Thursday, May 13, 2010

J-Walk reviews "Never Trust a Goat"

Holy Cow! Somebody other than my mother actually downloaded my "Never Trust a Goat" e-book and read enough of it to actually write a review!

And the reviewer? None other than John Walkenbach of The J-Walk Blog!

Okay, so let's cut to the chase and see what J-Walk thought of my little book:

"Just a bunch of humorous essays. I got it because a few of the essays mention banjo. But, as it turns out, he plays a 4-string banjo. I'm pretty sure I could write a book like this."

Plus, out of Five Stars, he gave me a Three! I mean, that's like a "C+" -- just enough to pass the class and not have to go to summer school! Hot Diggedy!

So, how about I review the review? I mean, just in case you're not used to reading reviews it might be best for me to point out some "between the lines" sort of stuff. Okay, here we go:

"Just a bunch of humorous essays."  First off, the word "just" implies that something "unremarkable" is about to happen, and when associated with "a bunch," that means there's going to be a lot of it! And what kind of essays are there going to be a lot of? Unremarkable but HUMOROUS essays! Score one for ME!

Next: "I got it because a few of the essays mention banjo." And indeed they do! The title of the e-book was just the title of the first essay -- you know, to grab a person's attention to make them want to at least THINK about downloading the book. The book is not totally about goats! But to find that out, you've got to read ALL of the book's description before you download it -- which obviously Mr. Walkenbach did! And since he found something that might interest him -- the possibility of there being banjo stories -- he downloaded it! Score TWO for me!

Let's continue: "But, as it turns out, he plays a 4-string banjo." Oh well, I knew it had to happen someday. You mention you play the banjo and people automatically assume it's the five-string type. A bluegrass banjo. I guess I could have made that a little clearer (I play the four-string banjo, which is used in jazz and Dixieland), but I didn't. I guess one of these days I'm going to have to learn how to play the five-string so as to not disappoint the masses. Score one for J-Walk.

And finally: "I'm pretty sure I could write a book like this." Well, of course you could. I just threw some stories together, wrapped them up in an e-book cover, and just put it out there. Anybody could do it! Of course, I just thought my mother would be the only person to read it, but I was wrong. Even SHE hasn't read it. Score TWO for J-Walk.

To sum up my review of J-Walk's review, I think he hit the nail right on the head. The book IS unremarkable. Anybody could write one just like it. There's really no excuse to even have something like that offered on the internet. I mean, it's no Thurber; it's no Benchley; and it's no Barry. It's Farr, and that in itself speaks volumes!

Anyways, thank you J-Walk for taking the time to at least look at the book. I am sincerely appreciative. I promise that my next book will be super-duper remarkable -- or in the trash!

2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your review of the review and would like to carefully comment. Carefully, because a review of a review of a review is just plain wrong. The style in your review makes me want to investigate your book, although I would have to find it in a traditional format.

    By the way, J-Walk plays old time clawhammer banjo, not bluegrass, on his truly numerous 5-strings. Here's a 4-string video for you:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT5HpK0eWW4

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  2. In response to J-Walk's review of my review of HIS review, I've decided to go back to offering the book FREE! So, pax, just download it in html form or pdf, and read it right on your computer. And thanks, Indigo. Nothing is better than having a little fun!

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