. It started out very well. It felt like stepping into a conversation that was already going, but one that wasn’t hard to figure out what was happening.

Cue the dramatic event a few chapters in and then you follow a family as it tries to pick up the pieces. Mom goes nuts. Dad continues a search for the daughter long after authorities have given up hope. Younger brother goes AWOL. Lifetime movie comparisons abound.

The main problem I had with this book was that the dialogue was like pulling teeth. For some reason that I’m sure has a concrete literary concept behind it, as the author is an actual creative writing professor, all the characters act like they’re deaf.

I wish I was kidding. Imagine pages of this:

“What do you think we should do?”

“What?”

“I said, what do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know, you’re the one calling the shots. What do you think we should do?”

“Well if I knew I wouldn’t be asking you, would I?”

“What?”

To be clear, this is not an excerpt from the book, but it is EXACTLY how I felt when I was reading some of the dialogue. Maybe it was a device to emphasize how distracted the characters were in the midst of everything or to make the conversations feel more natural. For me it just didn’t work.

Then the book seems to have a problem with the story it’s trying to tell. We saw the characters as a family and we saw their individual stories of heartache and pain. Then [spoiler alert] we saw Caitlin. It was like the book couldn’t decide if it was going to be an action story of a heroine getting herself to safety or following the lives of a family in the aftermath of tragedy. Instead it tried to be both and neither one came away feeling very strong.

Now all that being said, this guy can write. The language and descriptions he gave are honestly reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy. Like seriously, that good. The story kept my attention even when the plot seemed to get bogged down in tangent adventures that had no bearing on the story. The unraveling of the mystery of Caitlin’s disappearance was discovered in such a way that it hurt to think this was the best trail the author took to get us to the climax.  Think of solving a crime like Scooby-Doo, not Sherlock Holmes.

To the author’s credit he was trying to approach a beaten-like-a-dead-horse category of child-goes-missing, family-falls-apart genre and was able to do something unique.

It’s worth a read, especially if you can ever find it for under $5. Which is what I would have liked to have paid after I read it.

If you enjoyed this review you would check out:

• Mid-Week Review | The Good Neighbor

What’s Been Going On

Just imagine Amos Lee singing that like I always do. A lot’s been going on. Here’s some of the things I’m doing now.

Of course the largest portion of my time is spent raising these two and awaiting our third to come in May.

Sawyer [4] & Lincoln [3]

I just got finished reading this.

And now I’m reading this.

Here’s what I’m listening to at work,

Sean Wes

And here’s what I’m listening to in my workshop (garage).

The rest of my spare time is spent working here.

And here’s something I found really cool.

Zen Pencils “All the World’s a Stage” William Shakespeare

ENJOY.

Mid-Week Review | The Good Neighbor

This post is from a series where I review products during the week

Let me begin by saying this review is harsh. I rarely give any writer’s work a bad review, but this time I had to a make an exception.

The Good Neighbor – Shadow Cove, Washington, is the kind of town everyone dreams about—quaint streets, lush forests, good neighbors. That’s what Sarah thinks as she settles into life with her new husband, Dr. Johnny McDonald. But all too soon she discovers an undercurrent of deception. And one October evening when Johnny is away, sudden tragedy destroys Sarah’s happiness.

Dazed and stricken with grief, she and Johnny begin to rebuild their shattered lives. As she picks up the pieces of her broken home, Sarah discovers a shocking secret that forces her to doubt everything she thought was true—about her neighbors, her friends, and even her marriage. With each stunning revelation, Sarah must ask herself, Can we ever really know the ones we love?

Before I share with you my review (which Amazon refused to post) I will say that I can tell the author did her best effort with this work. It is obvious that she poured all she had into this story and that is commendable. I’ll even admit to the fact that this book was a page-turner, not just because I was hoping the main character who die on the next page, but I did want to see how the story ended.

So here is the review that was too harsh for Amazon:

Title: If you think this is a good book-STOP READING BOOKS-You are not good at it

Review: This book was a straight-up pile of garbage. I wish I was kidding. I like to read. I even enjoy Lifetime movies. I thought this book was be kind of like that. It wasn’t. I have chosen to provide specific examples of why this book is so dumb. I don’t even have to mention spoilers to do it.

• -“Steady as she goes” is actually said although the characters are not operating a sailboat, which is the only acceptable reason one would say this. Instead it is used when a group of men are holding a ladder for a women in her pajamas to go up it and into a burning building. I’m not a sexist, but what the heck kind of guys would do this in real life???
• -The character’s last name is revealed to be Pheonix and her house burns down. She even says, “By sheer force of will, I would make the ashes rise,” I’m not even kidding here.
• -An actual description on the character’s husband is, “his indefinable male aroma, reminiscent of spice and the salty sea” I’m a guy. I have been a guy all my life. The only way a guy would smell like this is if he is eating curry while wadding in the Pacific.
• -One page says, “I dove down after her” (clearly past-tense). LITERALLY THE NEXT PAGE says, “I’m drowning.” Then returns to past-tense pages later. Folks this is a from an actual publisher!!!
• -We are to believe the protagonist’s husband is a dashing, masculine, wealthy doctor that makes all women swoon and leaves the main character paranoid that he is having an affair. One problem though – He drives a RAV4??? Now, this is by no means a knock on the vehicle but a sub-compact SUV??? This is what Brawny-man, General Hospital-type doctor drives? SERIOUSLY??? Rather than going with a Range Rover or Ferrari or Porsche, this doctor drives the 2015 IHS Safety Pick??? [yes that’s an actual link to the 2015 IHS Safety Pick]
• -The majority of the book is spent with the main character trying to calm her nerves.
• -Oh, guess what the main character does, SHE’S A WRITER!! What?!! How did the author come up with that??
• -It get’s better…She write stories about a fictional mouse, called Miracle Mouse! Now think of the most recognizable cartoon character in the world – it’s a mouse, with the initials “M M”. Real originality by this author!
• -Along those same lines, the author lived in India. Guess where the character’s mother is currently living….. give up….INDIA!!!
• -Finally, the entire motivation of the story’s antagonist came completely out of nowhere. You could have put all the characters on dart board and any of them would have been interchangeable for the climax. The finale was also explained by referencing the movie Backdraft. Yes, the movie from 1991 with Kurt Russell and one of the lesser Baldwin brothers.If you are a writer, have any aspirations to right, or can even spell your own name then this book should fill you with hope. If this author got a book deal and people to actually read her book, then YOU TOO can do it.[mic drop]

So that ends my review. I’m glad that I got this book for free from Amazon and I can only assume that is the reason it is a #1 Bestseller in Contemporary Literature and Fiction. I’m very sorry if I hurt anyone’s feeling, but after 204 pages of this book, I had to vent.