Kashipan

Very Little About the AVGN Series

Reviewed: 12-20-22

James Rolfe is known worldwide for his portrayal through internet videos of the Angry Video Game Nerd. His videos were highly influential and set a standard early on for a high quality episodic YouTube video series, inspiring many young fans to go on to create successful YouTube channels of their own. The AVGN video series was arguably a pioneering achievement in internet history, and definitely of enough public interest to having a book dedicated to giving fans an inside look.

As a fan myself, when I heard that James was finally releasing his autobiography, I couldn't wait to find out the details of how he came up with ideas for the AVGN, how he collaborated with his long time friends, as well as some of the various guest stars early on, to make it all happen. I was hoping to find some funny inside stories or even inspiring challenges that might have come with the rise of the series. Sadly, there is very little discussion of the AVGN series or its production at all.

James starts the book by speaking at length about his formative years up through high school, creating and editing home movies with his video camera from the 80s on through the 90s. From there, he goes on to describe college shenanigans, and briefly mentions how he met future fellow AVGN collaborators, Kyle, Bootsy and Mike. Most discussion around them is limited to their college years, however. Save for a sentence or two about how Mike (who he continually refers to just as "Matei") ran the channel, told James he was going to make him famous, and even managed the website while James was off making the feature film, there is little mention of important contributions he or any of the rest of them may have made to the AVGN, or the work they put in to help it succeed.

Instead, he skips ahead into production of the AVGN movie and how important his wife and cats were in the making of it. Most of the rest of the book is about various production woes and how much they stressed him out. There are a few sentences about his musical project, Rex Viper, toward the end. This book really reads more like a mundane personal journal than a book full of important or valuable insight that would serve as an inspiration to an aspiring film-maker or even just enlightening behind-the-scenes trivia for a devoted fan.

In the absence of information about the AVGN series to comment on, if I had any major takeaway from this book, it's that starting a family too early is a good way to stop your desire to create dead in its tracks. For some reason, James let his wife "talk him into" having their first baby while still in post-production on the AVGN movie, and after the traumatizing birth of his daughter (which was described in graphic detail), he even says, while slowly but surely making his way through the grueling last steps of post-production, "Why am I doing this?" He describes completing the movie as a trap which did nothing but steal time from him and his baby, whereas before he'd happily obsessed over every last detail, relishing the experience of video and movie making. He further laments how he could suddenly understand why his old coworkers in the liquor store he once worked at preferred to live normal, simple lives, which, to James, amounted to having "no ambition". It might make you wonder whether he's planning to retire, only making whatever sort of videos will keep him afloat financially, while his heart remains solely in being a family man. All we're really left with is, "'Til next time".

In the end, it's a bit puzzling why a man who, toward the end, seems to hint that we ain't seen nothin' yet, even felt it would be a good time to publish an autobiography. This is something that is normally done in one's twilight years, as they look back on the trials, tribulations, joys and successes of a full life, well-lived. Is this only a Part 1? If he ever gets back into film-making, will there be a sequel to come? Unfortunately in this book, the most important contribution James has made to modern film-making - his internet video content - was only glossed over, reduced to a few paragraphs at best, so it seems unlikely that we'll ever get any real insight into the thing that made James so beloved and successful in the first place. It just seems a terrible missed opportunity.

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4 people found this helpful

A fascinating autobiography about a human being.

Reviewed: 06-13-22

I was a teenager when the Big 4 started hitting the main stream in the late 80s. Always loved Anthrax and Metallica, but Slayer didn't come until later and somehow Megadeth just slipped under the radar for me - until NOW. I've only just scratched the surface of their catalog - so this review of Dave's story is not coming from a biased, seasoned stan.

Even if I wasn't always familiar with Megadeth's music, I knew who Dave Mustaine was, having seen him interviewed many times through the years. I remember his reputation for being mouthy - always just attributed it to being a rock star - and knew that he'd at one point been a part of Metallica. For some reason, though, as I started to really explore Megadeth's catalog, I felt compelled to learn more about Dave. When I found out he'd written an autobiography, I came here to buy it immediately. I was amazed to learn that I went through a lot of similar things he did growing up. Because of all of that trauma and problems keeping lasting, consistent relationships through my formative years, it made perfect sense to me why Dave had such a difficult time dealing with being suddenly kicked out of Metallica, which lasted for so many years. I could immediately relate, and he became a completely sympathetic character to me throughout his story. Now that I have this background knowledge, I can appreciate my journey through Megadeth's music so much more.

The only thing I didn't really care for about this book was the narration. Dave may be proud and outspoken, but he doesn't generally speak with the almost cartoonish arrogant tone that was played up by the narrator. It was a little distracting, and made me wish I had read the book instead of listened to it, so I could actually imagine Dave's voice in my head while reading.

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Perhaps The Path of a Catholic Witch instead?

Reviewed: 05-08-21

As a non-Catholic Christian who has had leanings toward pagan rituals and looking for someone else struggling with the same, it was initially a relief to have found this audiobook. I did not grow up as a Catholic, however, so the gateway of reverence toward the numerous saints and Mary leading to a reasonably smooth transition to creating Christian deities for Wicca didn't feel at all comfortable to me. Jesus as the male god did make sense, but Mary I could not connect to, as it just wasn't in my upbringing to give all that much attention to her. That's a task I'll have to take on in my own journey toward reconciling Christianity with Wicca.

If you take this book as a straight up autobiography rather than a guide, it's an interesting story of an individual's path. The author makes it seem quite easy to go from Catholic ritual to Wiccan ritual, but I think it's important to have started with a strong Catholic background in the first place. She's also experienced a lot of oppression through the church as a female, which seems to make the idea of dedicating a goddess by way of Wicca all the more enticing. Also understandable, but not something I could relate to personally. I'd love to find a book like this written by a non-Catholic Christian.

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3 people found this helpful

Story didn't hold my interest.

Reviewed: 08-24-20

I had this book recommended to me as something to follow up A Song of Ice and Fire, and was eager to jump into its world. The narration here is fantastic, and I did enjoy the sound effects, but the story got boring and tropey for me once the main character left the castle. The fantasy story tropes I can understand, given the books are so old, they likely invented some of them and were fresh in their time, but today's audience might not be so impressed. The names of places and characters are difficult to sort out if you find you want to search them up later to find out more about a particular character or race. Hearing them said isn't always going to help you figure out how they're spelled! I've decided not to continue on to the next book, which is sad, because I had really hoped to get into this series. The characters and their plight just didn't grab me, unfortunately.

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I really wanted this to be better...

Reviewed: 03-28-16

This book had a strong start, I felt. I'm new to the study of philosophers, just for some context. I found the story of Epicurus enlightening, inspiring and helpful, and was excited to become just as inspired by the stories and thoughts of the other great philosophers in this book, but...something seemed to go awry. Rather than telling us how we might be able to apply the rest of the philosophies to our modern daily lives, the stories seemed to become a ramble, one after the next, without any real purpose. I really enjoyed the story about Schopenhauer, but it was more of a brief biography of how the man lived his life, rather than any sort of consolation of any practical use to the modern day reader. It's really a shame.

I didn't especially enjoy the narrator, either. Dry and a bit stuffy and monotone. Would much have preferred Alain de Botton's own voice, which is sensitive and quite comforting just to listen to!

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Perfect Voice For This Tale!

Reviewed: 01-09-16

Where does Moll Flanders rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right at the top! There are so many recordings that have been done of this story, I ended up choosing this narrator, because she sounded closest to what I imagined our Miss Molly might have sounded like! I was not disappointed in the least.

What other book might you compare Moll Flanders to and why?

I can't. To me, it's a very unique story.

Which scene was your favorite?

A classic for me is when Moll is describing the old Baronet while he's drunk and wanting to have his way with her. The description of the nature of a drunken man is beautifully written and expressed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Never could have, it's far too long, though I might have, if I'd had all those hours to just sit and listen!

Any additional comments?

I became fascinated by Moll Flanders after seeing the Alex Kingston performance on television from the 90s. I had bought the book, but became frustrated by the old English spellings, so thought I'd try the audiobook. I really am glad I made that decision!

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Story had a great start, but...

Reviewed: 12-18-15

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Only through about the first half. I was hoping things would develop more with the grandfather character, who I thought was very interesting and unique. The second half I felt was predictable, but it may have had a lot to do with the fact that I didn't really enjoy the narrator's take on the characters.

What was most disappointing about Ransom Riggs’s story?

What started as an interesting story with what I felt was a pretty fresh concept became kind of cliche and predictable. Didn't like the ending.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jesse Bernstein’s performances?

Only if he's not performing female characters, or those with accents which are not natural to him. His stereotypical English cockney thing is pretty cringey, and became annoying and distracting. As the main character, his voice fit fine, though.

Did Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children inspire you to do anything?

Yes. Avoid the Tim Burton movie adaptation. Sounds like it's going to turn into another typical circus freak goth fest that we've seen a million times already.

Any additional comments?

I'm really sorry to sound so negative. I do wish I could get a refund on this. I loved the character development with the boy and his family at the beginning, but the ending with all the action scenes just went on and on and on. I didn't find Miss Peregrine an interesting character at all. The relationship at the end was too predictable. The annoying sassy girl character has been done so often it's annoying now. I can't believe this was recommended to people who like the Harry Potter series. Not sure why the book is so highly rated in general. It sounded like a fantastic concept, but ended up disappointing me. Will not be moving on to the next book.

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