Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 (2008)

This is a collection of blog pieces from over a decade. They're witty, sharp, thoughtful, focused. Some are truly brilliant essays.

The premise: ganked from publisher's site: On September 13, 1998, John Scalzi sat down in front of his computer to write the first entry in his blog Whatever--and changed the history of the Internet as we know it today.

What, you're not swallowing that one? Okay, fine: He started writing Whatever and amused about 15 people that first day. If that many. But he kept at it, for ten years and running. Now 40,000 people drop by on a daily basis to see what he's got to say.

About what? Well, about whatever: Politics, writing, family, war, popular culture and cats (especially with bacon on them). Sometimes he's funny. Sometimes he's serious (mostly he's sarcastic). Sometimes people agree with him. Sometimes they send him hate mail, which he grades on originality and sends back. Along the way, Scalzi's become a best-selling, award-winning author, a father, and a geek celebrity. But no matter what, there's always another Whatever post to amuse and/or enrage his readers.

Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded collects some of the best and most popular Whatever entries from the first ten years of the blog – a decade of Whatever, presented in delightfully random form, just as it should be.

My Rating: 7 - Good Read

Of course, I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading this without being familiar with the tone of Scalzi's blog, so before picking this up, make sure you browse through Whatever and have a grasp of Scalzi's sense of humor and his unapologetic manner for dealing with what he sees are fools. The book is well worth reading, mind you, but his personality doesn't click with everyone, and I'd hate to see someone spend money on a book that's nothing BUT personality, and said personality expressing his said opinions and observations about all topics big and small. For those of you who are already fans of Scalzi, definitely give this a go, because it's easy reading, despite being a wee bit long, and it's nice to have so many poignant entries collected in a single volume (which really does need a table of contents). I know I'll be referring back to my copy many times, and I hope that the publication of this particular book means there were be a second volume, from 2009 to 2019. We've got a while to go before that happens, of course, but I think Scalzi's blog entries are worth preserving in print format. I know there were more than a few that really made me think, and if a book makes me think, it's got my full support.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: What spoilers? This is a nonfiction book full of blog entries! The full review is in my blog, which I've linked to below. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: John Scalzi's YOUR HATE MAIL WILL BE GRADED

Happy Reading! ( )

John Scalzi is an SF writer, and I enjoy his books. He is also a blogger and has been doing so since 1998. This book is a selection of his blogs for the first ten years.

There is no real organization or theme, he just selected pieces at random. They do cover the spectrum from funny, to sad, to sweet, to informational. But he is famously snarky and acerbic, and has been known to send back emails with spelling and grammar corrections and grades.

It was a fast, fun read. I also read his blog occasionally and follow him on Twitter. I don't always agree with him, but its always fun to see what he has to say. ( )

An enjoyable and at times thought provoking read. A bit of repetition here and there bc of the format. Could do with a proofreading.
I was pleased to find the "poor means" essay; hadn't realized who wrote it. ( )

It is apparent what the dominant political topics were during the years Scalzi wrote these essays: gay marriage, George W. Bush, the Iraq War, etc. And some of those essays, in particular, felt a little dated. But many of the other essays, like the one on his childhood hero, Carl Sagan, or the financial advice for writers, felt more timeless.

... there's a lot of sarcasm in the humorous pieces, which I like, though I recognize not everyone will. But Scalzi has, to me, a distinctive voice, that I just love. I think other readers (and not just science fiction fans) will enjoy this book as well.

http://archthinking.blogspot.com/2009/12/review-your-hate-mail-will-be-graded.ht... ( )