BooksofJobe.com

Coastal Transmissions From an Oregon Transplant

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  • Optimism Can Be Exhausting

    There are a lot of words that could be used to describe me. For the purposes of this post, though, the word we’ll go with is ‘mellow.‘ I may be cynical with a healthy dose of sarcasm, but on the whole I wouldn’t call myself overtly negative. I don’t think most people who know me… Read more

  • Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig (2012): Like Reading Chili Cheese Fries

    Reading is kind of like eating (just go with me here): Sometimes you want a luxurious, elegant meal by candlelight, complete with fine wine and classical music. Other times you want homestyle meatloaf with mashed potatoes, or chicken fingers, or maybe a big plate of chili cheese fries with an ice cold beer. Mmm…chili cheese… Read more

  • Lessons Learned from Listening to a ‘Cool’ Radio Station

    It’s amazing to me how even in 2014, in an age of self-driving cars and hyper-realistic sex dolls (clearly the two biggest technological advancements of all time, right?), I can still forget what kind of incredible technology I have at my fingertips. Growing up in a sparse desert halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas,… Read more

  • The Great Bradello

    “Sometimes the one with the biggest smile is the one hiding the biggest frown.” Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, “Treatment is simple. Great clown, Pagliacci, is in town… Read more

  • The Ruins by Scott Smith (2006): Making Vines with Pretty Red Flowers Absolutely Terrifying

    I’m scrapping my previous book review formula, The Quarterly Book Report. It made for posts that were too long (I felt), and forced me to condense my thoughts on a book down too far. From here on out, I’ll just drop a review randomly as I finish a book, capiche? I finished this book a… Read more

  • Let’s Hear It for Swift Kicks in the Butt

    Last week, I sung the praises of being back in a routine again. How finally that would let me get some stuff—we’re talking writing stuff here—done. So here we are, a little over a week later, and who would like to guess just how many words I’ve written since then? Anyone? Here, I’ll give you… Read more

  • Finally, a Routine

    We’ve all heard that change is good; we should embrace change. I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job at that the last couple of months, to be honest. New job, schedule all over the place. Not that I’m complaining—far from it, I love my new job—but finally I’m back into a routine and… Read more

  • Where I Geek Out a Little Bit

    I’ve always considered myself a bit of a geek. Or is it a nerd. A geeknerd. A…neek? Anyway, there’s been a monumental shift in popular culture over the past few years. All the nerds and geeks that got picked on and teased, say twenty years ago? Yeah, they run shit now. Which is cool. Part of… Read more

  • Might I Suggest a Little Light Reading?

    I wasn’t planning on any more blogging this week (especially two days in a row) after the gargantuan beast that was yesterday’s post, but I had to make an exception. I got an email yesterday from Danse Macabre Magazine’s sister site DM Du Jour, letting me know they were publishing my flash fiction story Silence,… Read more

  • Cue the COPS Theme Song: My Day with Wichita’s Finest

    I never talked about my job much here on the blog, and that was generally for good reason: I didn’t like it. I had a steady, good-paying job, but I was absolutely miserable. I won’t go into it much, mostly because I still have friends there, but also because I worked for a large company… Read more