Comments for mlarson.org

Comment on Farewell Summer (review: 2/5) by mark larson | Now and Forever: Somewhere a Band Is Playing & Leviathan 99 (review: 3/5)

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:44:16 +0000

[...] absurdly high for an 8×6 hardback that barely makes 200 pages. Like I noticed in his previous Farewell Summer, the publisher beefs up a fairly thin book with extra line-spacing, which probably annoys me more [...]

Comment on Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories (review: 3.5/5) by mark larson | The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2007 (review: 3.5/5)

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:43:58 +0000

[...] anthology will have some hits and misses. At least, in contrast with my frustrating experience with Flash Fiction Forward, all of my favorites from this book are available online, and only two of those are behind [...]

Comment on Favorite Albums of 2009 by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:56:13 +0000

Thanks! Luckily the tracking part isn’t too much work, since almost everything goes through iTunes for me. Just whip up a smart playlist for things where “Date Added” is in 2009. But going back through and separating the wheat from the chaff is somewhat exhausting. Worth it for me, though.

Comment on Favorite Albums of 2009 by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:13:04 +0000

I really love your end-of-year music lists! I want to keep better track of what I listen to this year so I can copy you…

Comment on by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:08:03 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Oshinskie. I hope you find inspiration elsewhere.

Comment on by mark oshinskie

mark oshinskie — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:36:03 +0000

Randy Pausch was a self-indulgent individual with nothing to say. It’s pathetic that people look to him for “inspiration.”

Comment on Favorite Albums of 2008 by mark larson | Favorite Albums of 2009

mark larson | Favorite Albums of 2009 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:36:42 +0000

[...] last year, I spent (way too much?) time going through iTunes to pick some stand-outs for my year in music. [...]

Comment on Umberto Eco on “How I Write” by Dumnezeu asculta reggae? « Insula din ziua de ieri

Dumnezeu asculta reggae? « Insula din ziua de ieri — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:48:47 +0000

[...] despre care vorbesc e o postare in blogul lui Mark Larson, un student american si se afla aici: Umberto Eco on “How I write” Ma lungesc prea mult la vorba. Vroiam sa scriu despre altceva si fac povestea prea lunga. Postarea [...]

Comment on Manhood for Amateurs (review: 4/5) by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:57:10 +0000

Bonnie, if you’ve got any suggestions as to which novel is The Best, I might give him another shot…

Comment on Manhood for Amateurs (review: 4/5) by Bonnie

Bonnie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:51:06 +0000

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve seen him read/speak as well and also found him in person to be just the right mix of “you are all here to see me so I’m going to say something that I think is important with conviction — but wait, what do I know? Well… here’s a few of the things I’ve learned.”

It’s the same combo of passion/humility/experience that I enjoyed in his essays.

I also happen to LOVE his novels. I also happen to have had a hard time getting in to each and every one of them. He hits a stride at a certain point and then it becomes very very worth it. He also ends books very well. Which is wonderful for me, because my biggest pet peeve of reading is becoming engaged in a book, enjoying it and then hitting a wall of sloppy writing right at the end with an inconsistent, poor, or sudden ending.

Chabon only takes a while to build momentum in all of his novels, but it creates a kind of urgency/rhythm in his work that really pays off in my opinion.

Comment on Umberto Eco on “How I Write” by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:05:22 +0000

Share, share away, E!

Comment on Manhood for Amateurs (review: 4/5) by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:50:46 +0000

As you know, I haven’t been able to finish anything of his, either. Someone on Twitter suggested this as a good gateway drug, so I guess I’m going to have to pick it up…

Comment on Umberto Eco on “How I Write” by E

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:40:24 +0000

My compliments for your article on the lecture of Umberto Eco. I have a page in Romanian about one of Umberto Eco’s books, Island of the day before, and about Eco in general and I ask for your aproval to use your article and the images on my webpage. I’ll give the proper links to your blog, and I just want to present it – as it is – the impressions of someone that has seen his lecture.

My regards. I’ll be back to read more of your blog. :)

Comment on One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (review: 5/5) by Tim

Tim — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:18:32 +0000

Yup — one of my faves.

Comment on Newspaper blackout gratuitous unboxing by YOU BOUGHT ART!

YOU BOUGHT ART! — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:15:02 +0000

[...] a “gratuitous unboxing” post from Mark [...]

Comment on Gemma Bovery (review: 4/5) by Giles Booth

Giles Booth — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:49:30 +0000

I love this book. You’re spot on – it is dark but not cynical. I wasn’t sure about the book’s punchline, but as I was (almost) in tears by the end, I needed something to smile about. Love your quote about scaffolding!

Comment on When I gave to a beggar by greg

greg — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:34:57 +0000

I wonder how much of your initial hesitation to give stems from a sense that generosity in that context seems ineffectual. If you believed that your change, perhaps combined with other people’s change, might actually make a longer-term difference, it wouldn’t be so hard to give, right?

I struggle with the whole phenomenon, as well. I end up being torn between resent and pity and neither is a good place for charity to start.

Comment on by David Miller

David Miller — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:35:04 +0000

Hi Mark, I’m the publisher of App Pages, thanks for doing this write-up. If you don’t have the 2009 edition and would like one, please let me know and I’ll send you a complimentary book. I’ll also send “Awol on the AT” if it looks like something you’d be interested in. I’m also a reader and so purused some of your reviews. Right on with “Devil in the White City.” Promising, but too much foreshadowing. I’m looking to create an advert piece with quotes about App Pages. Please email me if it would be okay to use something from you like “A real winning idea.”
Sincerly, David Miller

Comment on Fun fact: I have a podcast by krisis

krisis — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:41:19 +0000

I can’t believe you have had a podcast all of this time and never let me know! Now I have to carve out space from my overstuffed iPod to download a few.

Comment on Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (review: 4/5) by Seth

Seth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:48:12 +0000

Sounds like an interesting read. Might have to see if the library has a copy.

Comment on Love Is a Mixtape (review: 4/5) by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:07:03 +0000

Definitely move it up on the list y’all. It moves pretty quickly, too. Maybe a good long afternoon read.

Comment on Love Is a Mixtape (review: 4/5) by Seth

Seth — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:10:25 +0000

Sounds good. Adding this to my “to read” tag on GoodReads.

Comment on Love Is a Mixtape (review: 4/5) by krisis

krisis — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:18:32 +0000

I love Sheffeild, and this has been on my “check it out” list since it was released. After IJ and that ARG novel I just blogged about I’ll have to read this.

Comment on I’ll tumble for ya by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:53:01 +0000

This is super-annoying, David. I’ve noticed it, too, but have been too busy with non-internet fun to solve it yet. Eeergh.

Comment on I’ll tumble for ya by david

david — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:57:05 +0000

(I couldn’t find an email address so I hope you see this.)

I’ve seen, at best, sporadic functioning of your Tumblr. I’m not sure if I’m the only one getting it, but it’s slowly driving me bananas.

I see the posts in my feedreader (Google Reader, if it matters) and then when I click to actually read them I get a 404 error. (http://tumblr.mlarson.org/post/116931562 is currently showing a 404 to me, for example.)

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen tumblr.mlarson.org load, but it’s currently just showing me a blank white page.

If I didn’t find what you’re posting so interesting, I’d hardly have noticed. But it seems like every entry I see is good enough to open in a tab, and almost every time I get a 404 error.

Hope there’s a solution.

Comment on I’ll tumble for ya by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:37:56 +0000

Sweet. Looks like I got this thing figured out.

Comment on I’ll tumble for ya by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:07:45 +0000

Links are working now.

Expect reblogs. Lots of ‘em.

Comment on I’ll tumble for ya by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:01:10 +0000

Dammit. Let me what’s happening…

Comment on I’ll tumble for ya by bonnie

bonnie — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:45:49 +0000

Your links aren’t working at the moment, but I look forward to subscribing to the tumbly thing. I also have been meaning to set up a tumbly thing, but I haven’t yet figured out how to funnel it to my domain. How does that work?

Comment on by Mark Larson

Mark Larson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:27:45 +0000

I’d never heard of “When We Were Kings”. That sounds great!