Mission Statement

What is the purpose of this blog, you might be asking? Why should you bother reading it, you wonder? And who the hell is Reece and why should you care what he thinks about anything, let alone books? Well, allow me to enlighten you!

My name is Reece, obviously, and I am an avid reader and have been since the ripe old age of 4. I love nearly all kinds or printed media, and have spent a good chunk of my life happily turning the pages of some book or other. However, when I browse the web reading book reviews they often sound like they are trying to imitate one another or the blurb on the back of the book itself and they rarely go into much depth, which frustrates me. I want to know how they really feel about a book, how they would describe it to their best friend. I do not want to read a totally impersonal review written in language no one ever uses.

I figured as I have spent so much time reading books and thinking about the things, that I should share my accumulated thoughts (I wouldn't go so far as to say wisdom) with anyone out there that cared to read them.

Now, why do I call it the home of the unfair and completely biased review? Quite simply because I am going to be honest in my opinions. I have no intention of trying to please anyone with my reviews or to pretend to be either fair or unbiased. These are my opinions after all, of course they will be biased. I will not pander to a book simply because it has become canonized, if I do not like it I will state why. In this I often find myself in agreement with Mark Twain when he said a Classic is a book often discussed but seldom read. Nor will I slam a book simply because everyone else does. I vow to tell it straight as I see it, for better or for worse. You will never hear me describe a book as a "soaring tour de force," or a "spellbinding, edge of your seat thrill ride" or some other such nonsense. Who talks like that anyway?

I also intend to cover all types of printed media, not just novels. This means I will delve into graphic novels, short stories, poetry, non-fiction, web based fiction, screenplays, stageplays and anything else that I feel deserves a review. I will cover all genres and many different forms of media as well, as I like to read many different types of books. Essentially, there will be no arbitrary limits imposed upon this system.

The content of the reviews will focus on several factors. I will post my opinion as to the quality of the ideas presented, how much of an emotional response the book evoked in me, the skill in the craft of the given media, any interesting points I feel are worth bringing up and most importantly how much I enjoyed reading it. I will also include some ideas for similar works that you as a reader may find worth checking out if you enjoyed reading the book under review.

Why should anyone bother to read these as opposed to reviews on amazon.com or some similar site? Well for one, I encourage people to read other reviews, the more the better. But one problem I have always had with online reviews is that they are such a grab bag of opinions. Half of the people posting reviews can barely write, and the other half are trying too hard to sound intelligent. That is a gross generalization to be sure, and there are plenty of good reviews out there, but that general feeling is what prompted me to begin this project. Over time, I expect that anyone who reads more than a few reviews of mine will get a feel for my likes and dislikes, and be able to compare them to their own. Basically I hope to be able to provide a stable and familiar point of view along with a high degree of quality. As for my actual bona fides outside of a life time of reading, I graduated with honors in English literature from the fine institute of San Diego State University (Go Aztecs!). So, I should at least have some small clue as to how to analyze the written word.

My hope is that through this blog at least a few people will be encouraged to expand their horizons and read things they might not have otherwise. I really, really hope that people will be inspired to go out and read at all as opposed to wasting more time and brain cells in front of the TV. Reading is a way to expand your mind, and to educate yourself as to the workings of this big, beautiful world we live in. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life and I hope to spread that passion to others.

Lastly, and on a much more selfish note, I hope to improve my own writing skills through this blog as I have aspirations to see my own name gracing the cover of a book or three one day.