Category Archives: Books

Books I’ve read lately, in the past or about the authors.

John Bloom aka Joe Bob Briggs

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Steve

Last Friday morning, I was flipping through all the FaceBook noise I receive from all the things I “like” along with the Right-Wing diatribes and there was the announcement about Joe Bob hosting two movies Sunday evening Alamo Ritz! How … Continue reading →

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Why humans can still analyze and think better than ‘bots

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Steve

Last weekend I mentioned wanting to take a refresher course at ACC to punch up my writing skills. Then last night my friend Kate plugs this site which “analyzes” one’s style and pairs it with a famous author. She got … Continue reading →

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A cool James Ellroy interview

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Steve

One of my favorite contemporary authors gets a nice treatment from the Guardian in this interview with another author named David Peace. Seems Peace writes similar stuff, historical fiction and I will need to check him out. I did get … Continue reading →

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The Healing of America by T. R. Reid

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Steve

“I don’t want our healthcare to be socialized like France’s!” “If we change our system to be like Canada’s or the Europeans’, then it will be rationed and there won’t be enough!” “I will lose my doctor if we reform … Continue reading →

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Julie Powell

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Steve

Author and Austin native Julie Powell being at our showing of Julie & Julia was a huge bonus to go with the big, fancy meal. I’m glad she did a nice Q&A after the movie because it helped separate the … Continue reading →

Posted in Austintatious, Books, Brushes with Greatness | 1 Comment

Death from the Skies by Dr. Phil Plait

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Steve

Hooray! Phil’s long awaited follow-up book to Bad Astronomy hit the shelves last Fall; he doesn’t like to be addressed as doctor. He told everyone last year at the Iron Cactus get-together about it and I bought this at Book People … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Science | 1 Comment

Happy 111th Birthday to F Scott Fitzgerald

Posted on September 24, 2007 by Steve

Although his body of work is small and his output was terribly inconsistent due to his lifestyle, The Great Gatsby is still one of my favorite novels. I read it again recently because I bought a used copy at Half Price … Continue reading →

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Happy 145th Birthday to O Henry

Posted on September 11, 2007 by Steve

Born William Sydney Porter, he is the oldest famous resident of Austin I know of because all the founders of the state lived elsewhere. Most people know him from high school literature with all his short stories ending in a … Continue reading →

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History Lessons, it helps with perception but not enough

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Steve

History Lessons is really a collection of excerpts from foreign History textbooks and their take on particular events in US History. Namely, how the event affected their nation, what was their participation, how their textbook writers see it, etc. Besides … Continue reading →

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Robert A. Heinlein would be 100 today

Posted on July 7, 2007 by Steve

I think my wife is more qualified to speak about his writings. He has been more of an influence on the writers I read during my bigger Sci-Fi period in high school. Heinlein definitely left a mark in the character … Continue reading →

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