One Minute Avalanche

“Avalanche,” by Patrick F. McManus, reviewed.

One Minute Truck

“Truck, A Love Story,” by Michael Perry, reviewed.

One Minute A to Y

“The Alphabet from A to Y, with Bonus Letter Z!” by Steve Martin and Roz Chast, reviewed.

One Minute Blue Heaven

“Blue Heaven,” by C.J. Box, reviewed.

One Minute Nameless Night

“Nameless Night,” by G.M. Ford, reviewed.

One Minute Null-A

“The World of Null-A,” by A.E. Van Vogt, reviewed.

One Minute Hungry Ocean

“The Hungry Ocean; a swordboat captain’s journey,” by Linda Greenlaw, reviewed.

One Minute Mayhem

“Mayhem,” by J. Robert Janes, reviewed.

One Minute Hot Buttered

“Some Like It Hot Buttered,” by Jefferey Cohen, reviewed. 

Moving right along

I know i usually only post videos here, but I figure i should post a few words now and again to let you all know how the event preparation is coming.

Event?  What event?

Ah, well, it’s like this – the whole reason i started doing the videos was as a way to advertise for a library program.  What happened was that i had so much fun making the videos, and so many other people became interested in making their own videos, that the videos became a project in and of itself.

I don’t have all the numbers, but the numbers i do have suggest that the total number of views of One Minute Critic videos is around 6,500.  My most viewed video is “One Minute Murakami” with almost 700 views total.  That’s pretty awesome, I think.

Back to the program – there’s some tabs here on the blog to help you explore that some more, but here it is in a nutshell – On June 18, at Vancouver Community Library, we’ll have a One Minute Critic program, where people from the community can come in and talk for one minute about a book they’ve read.  As a reward, they get a free book that they can take home with them, no strings attached.  That’s it.

Some questions –

Do you have to stand up in front of everyone and talk?  Yes.  Yes you do.

Will you be timed?  Not exactly.  But if you go on too long, we’ll all start fidgeting and coughing.

What are the free books?  Are they any good?  The free books are all Trade Paperback editions of really great books in a wide array of genres.  There are classic mysteries, literature, short stories, critically acclaimed genre fiction of a variety of types, some narrative non-fiction, biographies, and more!  I have about 50 books total to give away, all different.  The books will be wrapped in plain brown paper, so you won’t know what you’re getting until later.

What if more than 50 people sign up to talk?  Ah, if i could be so lucky!  If more than 50 people show up, I will categorize the event as an amazing success, and plan for a larger attendance next time.  As this is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this, I have no idea how many people will actually show up, or how many will want to talk (as opposed to just listen to other people).

Will there be free refreshments at this event?  Yes.