I am Justin Tadlock.

I am also a writer. A front-end developer. A gardener. A small-town Alabama kid just trying to figure out whatever it is that that folks are supposed to figure out on this journey. Welcome to my little home on the web.

Bird Box

It’s hard to avoid the Bird Box craze these days. Ever since Netflix dropped its new movie based on the book by Josh Malerman, memes of a blindfolded Sandra Bullock have taken over my social networking feeds. People (in the real world) are even taking a challenge by getting into … Continue reading →

The life-changing magic of sorting books

There’s been a lot of backlash against Marie Kondō and her KonMari method of tidying in the last week or so as the crowd of folks making their way through the program get to Lesson #2: Books. And, rightfully so. Many of us take our book collections seriously. I’m an … Continue reading →

Eragon

I remember when Eragon by Christopher Paolini blew up. I was in college. I remember friends and family telling me I must read this book. They told me it was written by a teenager. They said it was better fantasy than even seasoned authors were writing. They were wrong. At … Continue reading →

The life-changing magic of folding clothes

After reading Marie Kondō’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I was a bit motivated to begin my journey into a tidier and more peaceful life. At first, I made a plan to simply throw out a bag of stuff each day to get myself started. However, I quickly realized … Continue reading →

Artemis

Artemis, by Andy Weir, follows a foul-mouthed, 20-something Saudi woman named Jazz. The story takes place in the only city on the moon, from which the book is named. She grew up without a mother, spent her childhood around welders and other laborers, and lives in the dregs of the … Continue reading →

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I knew one of my New Year goals was going to be to get rid of some of the clutter I’ve accumulated over the years. As fate would have it, a Kindle deal popped up a few days ago and shined light upon the path that I should take. I … Continue reading →

Mistborn: The Final Empire

It’s Brandon Sanderson. Need I say anything else to convince you to read it? Mistborn: The Final Empire is unlike your traditional fantasy. There are no dragons to slay. No elves and dwarves. No long, arduous journeys crossing continents. Most of the story takes place within one city and follows … Continue reading →

2019 goals

It’s hard to believe that it’s the start of a new year. That’s what we say every year, right? A new year always gives you a fresh slate on life, to a degree. There’s new possibilities. There’s hope for something greater than the year before. It’s an exciting time where … Continue reading →

2018 year in review

It happened last night. I’d felt the rumblings of it on occasion in the past couple of weeks. It’s that moment when you realize there’s something you’d simply rather be doing than the thing that you’re doing. It was just past 9 p.m. I’d spent most of the night switching … Continue reading →

Skyward

A review of Skyward, the heroic adventure of young Spensa as she overcomes her family brand of cowardice and becomes a warrior for her people.