DCGonk's Reading List
4 stories
Zeus: The Autobiography by DerekDenton
Zeus: The Autobiography
DerekDenton
  • Reads 403
  • Votes 15
  • Parts 24
'Zeus: The Autobiography' is a historical satire dictated by a deity to a mortal ghost writer who may have mixed motives. Zeus emerges to share the truth of the universe and his life. He boasts of absolute power and knowledge yet struggles with family, sex, romance, loss, middle age, usurpers, and other ongoing hassles of running the universe. Zeus seems oblivious to female forces that hold as much or more influence than he does. He takes us through creation to his birth in exile to leading the war against older gods to the peculiar origin of mortals to ancient history to early Christianity. He claims to still command the universe and protect mortals, yet why did he withdraw from view just as selfish trickster forces started to lead the world astray? I have studied Greek mythology, the Classical period, and Christian history for decades. I strive to amuse readers with both dry and ripe wit while inspiring compassion and skepticism.
Don't Forget to Write by DCGonk
Don't Forget to Write
DCGonk
  • Reads 162
  • Votes 79
  • Parts 66
In 2016, Peter Alves-a twenty-year-old son of immigrants confused about his racial and personal identity-moves in with his soccer team captain and fellow classmate in Harlem. The excitement of college quickly fades as Peter contends with the racial entanglements of the neighborhood, the pressure of making ends meet, and his idiosyncratic and immutable desire to define himself on his own terms. We follow Peter from the dying heat of summer through a tumultuous fall where nothing turns out as he expected. In one of the season's first soccer games, Peter suffers a severe head-injury which derails his college dreams. As his head heals and his medical bills pile up, he starts an illegal business writing papers for classmates while falling, despite himself, for his TA. Meanwhile, he contends with the racial politics of Harlem alongside hobos, bodega owners, and school children all trying to contend with forces they hardly understand but feel in every way. For a time, the lack of responsibility and new love is a balm, but as the late nights pile on the alcohol starts to seep into the day. Soon Peter is plagiarizing hundreds of papers, his relationship is unstable, and the only thing that seems constant is the bar down the street where the conversation is always good and the world's demands are left for another day. It's only a matter of time before the center falls out. A literary coming of age, DON'T FORGET TO WRITE is a story of brotherly friendship and the risks of love, the confinements of family history, and the bravery of fighting for what matters. At once courageous and idealistic, Peter passionately pursues the ideas that can serve a conscientious adult and tries to see which sacrifices are worth making. A story of youthful exploration, scheming, the origins of love, failure, and friendship. Like sitting next to a close friend at the bar who is telling a long, good, story, DON'T FORGET TO WRITE is humorous, serious, and mythic all at once.
Eli & Aeryn by My_Dreamless_Story
Eli & Aeryn
My_Dreamless_Story
  • Reads 1,571,893
  • Votes 68,213
  • Parts 56
The conversations between Eli and Aeryn.
A Life Wasted by RebeccaEBoyd
A Life Wasted
RebeccaEBoyd
  • Reads 596,800
  • Votes 18,733
  • Parts 173
WATTY 2016 WINNER of the HQ Love Award! With national focus on Islamic terrorism, few noticed when "Domestic Terrorist" Clayton Waagner was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List on September 21, 2001. How did a software developer become the 467th person added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List? Why did the FBI make Waagner a priority ten days after the worst terrorist attack in American history? How did he become the only person ever listed on the nation's top three Most Wanted List: FBI, U.S. Marshals, and ATF? Clay Waagner led an interesting life. He pranked a Soviet ship and caused a Cold War incident inside the Arctic Circle. He is a licensed pilot, an artist, a husband of 40 years and the father of nine. He worked for the Christian Broadcasting Network and skippered a commercial fishing boat out of Kodiak, Alaska. He has escaped from custody five times. Criminal Science major's and convicts know his name, but few in the public do. This is his story. "Autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying." George Orwell By Orwell's standard this is an honest memoir. Clay Waagner 2016