Tomorrow night at 9:30 (CST) I will be broadcasting a discussion of the book Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.
I’m sure you have SO many questions. Like:
Who will you be discussing this book with?
I’m so happy you asked! I will be discussing this book with my friend, fellow blogger and nerd, Rissa Crozier. Read her blog, Being Alive: You’re Doing it Wrong at risboombah.com!
Why are you discussing this book?
Short answer: Felicia Day told me to.
Longer answer: I’ve been talking to a couple of friends about starting a Skype based book club. After searching the interwebs for people who have already done this I found some amazing models. You’ve probably heard of them! Sword and Laser and Vaginal Fantasy were the main two that I looked at. Over at V.F. (the name weirds me out) they discussed Poison Study this past month at I think what was Felicia Day’s recommendation. And if Felicia Day tells you to read a book…I mean she’s like nerdy Oprah.
Best answer: It’s a nerdy fantasy novel and it was a lot of fun.
What if I can’t watch this thing at 9:30? It’s a Friday night and I have plans, nerd!
First of all, that hurts my feelings. Second of all, you can just watch it here later!
Have you watched The Guild? I hope your answer is YES. But if it isn’t…here’s the deal.
The Guild was created by actress Felicia Day after battling video game addiction in real life. Her character in the series, Codex, ironically, is dealing with the same thing. She is addicted to playing a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) which they only refer to as “The Game.” Think – World of Warcraft. Anyway, trying to be a better human, Cyd has decided to have her guild (online team) become friends in real life. We get to meet this odd group of humans and laugh/cringe/empathize with their gamer lives. One of the really great things that Felicia Day accomplished with these characters is how she shows that gamers come in all shapes and sizes and levels of strangeness.
Codex – is a pretty ex-violinist who is adorably awkward around guys and is desperately trying to find a balance between real life and gaming life.
Vork – an older man who lives in crazy, frugal and illegal ways to support his habit. He believes everyone’s hatred of him is the glue that’s holding the guild together.
Tinkerballa – a college student. She is rude to almost everyone, is bored most of the time and is “smothered” by boyfriends who call her more than twice a week.
OK…so at this point, I’m assuming that you have watched The Guild, are in the process of watching it, or I won you over with my power of persuasion and you’re going to start watching it immediately after you finish reading the gold that I’m typing into the internets right now.
For those of you not so easily persuaded here’s some selling points!
A). It’s on Netflix Instant – easy peasy. (And YES, I always list this as a #1 selling point because I’m assuming that everyone is as lazy/poor as I am). HOWEVER, if you bailed on Netflix you can ALSO watch for free on their YouTube channel GeekandSundry. Oh, and it might be on Hulu. NO EXCUSES. IT’S FREE.
B). Yes, this show is really nerdy. It is all about people who play video games…a lot. However, it is ALSO just really, really good. Seriously, like award winning good. YouTube, Rolling Stone, South by Southwest, Yahoo! and so many others have awarded this show “Best Web Series.” So quit being judgy and give it a chance. Even if you don’t play any video games ever and think that people who do are wasting their time.
C). On YouTube his show has had just a few views. Like 79,333,146 views. EVERYONE ELSE IS WATCHING THIS.
Oh, and along with 5 seasons of nerdy joy, they also have released several music videos. These are also definitely worth a watch/listen too.
Here’s their most recent music video I’m The One That’s Cool directed by Jed Whedon (Joss’ brother).
I absolutely fell in love with the characters in this show and they’re partially responsible for me trying to figure out what this world is all about. Whether or not you’re a gamer, you will be able to identify with the relationship issues and other personal struggles that are so oddly and endearingly presented in this show.
I’m considering of trying out World of Warcraft for my next game. Thoughts?
