Mark is a wonderful man who ended up building an empire of him publicly experiencing things, something which he continues in Mark Reads and Mark Watches. He started years and years ago reading Twilight and responding to it a chapter at a time, which sometimes devolved to just ALLCAPS and exclamation points. What really rounded out the quality of how he read things and why I enjoyed it was when he read Harry Potter, though; going from something which he clearly loathed by the end to something which he sometimes had issues with but overall loved was wonderful to watch, and a community grew around enjoying him, his reactions to things, and his specific reaction to something one loved oneself. The biggest rule is not to spoil Mark; he goes into each of these projects knowing as little as possible so his reactions can, as much as possible, be spontaneous and unplanned - and that is the enjoyable thing, because when Mark reacts it will be BIG!
He is a man with a story of his own, and one which is known to his fans; adopted outside of his native culture, he grew up gay in a family that didn't much like that, and left home at a young and vulnerable age. He spent time on the streets and being hungry. He's found safe haven's now, but his time sensitized him to the pain all people feel and that sensibility is everpresent on his site. Slurs of any kind are not allowed in the comments, and if a slur is used in the text (which is most common for abelist slurs) he will warn for it. He also gives trigger warnings for many of the major traumas, like suicide, eating disorders, etc... and engages in discussion around problematic elements while still often loving what he is engaging with. He can, and does, engage with things he ends up loathing - Twilight stands out amongst those - but by and large he has settled into engaging with things he and his audience love despite their flaws (his reviews of Supernatural are particularly good for this, I think). His ability to combine love and critique at the same time has helped me practice the difficult task of loving problematic things.
I had jumped on board the Mark train at Twilight, and then wandered in and out now and then since, but what cemented me as a fan was Mark Reads The Westing Game, a seemingly little known book that I adored as a child. Part of how he supports himself is through people purchasing video readings of the books, and each reading is at the bottom of the page after a series of responses to the chapter. I adore him reading The Westing Game, his shocks, surprises, and feels at each twist and turn taking a book I loved and making it even more precious. I've been impatiently following him along with the Circle of Magic series, another love of mine and the first time I've ever been right at the forefront of his enjoyment of it (though I've yet to comment). This is one site to read the comments on as well; spoilers are included through a use of the ROT13 cypher so that Mark - and others - can read the comments without being spoiled for future plot points. The theme of the entire site is respect, respect for each other, respect for Mark, and thorough enjoyment of something together. I highly recommend looking through his past efforts for things you've loved, as you may find your love expanded by loving it with Mark and his commentariate.
( More pictures here. )
Credits:
Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Serena
Hairband: OrsiniRed, Frosted Bloom Moss
Ears: .:Soul:., High Elf
Eyes: .:Soul:., RooMee
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Metalic
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZOZ, Urban Gold
Staff: Sweet Lies, Moon & Stars Staff
Jewelry: Lazuri, En tournant
Clothes: Valentina E. Couture, We Are All Made of Stars
Shoes: Sax Shepherd Designs, Aphrodite
Pose: Grafica
Location: Salt Water
Light Settings: Night Light
Water Settings: Mirror Water
Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping
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