Category Archives: One a Day Post Challenge

A Response from the Yeti

EDITOR’S NOTE: This morning I, as I sipped my coffee at Bookshelf Battle HQ, I discovered, much to my great surprise, the following note scrawled in poor penmanship taped to my front door. I cleaned it up a little, removed the many, many obscenities, and typed it out. Personally, I do not believe the Yeti deserves a response, but I suppose that in the name of fairness, I must allow him one.

Here is my recent post about my encounter with the Yeti.

And now, the Yeti’s response:

MY RESPONSE TO BOOKSHELF Q. BATTLER’S OUTRAGEOUS, LIBELOUS STATEMENTS

By: The Yeti

Hello.  This is the Yeti.  And boy do I have a bee in my bonnet to share with you people.

Did I break into Bookshelf Battle Headquarters?  Yes.  Did I make my way into Bookshelf Q. Battler’s personal office space?  Yes.

Did I have a right to be there?  No.  Did Bookshelf Q. Battler have the right to subdue me with brute force?  Yes.

But let’s be honest about how it all went down.

Bookshelf Q. Battler is trying to present this tough guy image, paint himself as the only book blogger who fights monsters with his left hand while holding the book he’s reading in his right.  Ridiculous.

The truth that his 3.5 regular readers need to hear is that Bookshelf Q. Battler is no tough guy at all.  Before I broke into his compound, I spent many hours observing him through his living room window.  That’s not weird because I was on a mission.

What did I observe?  I observed one Bookshelf Q. Battler in a bathrobe, a makeshift bath towel turban on his head, cold cream on his face, sipping a strawberry daiquiri while watching Steel Magnolias.  In fact, I observed on his coffee table a pile of DVDs, the titles of which included Beaches, Thelma and Louise, and Fried Green Tomatoes.  It was a veritable treasure trove of 90’s era female empowerment flicks.  And he calls himself a tough guy.

You want to know who the real tough guy is?  Me.  The Yeti.  That’s who.  You see, I have used my special yeti powers to forsake most of America with blistering cold temperatures just so I can walk around your Godforsaken land and hunt Bookshelf Q. Battler with impunity.  Yetis, as you may or may not be aware, need blistering cold temperatures to survive.  That’s just science.

Why am I after Bookshelf Q. Battler, you ask?  Long story short, I’m a Russian Yeti.  I’m not like my cousins, those high falutin,’ free-thinking Canadian yetis, or worse, those party all night, sleep all day Alaskan yetis.

I’m a yeti straight outta’ Siberia, son, and in Siberia, we have rules.  We stand in line for three days just to get our weekly ration kit, which includes: one granola bar, half a cup of water, one stale biscuit, and three toilet paper squares.  The Siberian powers that be have recently discussed the possibility of upping our allotment to four toilet paper squares, but if you ask me, that’s way too decadent.  Four toilet paper squares today means we’re all a bunch of Western wannabes tomorrow.  Four toilet paper squares will lead to us wearing cowboy hats, driving around in pink Cadillacs, and yelling, “Wazzzup?”  at each other.

Is “Wazzzup?” still even a thing in your country?  I don’t know.  We are just now getting documentaries of your renowned scientist, Steven Urkel.  I must say, his neighbors should be ashamed of the way they treated a man of such brilliance.

Anyway, this all started a few weeks ago.  I was sitting in the Siberian yeti village, gathered in the hut I share with five hundred of my yeti relatives, all huddled around the one computer we collectively own.  It is a 1986 Commodore 64, the absolute height of modern Western technology.  You didn’t think we’d get our hands on one of your precious Commodore 64’s, did you, America?  But we did.  And now we play Topper with reckless abandon.  All day long, we take turns controlling a mustached bartender as he whips one frothy beverage mug after another at his patrons.

Between games, we surf the net.  We do this through a Wi-Fi generating device we have devised through a pile of rusty tin cans, the engine from a 1964 Yugo, one thousand AA batteries, and a bag of blueberry muffins.  Do not ask me how it works.  Your fat, stupid, lazy, reality TV show addled American brains could never possibly comprehend the basic principles of yeti science.

While searching for a book entitled, 101 Ways to Make Your Three Toilet Paper Squares Last Longer, we stumbled upon Bookshelf Q. Battler’s website, bookshelfbattle.com

We held a Siberian yeti meeting, the conclusion of which was that Bookshelf Q. Battler’s website is much too awesome, that if allowed to exist, it would spread awesomeness all over the globe.  And the day that people are filled with ideas of awesomeness is the day that people and yetis alike start allowing their heads to be filled with ridiculous nonsense, like three toilet paper squares per week is not enough.

I, “The Yeti,” was elected by my yeti brothers and sisters to hunt Bookshelf Q. Battler down and stop his one post a day challenge.  We simply cannot allow people to receive that much daily awesomeness for a year, even if those people number 3.5.

This brings us to the crux of my complaint.  Did Bookshelf Q. Battler punch me in the face?  Yes.  However, he has left out crucial information and therefore, is guilty of a lie by omission.  He’d have you think that he punched me in the face after an elaborate exchange of fisticuffs, when in reality, he zapped me in the back with a cattle prod, turned me around on the swivel chair I was sitting on, and then punched me in the face AFTER I was already unconscious.

Because I was already subdued, I believe that Bookshelf Q. Battler is guilty of “book blogger brutality.”  My team of attorneys, who are also Siberian yetis, are currently exploring what options I may have to sue Bookshelf Q. Battler for the 3.5 dollars in his possession.  This money will go a long way to alleviate my pain and suffering, not to mention make me the wealthiest yeti in all of Siberia.  I will buy all of the toilet paper squares and rule the yeti village like a king.

Thank you, boorish and incompetent Americans, for taking the time to listen to my side of the story.

Sincerely,

The Yeti

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Lesson learned.  The next time I catch a yeti sitting in the swivel chair at my desk, trying to log on to my computer in an effort to shut down my blog, I will not take pity on him and leave his twitching carcass on the curb.  I will use my taxidermy skills to stuff him and leave him on my front door as a warning to all yetis everywhere.

The bathrobe?  True.  The cold cream?  True.  The daiquiri?  True.  What, I’m not allowed to unwind after a long day of bookshelf battling?

The DVDs were not 90’s era female empowerment movies.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  The DVDs were 1990’s era action movies.  I was engrossed in a Jean Claude Vann Damme marathon.  It made me nostalgic for the days I spent teaching him everything he knows.

Did I electrocute the yeti in the back with a cattle prod before I punched him in the face?  Yes.  Was the yeti already unconscious?  No.  Everyone knows that cattle prods only slow yetis down, they do not subdue them.  The shock mildly stunned the yeti, giving me the upper hand I needed to apply the coupe de grace of a clothesline smash to the yeti’s proverbial snot box.  It wasn’t pretty.  I didn’t want to do it.  But I had no choice.  A man’s bookshelf battle compound is his castle.

If you have a question for me, post it below.  If you have a question for the Yeti, you may also post it and I will pose it to him.  He has agreed to take your questions.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to both sides.  I feel confident that my 3.5 regular readers will realize that I am a bastion of truth and honesty, whereas the Yeti is a dirty, dirty liar.

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FYI

For your information…I just wanted to make my 3.5 regular readers aware that I am so dedicated to them that I trudged through 571 miles of arctic tundra and punched a Yeti in the face just to get to a computer in time to complete the latest installment of the one post a day for 2015 challenge.

So please keep this in mind when you’re choosing which blogs to follow.  Many bloggers are great.  Few are willing to punch Yetis in the face for their 3.5 regular readers’ benefit.

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State of Bookshelf Battle’s One Post a Day Challenge

Good Day, Bookshelf Battlers.

I am Bookshelf Q. Battler and I am now a month and a half into the challenge I have issued to myself, namely, to post once a day for the year of 2015.

It has been a grueling challenge, but well worth it, as it brings smiles to the faces of my 3.5 regular readers.

I will now take your questions.

QUESTION:  What are the rules of this challenge?

ANSWER:  If you are new to this blog and thinking about becoming my fourth regular reader, the rules can be found here.

QUESTION:  Are you just an a-hole shouting into the wind?

ANSWER:  Indeed I am…and a proud one at that.

QUESTION:  This reminds me of that scene in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where Mr. Smith filibusters on the floor of the senate, except Jimmy Stewart had more charisma.

ANSWER:  I think Jimmy Stewart was a fantastic actor.  However, he lived in a time where you’d go knock on Hollywood’s door and say, “Hey Hollywood!  I’d like to work in the entertainment industry please!”  and Hollywood was all like, “Sure, come on in!”

QUESTION:  It wasn’t really that easy even back then.

ANSWER:  No, it wasn’t.  And we even have amazing technology today that allows the common man to make his voice heard.  The problem (perhaps ‘problem’ is not the best word) – the issue is that a whole helluvalot of people are using that technology to make their voices heard.

QUESTION:  So this challenge is your way of trying to scream louder than the a-hole next to you?

ANSWER:  Maybe.

QUESTION:  Have you seen any results?

ANSWER:  Since Christmas, I’ve gained over a thousand twitter followers for @bookshelfbattle – If you aren’t following it, I challenge your nerd street cred.  Visitors to the site are increasing and a Google + site for the blog is going swimmingly.  Join that too if you’re a Googler.

QUESTION:  Has anyone tried to stop you from posting once a day?

ANSWER:  Yes.  The forces of evil do not like this blog.  They don’t want this much awesomeness being brought into people’s blog feeds.  Thus far, they have sent ninjas, aliens, bears, and asteroids after me.

QUESTION:  Have they really?

ANSWER:  I’m typing with my left hand and punching a werewolf sent to stop my blog with my right hand as we speak.  I am a skilled mult-tasker.

QUESTION:  You say odd things, like what you just said about a werewolf.

ANSWER:  I have an odd sense of humor.  Half of the people out there will get it and join in on the fun.  The other half will think I’m an idiot who believes in werewolves.

QUESTION:  You don’t believe in werewolves?

ANSWER:  Um, hello!  I just told you I’m fighting one!

QUESTION:  Surely a werewolf will stop you from blogging.

ANSWER: I’ve trained under the world’s foremost werewolf hunters.  I will be fine.  It’s the werewolf you should be worried about.

QUESTION:  Will anything stop you from posting once a day?

ANSWER:  Absolutely not.  If you can think of a hypothetical scenario that could stop me, let me know, and I will debunk it immediately.

QUESTION:  Are you ever going to review some more books on your book blog?  Because, you know, it’s a book blog.

ANSWER:  I hope to.  Even when I don’t, I do bring in a lot of literary references, discussions of writing, and so on.  All in all, I feel this is a site that the average book nerd with a healthy sense of humor will enjoy.

QUESTION:  Do you have any fun plans for the blog in the months ahead or is it just going to be a lot of obligatory “I like waffles” type posts just to meet the once a day challenge?

ANSWER:  I’m not going to lie.  By the end of this year, my 3.5 regular readers will be well versed in my breakfast food likes and dislikes.  However, one fun project I am working on is the Bookshelf Battle origin story.

QUESTION:  What?

ANSWER:  What life is like as the owner of a magical bookshelf upon which the inhabitants constantly do battle.

QUESTION:  That sounds stupid.

ANSWER:  Paramount already bought the movie rights.

QUESTION:  Who’s playing you?

ANSWER:  Channing Tatum

QUESTION:  No, really.

ANSWER:  Jonah Hill

QUESTION:  No, really.

ANSWER:  Fine.  Danny DeVito.

QUESTION:  No, really.

ANSWER: Alright!  CGI Gollum.

QUESTION:  Anything else?

ANSWER:  Come April, it’s going to be a real Game of Thrones-a-palooza around here.  I treat Game of Thrones Sundays in the Springtime the way so-called normal people do with the Superbowl.  Except, arguably, Game of Thrones is better than the Superbowl, because stuff more interesting than a ball being moved around is happening.  If you’re a GOT nerd, stop by in April.

QUESTION:  Do you always interview yourself?

ANSWER:  Yes.

In conclusion, thanks everyone for following in and joining in on the fun.  Together, we can bring the written word to the masses whilst not being all stuffy about it.

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