What I read in 2012

Here's a list of the books and short stories I read this year. I recommend the titles in bold.

Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and Email Overload by Mark Hurst (non-fiction, 2007)
From The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:
- "The Reigate Puzzle"
- "The Crooked Man"
A Hidden Witch by Debra Geary (modern fantasy, 2011)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (fiction, 1999)
Why Good People Can't Get Jobs: The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It by Peter Cappelli (non-fiction, 2012)

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (fantasy, 2009)
A Modern Witch by Debora Geary (modern fantasy, 2011)

Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon (non-fiction, 2012)
The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart (fantasy, 1979)
From The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:
"The Musgrave Ritural"

From The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:
- "The Stock-broker's Clerk"
- "The 'Gloria Scott'"

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (urban fantasy, 2005)
Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength by Laurie A. Helgoe (non-fiction, 2008)

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon (fiction, 1988)
Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel, 1990)
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss (non-fiction, 2007)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (fiction, 1951)
"The Yellow Face" from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (science fiction, 1985)
Start a Freedom Business by Colin Wright (non-fiction, 2012)

After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (superhero fiction, 2011)
"Silver Blaze" from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Linchpin by Seth Godin (non-fiction, 2010)

"Embroidery" by Ray Bradbury (science fiction/fantasy, 1940s-1950s)
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (fantasy, 1996)
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Stop Stealing Dreams by Seth Godin (non-fiction, 2012)
"The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (urban fantasy, 1998)
"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

On Writing Well by William Zinsser (non-fiction, 1976)
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More by Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon (non-fiction, 2008)
"The Red-headed League" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Short stories by Ray Bradbury (science fiction/fantasy, 1940s-1950s)
-- "The Flying Machine"
-- "The Murderer"
-- "The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind"
"A Case of Identity" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Five Orange Pips" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Man With the Twisted Lip" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Heart of Stone by C.E. Murphy (urban fantasy, 2007)
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (science fiction, 1966)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (fiction, 2012)
The Constant Art of Being a Writer by N.M. Kelby (non-fiction, 2009)
Short stories by Ray Bradbury (science fiction/fantasy, 1940s-1950s)
-- "The Fog Horn"
-- "The April Witch"
-- "The Wilderness"
-- "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl"
The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"A Scandal in Bohemia" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sandman Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel, 1991)

Merlin: What if Mordred knew?

I thought of a plot twist that could redeem the final season of Merlin (a little bit, anyway). Season 5 spoilers under the cut.

Unsubscribing from blogs

Does anyone use RSS feeders anymore? I have a few dozen feeds in Google Reader. Some of them are active blogs. Some of them haven't posted in a while, but I really like them, so the feeds stay.

Then there are others that I haven't read in a while. I unsubscribed from a lot of those tonight.

These are the feeds I scroll through, barely scanning the post titles. The content is still good, I'm sure, but my interests have shifted and I don't care about these blogs anymore. So tonight I clicked the Unsubscribe button, and then I did it a few more times.

I'm reading Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst, and the point he keeps reinforcing is "let the bits go." We already have too many things that want our attention. We have to learn to let go of the things that don't really matter, the things that waste our time and do not provide us with value.

So when I have a pile of ignored RSS feeds (not a pile, a list–you know what I mean), I have to be okay with unsubscribing. I let go, and the thing that goes away is the weekly effort of scrolling through new posts to get the Unread count back to zero. I gain time back, actually.

Merlin: "A Lesson in Vengeance" should have ended differently

I don't like complaining about Merlin, but it's one thing when the show doesn't progress (where it could) and another when things that should have logically happened, don't.

I liked tonight's episode but the ending should have been different. Spoilers below for 5.07 "A Lesson in Vengeance."

An Open Letter to Charlie McDonnell

In response to his video, I'm Scared.

Dear Charlie,

Lately I haven't been on YouTube much so I just watched your video last night. More on that in a moment, but first I want to say I think the way you're feeling is completely normal.

I don't have a million people seeing what I post online, but I can relate to how you're feeling because everyone has a version of that same fear. Everyone wants to be loved, and everyone is afraid of disappointing others. The straight-A student worries about getting a B on her next test. The star quarterback worries about missing a catch in the playoffs. I'm using high school stereotypes, but you get the idea.

Like many others have said, I think the most important thing to do is keep going. If you like making videos, keep making videos. All creative people have duds in their work, something that didn't come out the way they expected or didn't get the reaction they were hoping for. But the more you do something, the more you improve. Those duds are experiences you can learn from, and that's better than not making anything in the first place.

I started watching your videos when I was in college. I had spare time between classes or I'd take a break from studying and hop onto YouTube. Many of your videos are funny and creative, but that's not why I subscribed to your channel. From the first video I watched (it was Blink), I could tell that you liked making videos. Your personality comes through and even though making videos is a lot of work, you make it look easy. There's the camera and there's Charlie.

I don't know of many people who can make a living doing the thing they love, but you're one of them, and that has always been an inspiration to me. When I was having a bad day or frustrated with whatever I was working on, I could watch your videos and know that over in England, there's this young man whose job is making videos and he loves it. And that gives me hope.

So back to last night. I have a job right now but it's not what I'd like to do for a living. I don't know what I'd like to do long-term, actually, and I've been frustrated with myself for not figuring it out. So I went onto YouTube. And I checked if you've posted any new videos because I know you love what you do, and it's a joy seeing that.

I didn't expect to see a video like "I'm Scared" on your channel, but I'm glad you uploaded it. It's easy for viewers to forget that vloggers are real people with lives outside the internet. It's easy to forget that the Charlie we see on screen is only a part of you. And it's easy to forget that you can be good at something and still doubt your ability to do it.

I hope you continue making videos. You've inspired me to keep going, and I hope the video responses, comments, and messages you've been receiving will help you feel that you aren't alone in your fear (because you aren't) and that we look forward to your videos, whatever their content, (because we do).

Take care,
Kali

I have a writing exercise for the writers of Merlin

It goes like this.

Part 1: Ask yourself “Does this scene add something important to the story?” If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, get rid of it and write something better in its place.

Part 2: When a character reaches a turning point in the story, ask yourself “Is this decision consistent with what the character has done so far?” If the answer is yes, keep writing. If the answer is no, revise.

Part 3: When reviewing a script ask yourself “Would this episode be better if Merlin could openly use magic?” The answer is yes and you should have revealed his magic last season.

Cloud Atlas: Watch for Themes

I usually don't read much about movies before I see them, so going into Cloud Atlas I knew that 1) Tom Hanks and Halle Berry were the leads 2) scenes mixed from periods in the past, present, and future and 3) it was based on a book but I haven't read it.

I walked in to the movie expecting that it would be one story that jumped around, but about 45 minutes in, I realized that the best way to watch it was by themes and not try to think too much about the stories. The scenes jump around and the character introductions are too fast to keep track of everything in that way.

So instead, I looked for ways to connect the segments according to common themes and that worked pretty well.

Spoilers under the cut.