Patron-Only AMA Questions July 2026

Hey Cliff, Have you ever listened to YHWH Nailgun? They’re a new industrial band from new york, with a super intense style and elliptical occult-feeling lyrics. Felt like they could be up your alley.

I love the McCarthy tid bit, loved the Passenger also. Currently reading All the Pretty Horses. Have you ever ridden a horse? Is it something to check off the bucket list? What is the next Cormac McMarthy read for you? Bonus: Have you read any Bolano short stories? I’m currently finishing up, the Return and recently finished, A Little Lumpen Novelita. Best wishes as always from Austin, Texas

Considering that Wimbledon took place recently - I must ask about David Foster Wallace, cause there's no other person who wrote so beautifully about tennis. Why there's no any review of his books on the channel?

not a question, but a recommendation, even a demand: go read solenoid by cartarescue. you'll love it

What do you think of Robert Eggers’ films?

What is your earliest memory? (I know this question can be tricky because past memories are not always very reliable - just as Mishima said in Confessions of a Mask - but do you have any moment of sudden realization of your existence like that? I’d also like to read other replies to this if any of your other patrons feel like sharing it here, maybe…? :)

Loved your review of Gravity’s Rainbow. Have you read any other works from Pynchon?. Finished collecting all his books and would like some advice about what order to read them. Had one booktuber suggest reading them based upon the settings of each book from the earliest to most recent…. Mason & Dixon, Against the Day, Shadow Ticket, Gravity’s Rainbow, V, Crying of Lot 49, Inherent Vice, Vineland and Bleeding Edge. Pynchon’s journey through America from past to present. Thoughts ?

What makes a bad book to you and what are some of the worst books you've ever read. Ngl lately I've been starting to feel like their is a difference between trashy books and bad ones. Like a trashy movie can be fun in ways but a bad thing feels like it wastes good ideas.

You have expressed a lot of admiration for literary critics like Harold Bloom and Camille Paglia in the past, especially in your reviews of their work. You have also listed great secondary sources in your reviews such as interviews with the author, lectures on their work/movement they belong to, etc. For you, what makes literary criticism or secondary sources on a text worth reading? What are good sources for literary criticism or secondary sources that you enjoy but have not gotten the chance to highlight on their own like Bloom or Paglia? Alternatively, if there are none you can think of, what are some you are interested in looking into in the future?

The Atlantic magazine recently published a piece about the U.S being in the 'end of reading' and that it was now 'post-literate'. If you had the money and the power what measures would you implement to halt this apparent decline?

Hey Cliff, Interesting about Napoleon House. I really need to do a re-read of The Passenger/Stella Maris. Godspeed on your trip to AZ! I have two questions for ya. One; What are some of your favorite places you have lived or visited in the US? Two; Do you re-read much? I ask because I find myself going through my library and flipping through, seeing some old annotations that I made and being like, damn, I was on to something, but don't really remember after some years. I am going to try to incorporate some re-reading with my regular list. Unrelated to the questions, I just finished this super short collection of Artaud's letters called 1937 Apocalypse Letters. He wrote them to various friends from Ireland just before he went into the asylum, fucking fascinating and absolutely insane. Anyway, really appreciate it. Hope your summer is going well. Cheers, man!

I recently rewatched your review of "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." As much as I like that collection, I worry that the lessons we’ve taken from the economical Gordon Lish/Hemingway Iceberg style have been damaging. A lot of modern literary fiction is ostensibly trying to say more with less and resist sentimentality etc., but so many writers are now speaking through this cold, precise, intelligent, austere prose. They seem to be hiding behind passionlessness. And they sound the same! So my question is this…what’s with the invasion of these smart, boring, bloodless writers?

My personal philosophy of my writing, reflected in my brand, is best encapsulated by my neologism “trivivosense,” [tree-vee-voh-sehns] meaning “a sense combining a child’s sense of wonder, an adult’s sense of craftiness, and an elder’s sense of wisdom” from the Greek words “three life sense.” My question is: Which book(s) have you read that can be perfectly described as having trivivosense?

Hi Clifford, Do you have any favorite Gothic books that you read and if so, who are your favorite authors and what do you recommend?

If you could pick traits from three authors and combine them to write the perfect novel which authors would you pick and why? (as a bonus, what would be the genre of said novel?)

Hey Clifford. I’ll ask how much Henry James have you read, and what is your favorite novel written by him? Hope you’re doing well. I’m trying not to be jealous because of the picture you have for this post. ✌️