This Book Will Change Your Life - The Failure by James Greer.

Travel. Work. Planes. Trains. Read. More read. And The Failure by James Greer. Not just read, consumed, and struck by how little we must read about Los Angeles. We say this why, because as we read it we didn't think books, we thought movies, The Limey with less grime, Leaving Las Vegas, sort of, the bars for sure, Shortcuts, sans the ensemble, Magnolia, totally, but with more humor, and we'll come back to the humor, promise, and Exit Through the Gift Shop, yes, too. We know what we think know about Los Angeles, we the staff here at TBWCYL, Inc. headquarters, and we the royal we, Chicago is humble and friendly, New York is aggressive and on the make, and Los Angeles, arty, relaxed, slacker and sunny, both exterior and interior all at the same time. And The Failure hits all that, and gets all noir, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang comes to mind, death and mystery, though not so much death or so much mystery, because ultimately it's about story and journey, jammed with quick, tight chapters, that befit a journalist turned author and screenwriter. The Failure is always moving forward, even as it moves backward, so yes Pulp Fiction as well, and filled with humor, absurdist really, and such a nice surprise because humor seems to be missing in so much of literature these days. Regardless, The Failure is charging and fun, and a reminder that Los Angeles may be just what we think it is, but that whole association is from the movies, and so maybe we need to find some more Los Angeles based authors and novels, maybe, and maybe we need to thank James Greer for that, and maybe you will too, when you read it, consume it, and it just maybe changes your life as well.     

James Greer. Metazen. Book excerpt. Wonderbar.

New BFF and renowned author and musician James Greer has an excerpt of his new novel The Ordinary Rendition of Caeli Fax up at the always fine Metazen and we think this is most kind indeed. We also think some excerpt of said excerpt is in order. Cool? Agreed.

"It’s odd, thought Caeli Fax, that at this time and in this place “hearing voices” should be a sign of mental illness. Most of history would have made of you a prophet or a poet. Most of history would have genuflected before you. Which, frankly, can become tiresome. The life of an oracle is not for me. You can’t go anywhere. You have no privacy. Everyone is always asking questions. The wrong questions, or worse, questions without an answer, or with so many answers you have to just pick one at random."

"More precise and funnier than anything in Knocked-Up." You Can Make Him Like You gets North of Onhava'd. And likes it. A lot.

Big thanks to new BFF James Greer for his most kind review of You Can Make Him Like You at the North of Onhava. We also appreciate the quite fine company we are included with in this post. And drinks are definitely on us whenever and wherever we meet-up next. Now how about some excerpt? Word.

"Tanzer writes with endearing frankness about the kind of postponed adolescence that most Judd Apatow characters go through in Judd Apatow movies, except Ben is more honest, and his dissection of his character Keith’s emotional oscillations is both more precise and funnier than anything in Knocked Up, for instance. (I really hope Knocked Up is a Judd Apatow movie, or this review is screwed.)"

Birthday love.

Inspired by old friend and TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Jason Jordan we have decided to share the birthday bounty acquired by TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer. We are most happiness.