Caleb J. Ross's Blog, page 62

Part Four of Four Dialogues on Literature with Pablo D’Stair and Caleb J. Ross, live at the Sunday Observer

Part four of what may be the most interesting dialog I’ve ever had with another human being (I’ve had plenty of good ones with cats) is now live at the Sunday Observer. Pablo D’Stair and I talk all sorts of shop. Seriously, and I say this as objectively as one can when the subject of a piece, this thing is worth reading, all parts, one through four.

Read part four, here.

Then, be sure to read part one and part two and part three as well.

Book design, Die-cut and Image Wrap book covers (Video Blog Ep 012)

In this episode I examine two examples of book design: the die-cut cover and the photo finish (or ImageWrap) while touching on the the embossed hardcover. Examples include Denis Johnson’s Nobody Move, Chuck Palahniuk’s Rant, Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend, Tim Etchells’ The Broken World, Brian Evenson’s Baby Leg, and Will Christopher Baer’s Hell’s Half Acre.

Live Author Reading will Change Your Life!

With two Kansas City area readings coming up, and a few people asking me what the heck an author reading is, I decided to make this quick video, as a bumper of sorts, to preface any future events. If this doesn’t get people in the door, what the hell will?

What are the upcoming events? Glad you asked. Here:

$@!# Authors Say, May 24th
The How’s My Hair Author Reading, May 26th

Part Three of Four Dialogues on Literature with Pablo D’Stair and Caleb J. Ross, live at the Sunday Observer

Part three of what may be the most interesting dialog I’ve ever had with another human being (I’ve had plenty of good ones with dogs) is now live at the Sunday Observer. Pablo D’Stair and I talk all sorts of shop. In his installment we compare publishing to marathon running (but not in that long haul, endurance cliche way that you might be thinking) and also what sort of accolades should be involved, if any, in publishing.

Read part three, here.

Then, be sure to read part one and part two as well.

A video review of the newest novel by Stephen Graham Jones, Growing Up Dead in Texas (Video Blog Ep 011)

After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos

Part Two of Four Dialogues on Literature with Pablo D’Stair and Caleb J. Ross, live at the Sunday Observer

Part two of what may be the most interesting dialog I’ve ever had with another human being (I’ve had plenty of good ones with dogs) is now live at the Sunday Observer. Pablo D’Stair and I talk all sorts of shop. In his installment we talk about a world without context, the reader as an audience, music, and more. Seriously, and I’m not just saying this because I’m involved, there is some damn good stuff going on here.

Read part two, here.

Then, be sure to read part one as well.

Part Two of Three Dialogues on Literature with Pablo D’Stair and Caleb J. Ross, live at the Sunday Observer

Part two of what may be the most interesting dialog I’ve ever had with another human being (I’ve had plenty of good ones with dogs) is now live at the Sunday Observer. Pablo D’Stair and I talk all sorts of shop. In his installment we talk about a world without context, the reader as an audience, music, and more. Seriously, and I’m not just saying this because I’m involved, there is some damn good stuff going on here.

Read part two, here.

Then, be sure to read part one as well.

Why You Will Never Stop Reading Books by that Shitty Author You Secretly Love

Extree, extree, this just in, Caleb tells you why you may have shitty taste in books. New article at Slothrop.com just went live, titled “Why You Will Never Stop Reading Books by that Shitty Author You Secretly Love.” A taste:

My goal here, it would seem, is to strip away the magic and aesthetic pleasure from the reading experience until all that remains is a conscious system of if/thens made to cultivate so much data and worry that you’d be better to build an apocalypse bunker, devoid of all text, than to crease the spine of a highly anticipated blockbuster from James Patterson (though, you’d be wise to avoid the latter no matter my intentions with this blog post). Yes, it seems that way. But no. Rather, it is important to understand the very basics of the free will argument if we are to at all suppose books as a unique medium.

Head over to Slothrop to read the post. Leave a comment. Let Phil know how much you love the article. Maybe he will have me back.

Novel Easter Eggs, part 4 – Fight Club and The Canterbury Tales (Video Blog Ep 010)

Easter Eggs, you know, those hidden references in movies, books, websites, and more that aren’t necessary but are damn fun in a treasure hunt sort of way. I planted a few (13 to be exact) in my newest novel, I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin. In this, part 4 (of4), I reveal references to Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) and Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales).

After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos

Part One of Three Dialogues on Literature with Pablo D’Stair and Caleb J. Ross, live at the Sunday Observer

Increasingly, one of my favorite things is dialogue(ing) with Pablo D’Stair. He’s the sort of arm-chair thinker/drinker, literary critic type that I get on well with. Recently, he and I had yet another email back-and-forth, this one for the Montage section of the Sunday Observer (“Sri Lanka’s English Newspaper with the largest circulation”), where we wax on about genre vs. literary writing, the sound of language, what constitutes success, and more. Dare I say that this series is perhaps our most interesting dialogue yet (though, I reserve the right to someday find hidden genius in our past discussions).

Head over to the Sunday Observer now get all icky with Pablo and Caleb sticky.