As in guillotine...

BioShock Infinite’s Ambitiously Flawed Perfection

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:April 14, 2013
Post category:Media Pop Culture
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"Wow..." That was my whispered, slack-jawed reaction to the final 30 minutes of BioShock Infinite, arguably the most compelling video game experience I've ever had. It's not a perfect game by any stretch of the definition, and since completing the game, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the more measured reviews that haven't been afraid to point out its flaws, but to borrow a phrase from Grace Jones, it might not be perfect, but it's perfect for me.

Discovery is Publishers’ Problem; Readers are Doing Just Fine

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 11, 2013
Post category:Media
Post comments:9 Comments

Never mind the folly of dismissing Goodreads, a social network dedicated to books with 13m+ members and is steadily growing, or even Pinterest, where Random House has inexplicably attracted 1.5m followers, but the very idea that "something is really, chronically missing in online retail discovery" is arguably contradicted by Amazon's 2012 results, suggesting that "online retail discovery" isn't really a problem for readers. It's a problem for publishers.

Hate the Parents, Not the Video Games

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 14, 2013
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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There are a wide variety of video games out there, and yes, some are extremely violent. Same goes for movies, TV shows, and even good, old-fashioned books. If you don't want your kids playing these games (or consuming any other similar media), be a responsible parent and deal with it, but don't go playing the blame game every time some senselessly violent act occurs too close to home, crying for government regulation.

Running into 2013

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 11, 2013
Post category:Personal
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Getting up at 5:30am to go running or do a cardio DVD slowly became, not just routine, but something I liked doing, and after completing that first Mudder in April, I really hit my stride, signing up for another in October, and adding a Warrior Dash event to the mix, too.

6Qs: Tobias Buckell, Traversing Publishing’s Diverse Fantastic

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 17, 2012
Post category:Media Personal
Post comments:3 Comments

In the beginning, when I was trying to sell my first novel, I had a weird experience of editors really wanting me to write, sort of magic realism set in the Caribbean, or about recent immigrants with a magical ability (I've had two editors actually give me that logline and ask if I'd be interested in writing that story, but it's just not there for me, I've got other stories still to tell). There was a strong sense that, hey, this is how you can be marketed as a Caribbean novelist.

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure: On Social Media & Publishing

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 27, 2012
Post category:Media
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For the third consecutive year, I had the pleasure of doing a presentation on social media for my friend Peter Costanzo's M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media class at NYU last night, and while preparing for it, I was surprised by how much has changed since the first time, and how much hasn't. Pinterest and Tumblr are bigger deals now (or at least perceived as such), while Twitter is steadily maturing (from a business perspective), Facebook changes its approach every six months, and email is still the underrated king of the hill.

Do the Right Thing: Postpone the NY Marathon

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 12, 2012
Post category:Personal
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During a week that's seen NJ Gov. Chris Christie step up the to plate and impress a lot of people who've had few reasons to say anything nice about him in the past, myself included, Bloomberg manages to follow up a shining moment of his own—a nuanced and rational endorsement of Obama—with a bone-headed decision to put business interests ahead of the well-being and safety of his constituents.