EJ's Updates en-US Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:48:29 -0700 60 EJ's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9368817634 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:48:29 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ wants to read 'Prophet Song']]> /review/show/7530188613 Prophet Song by Paul Lynch EJ wants to read Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
]]> Rating852437117 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:40:47 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ liked a review]]> /
EJ liked Jason Luna's review of Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir:
Fahrenheit-182 by Mark Hoppus
"Much more of a 4.5 for ya boy. I was and still am a big Blink 182 fan and Mark was always my favorite member. It was cool to get a backstory on their start, as well as a look into what was going on behind the scenes. My only gripe is that in the beginning the writing was a big juvenile but I also haven’t read that many memoirs so idk maybe it was just the memoir itself? Overall super solid for anyone who’s a fan or just wants a look into rockstar life. "
]]> Review7528891251 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 10:58:48 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ added 'Candida']]> /review/show/7528891251 Candida by George Bernard Shaw EJ gave 5 stars to Candida (Paperback) by George Bernard Shaw
“Poor boy! Have I been cruel? Did I make it slice nasty little red onions?�

Candida is kind of a badass, and certainly the most powerful person in this play. Reading this play made me realize and confront my own shortcomings as a man; this play is truly “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World� by James Brown.

“Do you think that the things people make fools of themselves about are any less real and true than the things they behave sensibly about? They are more true: they are the only things that are true.�

In relation to Mrs. Warren’s Profession and the play I’ll be performing this spring The Country House, there’s an extra layer of sadness to Candida herself. The power she possesses at the age of 33 in this play � young, desired, vigorous.

“We all go about longing for love: it is the first need of our natures, the first prayer of our hearts; but we dare not utter our longing: we are too shy.�

As Anna, the character in The Country House, ages out of playing Candida and moves to being Mrs. Warren, she brutally confronts her age, her ‘decline,� and the power that she doesn’t possess as a metaphorical Candida.

But within this play, it’s a great moral lesson for men to realize. Enjoyed reading this a lot. I found the very beginning to be a bit slow and I thought, "can I soldier through this?" but once Candida enters, the play really becomes quite funny and the developments so interesting to follow. It really became a quick page-turner for me right after my initial doubts.

“I give myself to the weaker of the two!� ]]> Review7516971306 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 22:22:08 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ added 'The Humans']]> /review/show/7516971306 The Humans by Stephen Karam EJ gave 5 stars to The Humans (Paperback) by Stephen Karam
“Dontcha think it should cost less to be alive?�

Shook me to my core at numerous points. A quick page-turner. Some of the most natural dialogue I’ve read in a play, and that includes HOW it’s written. So much overlapping dialogue. I’m not gonna lie, I picked this play out because I wanted to find some new monologues. I was hoping the character Richard would have a good one; and he doesn’t really? Or at least, they’re not meaty enough. However, this is not that kind of play. No real big grandstanding moments. The silences do a lot of the heavy-lifting, and it’s really just an incredible ensemble show in every sense.

“A wise, old, haggard drunk man once told me that pursuing your passion is a gift—so I’m grateful for that reminder� even if I end up pursuing it while managing an H&M, I’m lucky…�

The FEARS. They’re so valid. I was hooked from what the play decided to use as its intro. The six basic fears: poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love of someone, old age, and death. And then the Freud quote.

“Maybe loving someone long-term is more about� deciding whether to go through life unhappy alone� or unhappy with someone else?�

Juicy writing. There are so many interesting ways to play these characters. And boy, there are some heartbreaking reveals. Just a wonderful play to read. I laughed a lot, especially at some of the unbearable cringe, but then there were times I just had to stop reading and pause. Look out into the Drama Book Shop and try not to cry from what I just read. Which wouldn’t have been a bad thing, but there are just some heavy, heavy moments and reveals. The final image is beautiful. What a journey for these characters. Three separate sessions at Drama Book Shop I read this.

“I’m not scared. If anything, I wish I could’ve know that most of the stuff I did spend my life worrying about wasn’t so bad.� ]]> ReadStatus9333059884 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 20:42:41 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ wants to read 'The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream']]> /review/show/7505291282 The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe EJ wants to read The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefe
]]> ReadStatus9332810894 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 19:31:22 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ wants to read 'Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now']]> /review/show/7505124019 Rise by Jeff Yang EJ wants to read Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang
]]> Review7497687578 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 21:47:05 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ added 'Mrs. Warren's Profession']]> /review/show/7497687578 Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw EJ gave 5 stars to Mrs. Warren's Profession (Paperback) by George Bernard Shaw
bookshelves: essentials, favorites, funny, plays, stops-you-in-your-tracks
“Listen to her! Listen to how she spits on her mother’s grey hairs! Oh, may you live to have your own daughter tear and trample on you as you have trampled on me. And you will: you will. No woman ever had luck with a mother’s curse in her.�

We’ll never fully understand our parents� sacrifice. No matter how much we try.

“Everybody dislikes having to work and make money; but they have to do it all the same.�

The Country House research. My character Walter is a director, and he has opinions on this play. The parallels of this play with The Country House� you’re a clever guy, Donald Margulies.

This play, written in 1893, first performed in 1902. I'm impressed. Prophetic, empathetic, and tragic. Very, very funny. But that ending is brutal.

First Shaw. Have to read Candida and I'll cover both of the Shaw plays talked about in The Country House. Very excited for that now!

“Your love’s a pretty cheap commodity, my lad.� ]]> ReadStatus9319392033 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 07:05:46 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ wants to read 'Über die Heiterkeit in schwierigen Zeiten und die Frage, wie wichtig uns der Ernst des Lebens sein sollte']]> /review/show/7495878659 Über die Heiterkeit in schwierigen Zeiten und die Frage, wie ... by Axel Hacke EJ wants to read Über die Heiterkeit in schwierigen Zeiten und die Frage, wie wichtig uns der Ernst des Lebens sein sollte by Axel Hacke
]]> Review7465157244 Sat, 05 Apr 2025 14:34:37 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ added 'Talk Radio']]> /review/show/7465157244 Talk Radio by Eric Bogosian EJ gave 5 stars to Talk Radio (TCG Edition) by Eric Bogosian
bookshelves: essentials, favorites, funny, plays, wtf
“I happen to know that God is alive and well and living in Gary, Indiana. He’s a black steelworker with seven kids who works the night shift pouring off slag.�

Mean, caustic, hilarious. Eric Bogosian wrote some delicious, DELICIOUS monologues. You can just chew on those words. Truly so many awesome, vicious monologues.

“Lemme put it this way, Barry Champlain is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.�

Inspired to read because my friend and old roommate Steve took an acting class after I started � he was also inspired by my decision and wanted to give it a gander. He told me he prepared a monologue from this play; I wasn’t familiar, but with a gift card to the Drama Book Shop that he gave me for Christmas, I picked up a Bogosian collection as a sort-of homage.

Glad I did. ]]> ReadStatus9274308083 Sat, 05 Apr 2025 11:40:45 -0700 <![CDATA[EJ wants to read 'A Sacred Voice Is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience']]> /review/show/7464763171 A Sacred Voice Is Calling by John Neafsey EJ wants to read A Sacred Voice Is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience by John Neafsey
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