Steven C. (SteveTheDM) -
Helpful Score: 1
Well, you've sure got to hand it to Scalzi for monetizing his blog... A book of old blog posts is a dream that every blogger must have.
But believe it or not, the book is quite readable. Essentially, it's a collection of short essays. And while the entries here read pretty much the same as they read on his blog, the time *I* carve out for reading a book is both longer and less chaotic than the time I carve out for blog reading. So the essays become easier to reflect upon and somehow more enjoyable. It's an interesting switch.
The entries themselves cover a multitude of topics: current events & politics, the business of writing, Scalzi's take on religion, and all the random bits that Scalzi's blog has touched on over the years. Some are better than others (of course), and every once in a while I found myself wishing I could see the other comments of readers.
I was very happy to have picked this one up for a moment when I just didn't want more fiction. 4 of 5 stars.
But believe it or not, the book is quite readable. Essentially, it's a collection of short essays. And while the entries here read pretty much the same as they read on his blog, the time *I* carve out for reading a book is both longer and less chaotic than the time I carve out for blog reading. So the essays become easier to reflect upon and somehow more enjoyable. It's an interesting switch.
The entries themselves cover a multitude of topics: current events & politics, the business of writing, Scalzi's take on religion, and all the random bits that Scalzi's blog has touched on over the years. Some are better than others (of course), and every once in a while I found myself wishing I could see the other comments of readers.
I was very happy to have picked this one up for a moment when I just didn't want more fiction. 4 of 5 stars.
Richard H. (haganr) reviewed Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I typically like John Scalzi's novels. I did not, however, have much, if any, appreciation for this compilation of postings from his blog called Whatever! I read about the first dozen entries or so and was left with the strong impression that Mr. Scalzi has a significantly overinflated impression of this own opinion. This is particular apparent in regards to creationists. Several of the initial postings made that abundantly clear. His disposition towards them seems to border on outright bigotry. He left me with the impression that he considers all creationists ignorant rubes. I am a creationist and I have a Bachelors degree in Environment Engineering, a Masters degree in Computer Science, and have been teaching computing courses at the college level for 23 years. I have examined the evidence on both sides of the creation/evolution debate and am thoroughly convinced the creationist (or intelligent design model, if you prefer) is much more rational and better explains the evidence than that which the Darwinists have come up with. (Punctuated equilibrium, really? Multiverse theory, huh? Spore migration from other planets, lol. How desperate can you get?) Chemical evolution, in particular, is an insurmountable obstacle to Darwinism since there is not one shred of evidence in the fossil record, nor has any experimental observation every demonstrated, such a thing ever happened or is possible. You can put whatever chemicals you want in whatever solution you want subject it to whatever conditions you want and you still will not produce a living organism. Until and unless someone can do that, I see no legitimate reason to buy any of their other assertions. It will be very difficult for me to read a John Scalzi novel in the future with the same level of enjoyment.
