Fight Club Part 3: The Hospital
I smile to myself. It is actually fortunate that there are bandages covering my entire face. This way the officer cannot detect any microexpressions on my features that may indicate I am lying. [...]
Articles by Gus Harrington
About Gus Harrington
Fight Club Part 2: The First Punch
He stands only a couple inches taller than me, but the difference feels like miles. It occurs to me that I have never been in a fight before. And yet here I am, standing against this Corinthian column of muscle and sinew. [...]
I Am Starting My Own Fight Club
Since I plan to model my life around a book I had better make it something exciting. Something particularly visceral. Something punchy. Perhaps, in this case, the obvious choice is the best one. [...]
It is Time to Have a Novel Experience
I have grown tired of the endless desert of dry literary analysis. I've collapsed, my throat parched for something different. Something refreshing. [...]
4 Tips for NaNoWriMo From Someone Who Has Never Done It Before
When I attempted to complete NaNoWriMo last year, I simply wrote the word “gibberish” over and over and over again. Unfortunately, I fell short of the goal by 2,000 words. [...]
A Review of The Shining in Which I Barely Go Insane At All
Either Stephen King crafted a pinnacle of modern literature because he worked tirelessly to create the best work he could out of sheer determination and talent, or it’s because he stayed in a creepy hotel one night. [...]
The Top 5 Books I’m Currently Burning for Warmth
Have you ever actually tried to burn a book? It isn't an easy thing to do. They don't light up into a ball of fire the instant you put a torch to them. It takes a bit to get them going. [...]
Fifty Shades of Grey Was the Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen at 7:45 Last Monday Night
Does this film degrade modern cinema, and the whole of culture by extension? I have no idea, but it certainly was the low point of my cultural perspective for about half an evening. [...]
I Guess I Just Hate Children – A Review of Harry Potter
I don't think these books are corrupting kids with their subtle Satanic messages. If anything, I wish they were. At least then these little bastards would have something interesting about them. [...]
Screw You Malcolm Gladwell, I Bet I Could Do It in Just 9,000 Hours: A Review of Outliers
Since its publication in 2008, Outliers has often been cited as a revelatory look at what makes prominent individuals so successful. In it, author Malcolm Gladwell posits that it takes around 10,000 hours of work on a specific skill set to truly [...]
4 Literary Classics That Fail to Meet My Jealous Standards
You might be wondering why I, Gus Harrington, renowned book critic, had not previously read the literary and cultural classics featured on this list. The reason, quite simply put, is because as a rule I do not read an author’s seminal work. [...]
Choose Your Own Life
Choose-your-own-adventure books are not exactly the cornerstone of the literary industry. Despite seeing a modicum of success in the children’s market of decades past, the genre is well beyond its prime. However, author Frederick Respin is looking [...]
Book: Life is Hard and I am Sad
Where once I could create an insightful and entertaining introduction paragraph, now that ability, along with what I assume are several other important cognitive functions, has been stripped from me after subjecting myself to Darryl Grey’s Life [...]
Book: Understanding Capitalism
The average person cannot help but hold pre-conceived notions, and the nature of Capitalism is a phenomenon that most people who have encountered it have fully formed opinions on. Admittedly, it took a good amount of time into the book for this [...]
Book: Lion Killer
The Vietnam War. Just the very mention of the name stirs up so much emotion. Countless books and movies have been made about one of the most controversial wars in American history, and yet still it remains a mystery of sorts. The soldiers, the [...]
Book: Fuck Yourself
This book is a dense read. At 671 pages (and 30 more pages of references), Fuck Yourself: A Self-Help Book for the Kind of Person Who Needs Self-Help Books is a tome. But it is well worth the read. Unlike most self-help books, this book is written [...]
The Double Thumb 