As I threatened a few weeks ago
in comments, I decided to collect all my posts as an eBook. It’s available
here. The eBook differs from the
posts in a few ways: I made some minor corrections; I added a few thoughts on
further reflection; and, most importantly, I inserted a number of comments into
the posts. Still, it’s probably 95% identical to the original. Edit to add: Amazon estimates the book has 800 pages. That's ridiculous, though I guess it depends on things like type size, etc. In Word it had about 460, and that included forced pages in order to make each episode essay begin on a new page. The actual reading length is probably about 380 pages. So don't take the Amazon estimate at face value.
My request of you is not that you
buy the book. That would be tacky. Besides, I’m leaving the blog up so you can
continue to read it for free. No, my request is that you rate it or even write
a review of it. Technically you haven’t read it, of course, but since the posts
here are so nearly identical, anybody who’s read these could fairly comment on
the eBook.
Thanks in advance, and thanks to
all of you who read and provided such thoughtful comments. If comments occur to
you on any episode now or in the future, go ahead and leave them. I get notice
of them and will respond.
I tried to rate it and write a review, but I think Amazon won't let you if you haven't purchased it yet. :(
ReplyDeleteHm. Didn't know that, but it makes sense. So much for that idea.
DeleteGet yourself set up on goodreads - that's another website where people can rate and write reviews. It's super easy to set up (I just set up my own author page this weekend)
DeleteThanks. I'll check it out.
DeleteCongratulations on finishing the whole series. Champagne, anyone?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I see from the above that you can't actually review on Amazon apparently, but if you get set up to review somewhere I will definitely write one. I enjoyed the Chosen post and hope to come back with comments soon, when I'm in a particularly comment-y mood.
Thanks. I'm going to set one up at Goodreads if I can (per AGNZelda's suggestion), and I'll edit the post when I do.
DeleteI look forward to your thoughts on Chosen, or any other episode when the mood suits.
hmmmmmmmmmmmn. request noted. got to see it.
ReplyDeleteFYI - Amazon has accepted my review and has posted it. Hope you like it and it brings you a sale. ;-)
ReplyDeleteVery nice. Thank you!
DeleteI've read your entire series of reviews, but never commented before. However, I must say your analysis on the story has been a wonderfully insightful and thought provoking experience!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's been asked before, but have you considered doing a similar series for "Angel"?
Thanks! I really appreciate that.
DeleteIt has been asked before, but I don't mind answering. I don't plan to review AtS, at least not now, because I haven't watched it as much, or thought about it as much, so I don't feel that I have enough to add.
I can understand that you don't think you have as much to say about "Angel", but I think we'd all appreciate reading your thoughts, even if they aren't as well developed as the ones for "Buffy". I'd also love to hear your thoughts on "Firefly" and "Dollhouse", while we're Whedon-ing. I really don't CARE if you wouldn't have the depth of insight you've had with "Buffy"....I think even your proto-interpretations would offer all of us new ways of seeing. C'mon!!! PLEASE? Pretty please?? (I need my Whedon fix, and I prefer it from someone with your close-reading abilities.)
DeleteThat's very nice of you.
DeleteWithout committing myself one way or the other, how about this for now -- for Dollhouse (at least S1), see my posts on The Initiative and Goodbye Iowa. The Dollhouse is a panopticon, and the point of the show is the way society tries to change the personalities of the "dolls" by controlling their environment (and, since it's sci-fi, literally imposing new personalities). The story of Caroline/Echo is how she manages to preserve her own basic humanity despite this.
There's also a good deal of meta-commentary on Hollywood and writers. Writers are the panopticon (metaphorical) of the characters. Writers force the characters in a show to do what the writers want; the characters must change at the whim of the writers (trapped in the narrative, as I said in my post on Storyteller). The multiple uses of Joss's own famous phrase -- "give them what they need, not what they want" -- in Epitaph 1 brings this home to him personally.
I just wanted to say that I've lurked on this blog since you started writing about Buffy and waited excitedly for every new post. It's unbelievable how much your posts delved into the complexities of the show; the connections you made and theories you came up with blew my mind every week, even though I had seen the series several times!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about how much I miss reading your posts each week, and I'm so thankful that you decided to take on this project. Just know that some of us are still thinking about it months later.
Wow, that's incredibly nice. Thank you!
ReplyDelete