The Weekly Digest is a weekly (no shit?) update that captures all the topics that aren’t worthy of their own post. This may be too long for email so make sure you click through.
The #1 Headband
One the recommendation of
and , I binged Afro Samurai last weekend. After sitting with it a couple days (and needing to feed the content demon for this newsletter), I started dissecting why I enjoyed Afro as much as I did.The first aspect is the base level: it is stylish as hell. I’ve never been an anime fan, but the art style in Afro is intense while staying muted. Everything has a kind of washed-out tinge to it, except the geysers of blood. RZA supplies the soundtrack (excellent) and the voice leads are Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman (a personal favorite), and Samuel L. Jackson as Afro and his pseudo-spirit-guide/conscious.
The story is a straightforward revenge plot; Afro is out to kill the man who killed his father. But Afro spends its entire 5 episode run subverting known tropes and zigging every time you expect it to zag. It all wraps up with a full-circle, back-to-the-beginning finish that works as sort of Anti-Hero’s Journey.
Why it works is that Afro Samurai keeps its tricks hidden. The only thing ever fully explained is the significance of the #1 headband. Everything else is left up to the viewer to fill in the gaps. Under all the violence and style, Afro Trojan horses in themes of what revenge costs, what family means, what makes a goal worth pursuing, man vs. technology, what the function of a conscious is…
The debate is often substance vs. style, and it’s cool to see something that succeeds at doing both. It’s certainly what I aspire to in my writing.
Book Bits
The Wayback Machine by Daniel Falatko — Number two on my Substack Summer Reading list. Danny Waybacks was making me jealous of his Euro-trip so I DMed him in the ass-hours of the morning ostensibly to let him know I was enjoying The Wayback Machine but surreptitiously to try to rob him of some sleep. TWM returned the sleep-stealing favor. I stayed up past my old man bedtime to finish it, and you can read the full review here.
Substack Summer: THE WAYBACK MACHINE
This is part of Substack Summer for Summer 2025. You can read more about Substack Summer here.
If you’d like to know more about the Substack Summer, look no further:
The Contortionist’s Handbook by — I used to lurk around LitReactor back when it first launched. Clevenger was a guy who always got brought up as an example of an excellent writer and teacher. I immediately followed him when I saw he joined Substack, and when
said he was running a workshop with Clevenger, I jumped at the chance1. Of course, that meant needing to bump a book that’s been on my TBR for about two decades up to the top spot. I started on audiobook while working around the house and while waiting for my hardcopy to arrive. I’m about 3/4 through and digging it.
Substack Spotlight:
This week is
’s short story on :
Also want to shout out
(two shout-outs in one newsletter? I must really be afraid of the ducks) for her review of ’s Shieldbreaker Saga epilogue. Confession: I had to skim the review because I’m waiting on my hard copy of Book One to arrive in the mail and I didn’t want to spoil it for myself. This will be an immediate revisit once I finish Book One.
Recent Book Haul:
The Contortionist’s Handbook by
Victim by
Zone by Mathias Énard
Sticktap to
for the recommendationI also enjoyed Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants by Énard
I Hear You Watching by
This was a Substack Summer omission because I hadn’t been tipped off to Zachary’s work when I made the list. If I do an addendum/extra credit section, expect to see I Hear You Watching on there.
Cathedral by Raymond Carver
I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down by William Gay
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Sometimes an essay will pop up that reminds me I have a book on my TBR, and the essay will look interesting enough to pressure me into buying. So, thanks to
for pushing me to buy Herzog. I look forward to reading “Pussy: the Eroticization of Children in Saul Bellow’s Herzog”.
Writing
You all got a rare essay from me this week on LitStack and the Substack MFA. This was a response to an excellent piece by
2 in that was about the shortcomings of MFAs but also how Substack is not a panacea for the ills of the literary/publishing world. It’s excellent, you should read it.
My response centered on how “we” can leverage Substack as a tool to create the MFA/Publishing/Literary space that we think no longer exists in MFAs, traditional publishing, and the view spaces that still cover literary culture and the challenges that need to be addressed. I am a pessimist of the mind, but an optimist at heart; I’d love to see what we can build.
Tallboys #2 is coming (so is Christmas). I mentioned previously that my own fiction is getting backburnered because of Substack Summer, but with the Clevenger workshop upcoming, I also don’t want to get too deep into Tallboys3. I expect to have it up before the end of this month this weekend, and maybe #3 by end of July. #3 will delve more into the narrator. You can read Tallboys #1 here.
Tallboys #1
I’ve been threatening this for a while and now here it is, original fiction. I’m tossing this out to the Substack void hoping for any feedback you all feel like hitting me with.
Miscellany
Been a big week at Vinny Reads Enterprises. Thanks to all the new subscribers for joining in on the fun. I’m floored and humbled by the growth of this little newsletter over the last 7ish days. I appreciate you all reading and all your comments and feedback.
I also set up mini-book clubs for each of the Substack Summer books in my subscribers’ Chat. Already some great discussion in there, so check that out.
That’ll do ya for this week. 🤙
— V
Work from Emil is that the first two sessions are booked solid, but there is waitlist for yet unscheduled follow-up workshops. You can learn more at Burnt Tongue.
One of the main characters in The Wayback Machine is also named Micah. I also had a buddy at my first job after college named Micah. I used to go with him on cigarette breaks because I preferred secondhand smoke to sitting in an office. He is/was a good cat.
Yes, this is a pun.
Yes!!
Glad you gave it a chance, and completely agree with the statement of it being a triumph in both style and substance. That's what I strive for (which is why I always use that as a reference)
The Afro Samurai DVDs were the impulse buy of my life. Such a damn good show.
Also: Looking forward to the workshop 😁