Not from Concentrate, Part Two, by David Wallace Fleming

Okay, it took me a little longer to get through the second half of this collection of short stories, but that's NOT because of the content. These stories were a little bit longer ("Goodbye, My Television" was a 3 act play that played for nearly two hours!), but just as creative and interesting as the first six stories. Not from Concentrate earns 4 out of 5 stars in my book :)

""The Infidelity Detector"- interesting take on society's trust in technology, and lack of trust in each other. John is more willing to believe an infidelity detector than just listen to his girlfriend and choose to believe her anyway. I kinda liked this story, especially how his freak out is something that could and does definitely happen everyday in life. Sad how nobody trusts anybody anymore.."

""Girl Fistfights Boy" perfectly sums up gender roles and chivalry in the 21st century. Women are just as capable as men, and chivalry is out the window in exchange for equal treatment of the 'fairer' sex. Even when the girl starts a fistfight with a weaker male. Highly entertaining and the ending is a perfect fit. I'm glad Benny and Alice were able to recognize their own flaws and prejudices and just laugh it off."

""I Want to Stand in My Cubicle"- Definitely a dark comedy.. Feeling pretty bad for poor Gregory, all he wanted was to make a good impression but keep his crazy newfangled ideas about health and exercise. Fun ending though, nothing like calling your manager out on a stupid idea haha. And this is total truth, because cubicle really would be mindless, drone work. I'd probably keel over drooling."

""Digital Girlfriend"- Hmm, this story sounds familiar. Karen's motorcycle accident, and her decision to create an adult website, are eerily similar to Em's story in "Growing Up Wired". That's not to say I didn't enjoy hearing this story. It was very personable, and you can't help but feel bad for her, no longer comfortable with herself and having to continue appearing perfect to everyone. That's a lot of pressure.."

""The Download Punisher"- Interesting look at the world of pirating music, and easy access to any/all information that you could possibly want. I generally liked this story, although I think I'm more fond of David's other stories in this collection, simply because I like the realistic stories that basically point out society's technological dependence. This was a fun read/listen, but quite unrealistic (obviously)."

"Goodbye, My Television"- This was just one more piece of evidence that I should not be listening to audiobooks. A 3 part comedy about a man, his television set, and his television's existential life crisis is very entertaining, and Fleming did a great job keeping the story interesting and fun throughout the nearly two hours of listening time. However, this is something that I would have been more comfortable reading in print format... I feel like I lost a lot of the humor just trying to listen and retain all the information that I was being given. It's a lot harder to go back and 'reread' parts of an audiobook, and I feel like I didn't enjoy this story as much as I could have and should have.


So, there you have it. I highly recommend picking up one (or all) of David Fleming's works, they are a lot of fun and really shed some interesting light on this technological age we're currently in. As well as opening your eyes to how EVERYTHING is technological, and brand-name. Shock shock. 4 out of 5 stars for this collection of short stories, and I am looking forward to picking up more of his work.