Alex M. Bright's Blog, page 3
October 7, 2018
To anyone feeling shattered right now...
My heart hurts so much. Kavanaugh was confirmed, thus also confirming every sexually abused and raped woman/girl's worst fear --> we are not believed, and reporting it at any time is not only useless, but will set us up for re-victimization by society.
I've always wished for these words to be said to me, but they never have and probably never will. So, fuck it. I'll say them myself and hope they help someone else.
I've always wished for these words to be said to me, but they never have and probably never will. So, fuck it. I'll say them myself and hope they help someone else.
September 30, 2018
Beyond Maragret Atwood
If you haven't heard of The Handmaid's Tale, you've likely been living under rock for the last couple of years, especially considering the new television adaption. Maragaret Atwood's seminal science-fiction classic is easily one of Canada's most famous literary exports, and she is one of the very few authors from the Great White North who are known worldwide. Despite our small population, Canada has created some wonderful writers -- and I would like to introduce you to three of my favourites. This is hardly an objective "best-of" list -- just a few to whet your appetite for Canuck literature.
Before I start, I'd like to get Robert Munsch out of the way -- he's the amazing author of dozens of children's stories, and no kid library is complete without at least a handful of his books. When my American cousin gave birth to her first child, I sent a bunch of Munsch to her. She'd never heard of him before, but Thomas's Snowsuit quickly became a household favourite. If you've never heard of him, either, I urge you to type his name into Youtube and listen to one of his stories -- preferably narrated by the author himself. He's incredible!
So, on to some of my Canadian suggestions:
1. Timothy Findley
Findley was a long-time author, playwright, and actor intrinsically linked with the internationally recognized Stratford Festival, of Stratford, Ontario. What makes him special, beyond his renaissance-man talent, is that he was an out gay man in a time when it was still not common. What's more, he wrote about it openly. All of his novels and plays have, to varying degrees, an element of queer life. I'm a fan of many of his novels, but if I had to suggest one it would be Not Wanted on the Voyage. It's a retelling of the Noah's Ark story, where Noah is a drunk, God has one foot in the grave, there's a talking cat named Mottyl, and the most sympathetic character is Lucy -- a trans version of Lucifer.
2. Tomson Highway
I'll admit that I read Highway on course instruction for university. Despite that, his plays have stuck with me for nearly twenty years. Most people have an aversion to reading plays instead of watching them, but I've never seen his plays performed. Reading them is enough, in my mind. He is an aboriginal author who weaves modern (late 20th century) aesthetics into traditional indigenous stories of philosophy and demi-gods. There's no way to mention The Rez Sisters without mentioning Dry Lips Ought to Move to Kapuskasing -- for they are the Sister/Brother plays. One follows the women of an aboriginal community, and the other follows the men. In both is the connecting character of Nanabush -- a trickster god who is a-gendered, represented as male in the Sisters play, and female in the Brothers play.
3. Robert J. Sawyer
Atwood isn't Canada's only science fiction writer. Sawyer is newer (though not new) and less well-known (though not unknown) author who veers toward the more scientific end of the sci-fi spectrum. The Neanderthal Parallax Series, consisting of Hominids, Humans, and Hybrids, begins in Sudbury, Ontario, in the very real Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, where the main character is accidentally thrown into an alternate timeline of earth history. In this alternate timeline, evolution has chosen a different route in primate development. The result creates a reflective society which makes humanity question the arbitrary rules and norms on which any civilization is based.
Before I start, I'd like to get Robert Munsch out of the way -- he's the amazing author of dozens of children's stories, and no kid library is complete without at least a handful of his books. When my American cousin gave birth to her first child, I sent a bunch of Munsch to her. She'd never heard of him before, but Thomas's Snowsuit quickly became a household favourite. If you've never heard of him, either, I urge you to type his name into Youtube and listen to one of his stories -- preferably narrated by the author himself. He's incredible!
So, on to some of my Canadian suggestions:
1. Timothy Findley
Findley was a long-time author, playwright, and actor intrinsically linked with the internationally recognized Stratford Festival, of Stratford, Ontario. What makes him special, beyond his renaissance-man talent, is that he was an out gay man in a time when it was still not common. What's more, he wrote about it openly. All of his novels and plays have, to varying degrees, an element of queer life. I'm a fan of many of his novels, but if I had to suggest one it would be Not Wanted on the Voyage. It's a retelling of the Noah's Ark story, where Noah is a drunk, God has one foot in the grave, there's a talking cat named Mottyl, and the most sympathetic character is Lucy -- a trans version of Lucifer.
2. Tomson Highway
I'll admit that I read Highway on course instruction for university. Despite that, his plays have stuck with me for nearly twenty years. Most people have an aversion to reading plays instead of watching them, but I've never seen his plays performed. Reading them is enough, in my mind. He is an aboriginal author who weaves modern (late 20th century) aesthetics into traditional indigenous stories of philosophy and demi-gods. There's no way to mention The Rez Sisters without mentioning Dry Lips Ought to Move to Kapuskasing -- for they are the Sister/Brother plays. One follows the women of an aboriginal community, and the other follows the men. In both is the connecting character of Nanabush -- a trickster god who is a-gendered, represented as male in the Sisters play, and female in the Brothers play.
3. Robert J. Sawyer
Atwood isn't Canada's only science fiction writer. Sawyer is newer (though not new) and less well-known (though not unknown) author who veers toward the more scientific end of the sci-fi spectrum. The Neanderthal Parallax Series, consisting of Hominids, Humans, and Hybrids, begins in Sudbury, Ontario, in the very real Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, where the main character is accidentally thrown into an alternate timeline of earth history. In this alternate timeline, evolution has chosen a different route in primate development. The result creates a reflective society which makes humanity question the arbitrary rules and norms on which any civilization is based.
September 25, 2018
Finding Time To Read
First thing's first: I read. A lot.
I'm constantly reading for work -- both fiction and non-fiction. The trick is, at the end of the day, I'm often too tired to read for pleasure. If I have the time in the evening, I'd rather just bust out my knitting needles and knit whilst I watch Netflix or listen to music. Does anyone have the same problem?
The other day I was discussing it with a colleague (and friend), and -- EUREKA! -- he gave me a possible solution. Being a dad to a toddler son, he rarely has time to himself, so he gets up early (5:40 am) and reads. It's his quiet time, until his wife and son awake and the house becomes semi-organized chaos. Long story short, he challenged me to do the same.
I don't have kids (a blessing in some ways, perhaps, but it breaks my heart) so I've been waking up half an hour earlier at 6:15. I honestly thought it would kill me, but it hasn't. In fact, I feel better for it. Reading is a glorious way to wake up -- engaging your mind without worrying about what needs to be done that day. I end up better able to meet the day, and in a better mood overall. I'm sure those around me appreciate that, too.
How do you find time to read when the day doesn't seem to have enough time in it?
I'm constantly reading for work -- both fiction and non-fiction. The trick is, at the end of the day, I'm often too tired to read for pleasure. If I have the time in the evening, I'd rather just bust out my knitting needles and knit whilst I watch Netflix or listen to music. Does anyone have the same problem?
The other day I was discussing it with a colleague (and friend), and -- EUREKA! -- he gave me a possible solution. Being a dad to a toddler son, he rarely has time to himself, so he gets up early (5:40 am) and reads. It's his quiet time, until his wife and son awake and the house becomes semi-organized chaos. Long story short, he challenged me to do the same.
I don't have kids (a blessing in some ways, perhaps, but it breaks my heart) so I've been waking up half an hour earlier at 6:15. I honestly thought it would kill me, but it hasn't. In fact, I feel better for it. Reading is a glorious way to wake up -- engaging your mind without worrying about what needs to be done that day. I end up better able to meet the day, and in a better mood overall. I'm sure those around me appreciate that, too.
How do you find time to read when the day doesn't seem to have enough time in it?
September 14, 2018
Top 10 Novels Which Had a Significant Impact on Me
*in no particular order*
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by JK Rowling
2. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
3. IT, by Stephen King
4. The Never Ending Story, by Michael Ende
5. Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll
6. The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham
7. Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens.
8. The Handmade's Tail, by Margaret Atwood
9. The Watchmen, by Alan Moore
10. A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift
Yes, I realise the last one isn't actually a novel, but I had to fit it onto this list anyway. Bear in mind that this list isn't necessarily of my favourite novels, though some of them do fit that description, but of those which altered my life in a meaningful way.
Philopher's Stone allowed me to watch my once book-shy younger brother develop a love of reading, and introduced me to two decades worth of character obsession. Brave New World introduced me to concepts, sociological and political, which still inform my cynical perception of the world around me. IT had kids so realistically drawn, and without the myopic simplicity adults often dress their younger characters. The Never Ending Story inspired me to think abstractly about the influence of stories on life, and the very existence of humanity. Through The Looking Glass was the giver of word-play and neologisms. The Chrysalids is the only book on the list I had to read for school, and it got me into classic science fiction. Oliver Twist is the reason I wrote my fourth year history thesis on how childhood changed from a time of cheap labour, to a time of sacrosanct innocence. The Handmade's Tail is. It just is. Brilliant. Though-provoking. And proof that a Canadian author can be a literary giant in the world. The Watchmen was the first graphic novel I ever read and, because of it, not the last. Finally, A Modest Proposal showed me what real satire is -- not playful and funny, but biting, and paradigm shifting.
I doubt many will read this post, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Please share your own "most impactful" novels -- one, or two, or ten. Your choice. I'd love to hear (read) what they are!
~Alex
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by JK Rowling
2. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
3. IT, by Stephen King
4. The Never Ending Story, by Michael Ende
5. Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll
6. The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham
7. Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens.
8. The Handmade's Tail, by Margaret Atwood
9. The Watchmen, by Alan Moore
10. A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift
Yes, I realise the last one isn't actually a novel, but I had to fit it onto this list anyway. Bear in mind that this list isn't necessarily of my favourite novels, though some of them do fit that description, but of those which altered my life in a meaningful way.
Philopher's Stone allowed me to watch my once book-shy younger brother develop a love of reading, and introduced me to two decades worth of character obsession. Brave New World introduced me to concepts, sociological and political, which still inform my cynical perception of the world around me. IT had kids so realistically drawn, and without the myopic simplicity adults often dress their younger characters. The Never Ending Story inspired me to think abstractly about the influence of stories on life, and the very existence of humanity. Through The Looking Glass was the giver of word-play and neologisms. The Chrysalids is the only book on the list I had to read for school, and it got me into classic science fiction. Oliver Twist is the reason I wrote my fourth year history thesis on how childhood changed from a time of cheap labour, to a time of sacrosanct innocence. The Handmade's Tail is. It just is. Brilliant. Though-provoking. And proof that a Canadian author can be a literary giant in the world. The Watchmen was the first graphic novel I ever read and, because of it, not the last. Finally, A Modest Proposal showed me what real satire is -- not playful and funny, but biting, and paradigm shifting.
I doubt many will read this post, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Please share your own "most impactful" novels -- one, or two, or ten. Your choice. I'd love to hear (read) what they are!
~Alex
September 6, 2018
51 Free Downloads and Counting...
Hi Everyone,
I'm surprised at how many free ebook copies of TRIsocialization have been downloaded this week already -- 51! If you haven't got yours yet, tomorrow (Friday, Sept 7th, 2018) is the last day. Follow the link below, and I hope you enjoy it.
Have a wonderful weekend,
~Alex
I'm surprised at how many free ebook copies of TRIsocialization have been downloaded this week already -- 51! If you haven't got yours yet, tomorrow (Friday, Sept 7th, 2018) is the last day. Follow the link below, and I hope you enjoy it.
Have a wonderful weekend,
~Alex
September 2, 2018
Starts Tomorrow!
Welcome back to a new school year folks,
Are you looking for a new ebook to read this September? TRIsocialization will be available to download for free between Monday, Sept 3 and Friday, Sept 7! Just click on the link below for your kindle edition.
Enjoy!
~Alex
Are you looking for a new ebook to read this September? TRIsocialization will be available to download for free between Monday, Sept 3 and Friday, Sept 7! Just click on the link below for your kindle edition.
Enjoy!
~Alex
August 27, 2018
Free Ebook!
Welcome back to a new school year folks,
Are you looking for a new ebook to read this September? TRIsocialization will be available to download for free between Sept 3 and Sept 7! Just click on the link below for your kindle edition.
Enjoy!
~Alex
Are you looking for a new ebook to read this September? TRIsocialization will be available to download for free between Sept 3 and Sept 7! Just click on the link below for your kindle edition.
Enjoy!
~Alex
March 25, 2018
Free Ebook!
Hi everyone,
My novel, TRIsocialization, will be available for free on Amazon this week from Monday, March 26, 2018, 12:00 AM PDT to Friday, March 30, 2018, 11:59 PM PDT. Get your copy! My only request is that you leave a review when you're done, if you feel you have the time to do so. Have a wonderful last week of March, everyone!
~Alex
My novel, TRIsocialization, will be available for free on Amazon this week from Monday, March 26, 2018, 12:00 AM PDT to Friday, March 30, 2018, 11:59 PM PDT. Get your copy! My only request is that you leave a review when you're done, if you feel you have the time to do so. Have a wonderful last week of March, everyone!
~Alex
