Larryisms, Book One by Larry John has some fun spots in it, but it was a mild disappointment. The cover is fun, with an expressive guy’s face making all kinds of serious and goofy expressions. It’s also a cute small square instead of the traditional paperback size.

The book is simply a list of pithy sayings, which ordinarily I’d love. The fun part is supposed to be figuring out when Larry is serious and when he’s just joshing. Hmm, not so fun because of the high “groaner” quotient.

As you may have guessed, the sayings themselves are a mixed bag. Some made me laugh out loud, and quite a few made me smile. I appreciated the somber truth in others. And the rest? Pure groaners.

A few examples:

• “I think going to the bathroom is the biggest ‘waste’ of time.” (groan)

• “When people say, ‘Do you have a minute to talk?’ They don’t mean 60 seconds.” (smile)

• “I am always amazed how often I have to decide to tell the truth. It should be easier.” (Huh. Interesting thought!)

Minor criticism: I know my copy was an ARC (Advance Reader Copy). But there were quite a few quotes repeated.

My personal verdict: I’m not sorry I read it, but I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. On a scale of 1-5, I’d give it a 2.

And the price on the back of $14.95 is waaaaay too high.

Disclaimer: I’m a participant in LibraryThing.com’s Early Reviewers program and get freebie books in exchange for reviews. (Positive or negative, doesn’t matter.) You get to select from a list of books and periodically something from the list will be sent to you. Unfortunately, my review isn’t so “early” … mea culpa. I’ll do better next time!

Technorati Tags: Larryisms, Larry John, LibraryThing.com, Early Reviewers, book review

Just as an experiment, I think I’m going to start keeping track of the days I don’t work on my fiction and the reasons/excuses I give myself … plus some possible solutions. Maybe that will help me pinpoint my roadblocks and map my way around them.

This morning: Slept too late.

Possible solutions:

• Set your alarm clock! (Duh.)

• Also, go to bed early enough the night before so that you have a full night’s sleep. This isn’t 1979 and your college dorm room at Ole Miss, you know.

• Um, go to BED the night before instead of falling asleep stretched out on the sofa. That way, in the morning you’re near the — oh, I don’t know — actual alarm clock.

• When you fall asleep on the sofa and wake up beside the cats with the TV remote pressed into your cheek in the pre-dawn hours, then drag your butt to bed and set the clock for an early morning writing session, OR go ahead and get up to write. Going back to sleep and dreaming about writing? It doesn’t count.

Tsk-tsk note to myself: Seriously? You lazy ass.

Photo credit: Dr. Hemmert

Technorati Tags: procrastination, problem solving, removing roadblocks, writing excuses

I’m pulling out of the Entrecard system for several reasons, but this blog has got an accumulation of 3,967 credits that I need to distribute before I go. So here’s the deal of the day:

I’ll give you 100 Entrecard credits just for signing up for this blog’s RSS feed or email feed, until I run out of credits. That should make 39 new readers happy, and the 40th will get a tinier slice of the pie (67 credits, or more, depending on how many dropped cards I get in the meantime). Use one of the giant orange buttons in the top right corner of my site to sign up. And please leave a comment on this post with the name of your Entrecard blog so I can send you the credits!

My leaving isn’t an indictment of the Entrecard system — I like many of their recent improvements, such as the ability to link multiple blogs. (But I do *not* like their weird new ad pricing system. FYI.) I just am trying to pare down my computer-facing time, and clicking through a promotion system like this just isn’t as fun or profitable as other projects I could be doing. So I’m spreading the EC love with this giveaway before I go.

Note to current advertisers: I will leave the Entrecard widget in place until your ads have run their course, don’t worry. I won’t back out of a deal! :o)

Thanks, Entrecard visitors! :o)

Technorati Tags: free Entrecard credits, Entrecard giveaway