You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day - Paul's (Audiobook) Review

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Title: You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)
Author: Felicia Day
Year Published: 2015

Narrator: Felicia Day
Foreword: Joss Whedon
Audiobook Length: 6 hours 17 minutes


Synopsis: From online entertainment mogul, actress, and “queen of the geeks” Felicia Day, a funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet-stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood.

The Internet isn’t all cat videos. There’s also Felicia Day—violinist, filmmaker, Internet entrepreneur, compulsive gamer, hoagie specialist, and former lonely homeschooled girl who overcame her isolated childhood to become the ruler of a new world…or at least semi-influential in the world of Internet Geeks and Goodreads book clubs.

After growing up in the south where she was "homeschooled for hippie reasons", Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia’s misadventures in Hollywood led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and become an Internet star.

Felicia’s short-ish life and her rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Now, Felicia’s strange world is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism—just like her memoir.

Hilarious and inspirational, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.

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Review: I am a big fan of Felicia Day and everything she does. I watched each season of The Guild as it released and really enjoy what she has created with Geek and Sundry. When it was revealed that she was writing a book I got super excited. I love listening to memoir-ish books on audiobook when they're read by the author. 

This book has stories from Felicia's childhood all the way up to the present. There are light humorous tales and reveals of some pretty heavy things. Although Felicia does strip down with many issues in this book, she finds a way to still keep private about many things. Unfortunately because of things she's gone through, her current life can't be that open. 

Felicia Day had a unique childhood. How she ended up being homeschooled is an interesting story. And everything that followed has led her to the place in nerd culture she holds today. She acted as a child, played violin, entered college without a high school diploma, and so many other things that made her different. 

I found myself with watery eyes a few times while listening to this book. I was expecting it. Some things I just really connected with. The full gambit of emotions are in this book. 

I give this book a 4/5. It doesn't have as much focus as other memoir/comedy books I've read/listened to, but it is packed full of entertaining and enlightening tales. If you are in need of inspiration, this is a wonderful read. 


--PAUL

Neil Gaiman Presents Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (audiobook) - Paul's Review

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Title: Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners
Author: Ellen Kushner
Year Published: 1987

Narrators: Ellen Kushner, Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones
Audiobook Length: 10 hours 54 minutes

Synopsis: On the streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. And in this city, the swordsman Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless – until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye. Because every man lives at sword's point, if you can only find his weakness. And even the greatest swordsman in Riverside has one thing he cares for deeply.

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Review: This audiobook is presented by Neil Gaiman. The majority of the novel is narrated by Ellen Kushner herself. A few of the scenes are acted out, some with even background music and other added sounds. I preferred just Ellen Kushner reading. The acted out scenes weren't frequent enough for me to attach the characters to voices. I was more familiar with Ellen Kushner's voices of the characters. There were also so many characters with unique names that it took me a while to get to know them as well. 

It also took some time to get into the world, too. But once I started to figure out how this world works, I really liked it. The politics of the world reminded me of Downton Abbey, but add Game of Thrones in there. The swordsman are the celebrities in this culture. And the wealthy hire them to fight out their disputes. 

This novel was written in 1987 and I didn't think it felt old. It withstood the 25 years since it was published, in my opinion. The depiction of sexuality was very progressive. Almost all the characters are portrayed as fluid in their sexuality with same-sex pairings commonplace. Besides their sexuality, all the characters are also very grey. There is depth to all of them. They play the game and each have their own ideas of honor and morale. 

I loved the ending. All the pieces fell into place just right. I was very satisfied. I will definitely be looking into the sequels. I give this audiobook a 4/5 and recommend it to fans of intrigue set in a unique world. 

  
--PAUL

Neil Gaiman Presents Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (audiobook) - Paul's Pre-Reading

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Title: Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners
Author: Ellen Kushner
Year Published: 1987

Narrators: Ellen Kushner, Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones
Audiobook Length: 10 hours 54 minutes

Synopsis: On the streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. And in this city, the swordsman Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless – until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye. Because every man lives at sword's point, if you can only find his weakness. And even the greatest swordsman in Riverside has one thing he cares for deeply.

Why?: I've heard great things about this book. Felicia Day's book club, Vaginal Fantasy, read this book as one of their alternate picks last year. I added it to my tbr list back then and since then I've subscribed to audible. I saw the audiobook was produced by Neil Gaiman. There's also a quote from George R. R. Martin on the cover featured on goodreads. If so many great people like it, I'm hoping I will too.   

Expectations: I'm expecting an in depth fantasy novel with some same-sex romance. I've heard the fantasy world established is quite vast and I am definitely a sucker for good world building.   

Judging a book by its cover: The cover for the audiobook is pretty simple. There's just a guy in a really unique white cape/jacket of some sort. An alternate cover featured on goodreads shows two characters in elaborate clothes. These covers both remind me of older fantasy novels. This book was published in 1987.  


--PAUL

Geek and Sundry Vlogs Voting!

It's the next step in the competition. All the submissions have been received and now it's time for the public to vote! If you haven't seen my submission, please check it out! I give suggestions for other books you may be interested in if you like The Hunger Games trilogy. 

Please click !HERE! to go to the Geek and Sundry site. There you can watch my video and then vote! There's a lot of other great video submissions there, too! Spread the love!

If I do get picked to become a part of Geek and Sundry Vlogs I will make videos about all things YA. I'll talk about some of my favorite series, some of my favorite characters, common tropes and cliches in YA, upcoming books, and much more. I am going to continue to make review videos with a twist. So far I made a cooking review for Shadow and Bone and a crafting review for Tiger Lily. If you have any suggestions on ways I should review books leave a comment! Or contact me via goodreads, twitter, or youtube! Links can be found to the right. 

Have a great day!

-PAUL

If You Like the Hunger Games, You Might Like...

I finally made another youtube video! This one is a recommendation video for fans of The Hunger Games  trilogy and movie. I made it to submit it to the Geek and Sundry Vlog channel. If you aren't familiar with Geek and Sundry, it is a channel created by Felicia Day that has many weekly shows that cover all topics of geek culture. They recently set up a companion channel comprised of vloggers. My favorite is Geeking Out hosted by Neil McNeil and Becca Canote. You can check out the Geek and Sundry Vlog Channel here!

Here is my video. Please like, share, and subscribe. I'm going to be making videos a lot more frequently, I hope. 

My Recommendations:

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

MATCHED by Ally Condie

UGLIES by Scott Westerfield

THE FORSAKEN by Lisa M. Stasse

LIBYRINTH by Pearl North

If you have other suggestions, leave a comment! Or, if you like a popular book series and want recommendations, ask me!

-PAUL

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - Paul's PRE READING

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Title: Boneshaker
Author: Cherie Priest
Year Published: 2009

Synopsis: Boneshaker derives its title from the Bone-Shaking Drill Engine, a device designed to give Russian prospectors a leg up in the race for Klondike gold. Unfortunately, there was one hitch: On its trial run, the Boneshaker went haywire and, long story short, turned much of Seattle into a city of the dead. Now, 16 years later, a teenage boy decides to find out what is behind that mysterious wall. Can his mother save him in time? Zombie lit of the first order.

Why?:  I was first introduced to Cherie Priest through the Sword and Laser Book Club on the Geek and Sundry youtube channel. They had an episode featuring an interview with Cherie Priest. You can find this episode below. But, onto the "why?". Zombies and Steampunk.

Expectations: I am expecting this to be well written. It is sometimes considered YA, but it seems like it was not intentionally written for a younger reader audience. I expect some cool steampunk tech and some awesome zombies. 

Judging a book by its cover:  The cover is so steampunk: the glasses, the dirigible, the coal stricken face. I like the cover. It already paints a world that I'm ready to read about. 

-PAUL