Note: All songs mentioned below are linked to performances on YouTube, and the links will open in new browser tabs. A few weeks ago, during a post-dessert foray through Barnes & Noble, my eye lit upon a book resting on a table, notable for its thickness and heft, entitled 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before… Continue reading Book Review: “1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die”
Category: Reading & Writing
Five Book Mini-Reviews
There’s a good reason for the solid non-blogging going on around here lately: I’ve been reading. You know, like, books. You might find something of interest among the group, so here are some brief reviews. The linked titles lead to Amazon.com, where you can either order the hard copy version, or download the Kindle version;… Continue reading Five Book Mini-Reviews
A Trip to the Bookstore
Note: What follows is an entirely accurate account. It’s not my fault if “accurate” equates to “boring.” We went out for dinner tonight, not wanting to be the only people in Midland who didn’t do so. If there’s a restaurant in our fair city that’s not making money, it’s because the owners want a tax… Continue reading A Trip to the Bookstore
“A Dance With Dragons” – An unsatisfying ending
My enchantment with the Lord of the Rings series notwithstanding, I’m not a big fan of the fantasy literary genre. So I was surprised at how quickly I was sucked into George R.R. Martin‘s epic A Song of Ice and Fire, which has grown to five volumes, with two more on the way. The preceding… Continue reading “A Dance With Dragons” – An unsatisfying ending
Another 15 seconds of “fame”
Remember this post? No? Can’t say that I blame you; it dealt with some pretty obscure subject matter. Well, unless you’re a musician and music historian who’s writing a scholarly book about the musicians of Alabama including Gene Sullivan and who had almost despaired of finding a photograph of Mr. Sullivan…until he stumbled across this… Continue reading Another 15 seconds of “fame”
Book Review: “Feed” and “Deadline”
Imagine a scenario where every mammal on earth is infected with an incurable mutant virus that generally remains dormant until the moment of death, at which point the virus springs into action. Its goals are simple – survive and replicate – and it achieves these goals by taking over the dead host’s neural and muscular… Continue reading Book Review: “Feed” and “Deadline”
Reading List
Here’s what I’m reading now. Well, not right now, because I’m writing this. Don’t be so literal (pun intended). Also, because I know you care about such things, I’m including a parenthetical note about the method of word delivery. The Dark Design – The third installment of Philip José Farmer’s Riverworld saga. Riverworld is ridiculously… Continue reading Reading List
Character Development in Serial Novels
I wrote a bit late last year about Tim Dorsey’s series of novels in this Random Thursday post. At that time, I had read three of the installments and was starting on the fourth. As of earlier this evening, I’ve now finished a dozen, and have just downloaded the 13th (and last) in the series.… Continue reading Character Development in Serial Novels
A Cornell Professor Writes About “A Death in Texas”
I received an email yesterday from Josh Wallaert, the web editor for Places, which is described as an interdisciplinary journal of contemporary architecture, landscape, and urbanism, with particular emphasis on the public realm as physical place and social ideal. Josh wanted to draw attention to a new essay by Cornell University architecture professor Jim Williamson. I was… Continue reading A Cornell Professor Writes About “A Death in Texas”
Random Thursday
Scattershooting while making frantic preparations to defend the Gazette against the inevitable attack by WikiLeaks sympathizers who are targeting high profile websites. While most people probably look for novels to read during summer vacations, the year-end holiday season is also a good excuse to look for some light reading, especially when curled up by a… Continue reading Random Thursday