Mike Monson has come out with a new book, What Happens In Reno, and it is very good. I first read Monson through his short story collection, Criminal Love and Other Stories.
How would I describe his work and especially his new book?
Twisted, shocking, no-holds-barred. Just when you think that you have his characters figured out, he throws you for a loop with some sick and depraved stuff. It's great. And never boring.
The main character, Matt Hodges, can't seem to get his stuff together. He has a wife that is sleeping with a criminal ( And I mean a criminal. This guy is awesomely bad news), a stepson that likes the criminal more than his stepdad Matt. And to top it all off, Matt drinks like a fish. He can't stop lying and drinking and then he falls into some money and the plot really thickens. Pick up this book. It is only 2.99 on Kindle through Amazon. To me, that is a crime; that is much too cheap. But maybe in this world of heavy competition , it is a good idea.
What else? the 20th anniversary edition of Far Beyond Driven by Pantera just came out today. It is one of my favorite albums ever. Hard and heavy but still grooves . The deluxe edition at Best Buy comes with a tshirt. What metalhead could pass that up?
Also, regarding training, when it comes to bodybuilding, I think Ben Pakulski has it pretty much figured out- squeeze, perfect form and time under tension. For bodybuilding. And the question is, how did Ronnie Coleman get so big using sloppy(some say sloppy)form? Well, his genetics are nuts, but he did at least 10 reps for everything and plenty of sets, so although he wasn't going crazy always squeezing, his time under tension was pretty good. And...he is Ronnie Freakin' Coleman.
For Powerlifting and Strength and Conditioning? Fred Hatfield has always been my man, and all the stuff that he was talking about in the 80's is coming back around, especially Compensatory Acceleration.
Been reading a lot about IIFYM(If It Fits Your Macros), and it seems like Weight Watchers for lifters. Hey, of course it works. Is it optimal? Maybe. One thing is does is discourage the dreaded BINGE eating that usually occurs after denial, denial, denial of sugary foods, or the pizza and burgers that are usually off limits. And I love reading about how everyone is saying that it won't work and you'll get fat, and what it is...is that it will put the Gurus and the supplement folks out of business if everyone does it. Stay tuned, it is interesting. Of course, it gets silly after awhile, when put in perspective of what is really important in life, but its fun going back and forth with it.
