WHAT TO READ.

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Okay, so I read several books this week.

First up, I went to Lulu and secured a copy of Consider What Becomes of the Ashes, the latest work released by pixelnyx [ellnyx]. 

It was brilliant, as expected. 

Five star reviewed: 

“A story of complex emotions, beautifully told. This short, compelling read combines all the in-your-face heartbreak of a scarred psych and shattered dreams, with a reality that runs where dreams never dared. Exceptional.”

Available in print or digital editions.

From obooko I tried the five star rated  An Unfettered Mind  by Annemarie Banks. Enjoyable, definitely. Free – of course.

From Lulu, also fosebook: summer 2010 (electronic). Still working my way through that one. Not a collection to skim. There is a wide variety of styles and voices represented here.

Five star reviewed: 

“By Marianne Ross

I couldn’t resist this book when I saw the front cover. And it's free, which is quite cool. Flowers of Sulfur is a community of artists and poets. They seem to have much energy and creativity; wonderful artwork and many really good poems mixed with art. It’s much more energy in this then most I’ve seen for a long time. I especially like the works from Jeremy Blomberg and Thomas Sheridan, but most contributors are really talented. Thanks!”

The collaborative blog Flowers of Sulfur is a breathing hole for unconventional offbeat poetry and art. This publication... More > contains pieces from poets and artists from all around the world who contribute and take part in this creative community.

When work of this standard is free for the taking, life is extraordinarily good. Also available in print.

And I read the Performance Art extraordinaire that is #3D1D The Archivists.

In a medium where performance has been necessarily restricted to reading, or even spoken word ad lib, MCM has moved into a new and awe-inspiring field of performance. I am one of the many who can draw blood with a single look when I am disturbed while writing. Not only does MCM manage to stay calm and smiling – he wrote 50 000 words, live.

On the site, he says:

“Livewriting a historical thriller in 3 days

    From March 24 to 26, 2011, I created a book live online, using random insanity from people like you (yes you!) to make the most mind-blowing century-spanning adventure of all time! But this time it wasn't just online... it was in Belgium!

Stats!

I wrote 52,000 words in 45 hours, which comes out to 1,115 words per hour, or ~20 words a minute. The longest chapter was 1,939 words, the shortest was 264. There were 87,000 questions and answers submitted from 12,000 users. Overall, something in the range of 300,000 people watched the writing unfold, and the PDF of the final product has been downloaded over 10,000 times in the three days since it was released. Also, I had exactly 4 chocolates thrown at my face while I wrote. And I ate two of them. Mmm.

The rest of this page is legacy, to show you what happened. Stay tuned for announcements on the final Archivists book, coming in about six months!”

If ever a man needed a clap and a hug, it’s this one.

That's what I did this week. Reading, not hugging or clapping.

I wrote, too. And wrote and wrote and wrote. Felt good. I am still to decide if it is good. Time will tell.
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