I’ll skip the normal lead in to this review and say this: Amazon.com reviews had me almost reluctant to actually pick up Matt Bondurant’s The Night Swimmer (affiliate link). The general consensus seemed to be, “Hey, this is well written, but not very clear — and the ending just comes out of nowhere. Just FOOM! […]
Interview with Mark Hosack
I met Mark Hosack twelve years ago last month. This was my first impression of the guy: “I’m finally not the only one in the room with mad scientist hair!” It was a crew meeting for Pale Blue Moon, an independent film Mark was preparing to direct. I was there as a production assistant on […]
A Difference in Ideas
In Ann Patchett’s The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life (affiliate link) (my review), she mentions that she’s not particularly fond of parties. It’s at parties where it inevitably happens: somebody approaches her and says something along the lines of, “I have an idea for a book — would you like to […]
The Book Pile: A Good American
I’ve been following Alex George’s blog for awhile, now. I always appreciate the quiet manner in which Alex talks about writing. Okay, perhaps “quiet” isn’t the right word: Alex is just a humble guy who truly appreciates those who stop by or pick up his writing. In a time when the tone of some authors […]
The End(ing)
Graphic novels are one of my favorite things in the world. Words combined with pictures — and all that happens in between the panels — is an amazing thing. Some days I’m not sure there’s a more perfect medium. Fairly recently, I reviewed Craig Thompson’s Habibi, which — to me — is the perfect graphic […]
Han Shot First…Wait, No–Greedo Did!
The weekend of my 8th birthday (1977), my mom took my sister, one of my sister’s friends, and me to see Star Wars at a drive-in theater. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen — particularly the cantina scene, where we meet Han Solo. In that scene, Han chats with Greedo, a bounty hunter […]
Win a Copy of A Good American
I recently interviewed Alex George about his new book, A Good American. Maybe you’ve heard about the book or seen it on the shelves in bookstores. Or maybe this is the first time you’ve heard about it and you’re wondering what it’s about. This description is straight from the author’s mouth (okay, straight from his […]
The E-Book Book Tour
John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars (affiliate link) sits on a pile of books on the hutch over my desk. I try to read one or two YA books a year, and this will be one of them. The video below is something John made earlier this week. He’s on a book signing tour […]
The Evolution of a Novel
No real update today, but I want to share something worth checking out. Author, Alex George, has a wonderful “story in five photos” entry on his blog, chronicling the evolution of his latest novel, A Good American (affiliate link), from a blank page, through several drafts, galleys, and the actual novel. More than that, though, it […]
What Are Your Reading Habits?
Yesterday on my personal Facebook page, I posted the video above. A very good friend replied, saying that he’s all about e-books and audio books these days, because it allows him to not be weighed down by books and lets him read/listen on the go. The Power of E-Books I love physical books, but I’m […]
The Book Pile: Habibi
I’ll just go ahead and say it: I think Craig Thompson’s Habibi is one of the best — if not the best — examples of graphic novels as a medium. It blurs the lines of time and place, it uses traditional comic book panels and many design elements to carry the story, and it ends […]
The Book Pile: The Sense of an Ending
Yesterday, I read The Sense of an Ending (affiliate link), by Julian Barnes. At 163 pages, it’s short enough that I’m tempted to read it again, to see if my feelings about it change. The Quick Version The book is about a group of school mates who go on to college and then onto their […]
The Thing About Books
I like e-books. I’ve been buying more e-books than physical books, lately. Not that I have anything against physical books — quite the contrary: I love physical books. But in a one-bedroom apartment, there’s not a lot of room for physical books. (Which is why I tend to give books away.) E-books are a great […]