Mark Does Stuff
December 3, 2010 3:10 PM   Subscribe

First, Mark read Twilight. I think it's safe to say he's not a fan. Then he read Harry Potter and likes it a lot more. Now, he's watching Firefly, reading The Hunger Games, and rereading Harry Potter.
posted by kmz (27 comments total) 44 users marked this as a favorite
 
I've found his reviews/recaps to be quite funny and insightful. And I could swear I thought this was already posted here, but I couldn't find anything in a search other than a brief mention in Ask.
posted by kmz at 3:12 PM on December 3, 2010


Oh man, I was trying to frame a FPP around MarkReads back when he finished Harry Potter, but I just couldn't do it. I sort of hated the BuzzNet format (not just because it's blocked at work) and I'm so glad he's switched to Wordpress!

Some of his entries on Harry Potter almost killed me. Maybe when I have time I will find them and link to them.
posted by muddgirl at 3:16 PM on December 3, 2010


Oh, thanks! I had no idea he was re-reading Harry Potter.
His original reading was really fun and interesting even if I disliked the AIM-chat reviews that some chapters had (the most interesting ones!).
posted by Memo at 3:19 PM on December 3, 2010


I kind of love the fact that his site is plastered with ads for the Twilight DVD.
posted by schmod at 3:23 PM on December 3, 2010


This is nice. His reaction to The Hunger Games is so different from mine, it's interesting to see how different people read the same text.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:25 PM on December 3, 2010


His reaction to the last chapter of the first book (particularly the Neville bit at the end) is very much like mine was, all those years ago.
posted by memebake at 3:28 PM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm liking his reviews, but...

And do we find out what makes Book so special? Of course not! Future episode! Drat.

Poor guy is in for some disappointment. But then, so were we all.
posted by frobozz at 3:29 PM on December 3, 2010 [8 favorites]


I kind of love the fact that his site is plastered with ads for the Twilight DVD.

His Twilight and original Harry Potter reviews were all done for Buzznet, so those are Buzznet's ads. I really don't like Buzznet's layout much myself.
posted by kmz at 3:32 PM on December 3, 2010


I'd kind of like to see this guy attempt to make heads-or-tails out of Glee, which has quickly turned into the most erratic show on television. (And yet I keep coming back for more. Why is that? At least the writers don't share Joss Whedon's psychopathic obsession with killing off his main characters at unpredictable intervals.)
posted by schmod at 3:35 PM on December 3, 2010


"How do you know chinese?" "Oh, just some TV show I used to love"

*SIGH*
posted by flaterik at 3:40 PM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]


schmod: that adds a lot to Whedon's shows, because you can't fundamentally relax in a tense scene. Pretty much any character, except possibly the lead, can die, and quite unexpectedly. It doesn't actually happen that often, but it's shocking and frightening when it does.

I remember thinking, during a lull in Serenity, "Wow, I have absolutely NO idea what's going to happen." It made the movie far, far better, because the conflicts and danger felt real.

It's great fun reading Mark's reactions to Firefly so far. I have an abiding love for that show, and watching someone experience it for the first time is almost as good as doing it myself, years ago. Definitely bookmarking that site.
posted by Malor at 4:23 PM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]


Hah! I used to work with Mark at Buzznet like 3 years ago, and reading the Twilight reviews in his voice/expression makes them that much funnier.
posted by lovetragedy at 5:03 PM on December 3, 2010


Oh my god these reviews are so awful why can't I stop reading oh holy crap now I'm writing like him oh my god what
posted by Night_owl at 5:21 PM on December 3, 2010


Night_owl: "Oh my god these reviews are so awful why can't I stop reading oh holy crap now I'm writing like him oh my god wha"

SHIT JUST GOT REAL
posted by Memo at 5:23 PM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]


Either that, or it's about to.

Actually I like that he doesn't seem to try really hard for polish.
posted by lodurr at 5:54 PM on December 3, 2010


Oh, don't get me wrong, for the most part I like that the reviews are pretty much straight reactive, stream of consciousness. But it also kinda has the rhythm of chatroom talk, and it's a bit... asfdlh;l;;dyqklop; for me.
posted by Night_owl at 6:28 PM on December 3, 2010


Spoiler alert, Night owl: don't read his coverage of the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
posted by The Confessor at 8:42 PM on December 3, 2010


Uh, yeah, since I first opened this thread, I have spent the majority of my time reading. So far I'm at the third chapter of book 5. But thanks for the warning.
posted by Night_owl at 9:00 PM on December 3, 2010


Metafilter: WHAT IS HAPPENING HOLY GOD ;LKdkls;;fjklsd as;dfoiuds kfal:KL: :KL LS KL:D)&*DFG&*( :KDP*&(D ^&%*&(DFHJKLDS^&*
posted by spinifex23 at 9:29 PM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]


Oh, cool stuff. I'm currently too busy reading to think of some clever comment to make, though.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:34 PM on December 3, 2010


You are not prepared.
posted by Coaticass at 2:52 AM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm loving this. It's so much fun for me, as a Firefly fan, to experience it all again through the perspective of a Firefly virgin.

And do we find out what makes Book so special? Of course not! Future episode! Drat.

Poor guy is in for some disappointment. But then, so were we all.


Oh, we have already decided in our home that Book is, or rather was, an assassin like the one in the Serenity movie. This explains both his unique skills when River is first targeted and his surprisingly high-level clearance when he gets injured in the series. Book was once also utterly committed to the Alliance, but discovered he was wrong about their motives, and ends up swinging completely the opposite way on the pendulum of moral outrage. This is how he ends up, "Preaching religiosity to the fuzzy wuzzies."
posted by misha at 1:34 PM on December 4, 2010


I've found his reviews/recaps to be quite funny and insightful.

I found just the opposite, but I've only read a few of the "reviews" (specifically some Firefly and Twilight). Basically it's just synopses with a few spoilers and little insight -- like 90% of the review blogs online. In fact, his opinions are practically re-writes of conventional wisdom.

Would it help me find this insightful if I knew who "Mark" was?
posted by coolguymichael at 2:24 PM on December 4, 2010


I just started reading Harry Potter (YES I KNOW. I LIVE IN CAVE. PERHAPS EVEN UNDER A CAVE.) for the first time and man, this is awesome. Thnx!
posted by sonika at 7:41 PM on December 4, 2010


I adore this man so much and how damn excited he is about reading Harry Potter. It's 5AM and I can't stop reading.
posted by flatluigi at 2:08 AM on December 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


consarnit, I'm watching firefly again because of this thread and it's making me grin but also making me sad with the whole knowing there will never be any more thing.
posted by flaterik at 4:06 AM on December 5, 2010


I read through his review of Twilight and it cracked me up. I especially like his sense of personal affront, like this book was written specifically to piss him off. It sounds like what was going through my head as I read Dan Brown's latest (can't even remember the name of the damn thing). I kept wanting to find Dan Brown so I could hit him upside the head with that idiotic, ridiculous, pointless book.
posted by airgirl at 2:22 PM on December 5, 2010


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