Category Archives: Books

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

A she said v. he said review of two books on music

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Steve

A little inspiration to get my reading goals jumpstarted! Two music books I knocked out last year and then dragged on when it came to writing about them. The first is Record Collecting for Girls which is really a semi-autobiography and … Continue reading →

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Walter Mosley

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Steve

The next installment of Brushes with Greatness Week is my Summer encounter with (primarily hard-boiled detective) writer Walter Mosley. You may recognize his novel Devil in a Blue Dress which was made into a movie with Denzel Washington around 1995. President … Continue reading →

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Marvel Comics, the Untold Story by Sean Howe

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Steve

The sequel to 2011’s rather unexciting Thor is due to debut in a week so I’m finally getting off my procrastinating fanny to discuss this more interesting book I finished months ago. Normally I’m a bigger DC fan and I find Marvel’s … Continue reading →

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Textbook publishers reject mythology and bunk

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Steve

This great piece of news was probably ignored due to the shutdown and it’s a huge relief since I live in Texas. The Christian Dominionists on the SBOE may finally realize that this state’s size and rising star will prevent … Continue reading →

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Kenny Rogers

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Steve

I had the opportunity to meet another member of Pop Music Royalty and History at Book People. My Midwestern memories wouldn’t have been the same without this man. The days involving our numerous drives between Springfield, IL and Champaign-Urbana, IL in … Continue reading →

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RIP: Elmore Leonard

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Steve

I’ve only read one novel of his, Cuba Libre. It was pretty hard to put down. After reading this, I could see how Leonard’s material was easier to adapt to film or TV unlike his contemporaries James Ellroy or Carl Hiassen; … Continue reading →

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RIP Richard Matheson

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Steve

Matheson is mostly remembered for being the author of I am Legend, the only Sci-Fi book I can recall being made into a movie three times; I’ve only seen the Seventies version known as The Omega Man (it’s very Seventies). For me he is … Continue reading →

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Idiot America by Charles P. Pierce

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Steve

I was motivated to read this book thanks to two different references for the author. The first was Eric Alterman who would often let Pierce participate on his Friday column/blog. The other was Idiot‘s opening about the creationist museum based … Continue reading →

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The Time Machine Did It by John Swartzwelder

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Steve

Book number four on my iPad but I read it a while back, forgot to write about it, got sucked into reading others, namely the Simon Pegg bio and Idiot America (next up for review!). Since Machine was a quick, … Continue reading →

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A list of Star Trek novels

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Steve

With everybody drooling, speculating and waiting in anticipation over Abrams’ next Star Trek movie courtesy of a trailer containing numerous explosions, the io9 people cranked out an interesting list. It was rather incomplete but then again, their editorial board is … Continue reading →

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Nerd do Well by Simon Pegg

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Steve

Finally! Another book completed on my iPad, something I totally failed to do during our recent vacation to Las Vegas. Plus I’ve been slogging through Nerd for about a year. This doesn’t mean it’s a hard read, far from it. … Continue reading →

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The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Steve

This is a little kid book my friend Helen recommended for me to help with grieving over the loss of Molly. I was really touched by the preview on Amazon so I bought two copies, one for me and the … Continue reading →

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Super belated RIP for Ray Bradbury

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Steve

It was sad to hear about the passing of Ray last Wednesday. He was a terrific author whose stories have permeated the West (I need to make a Picayune glossary to save everyone the trouble) long before I was born. … Continue reading →

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RIP: Maurice Sendak

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Steve

Where The Wild Things Are was one of the first books I remember my mother giving me when I was learning to read. Sendak’s visual style, namely the monsters left an impression on me. The changed connotation of the term … Continue reading →

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John Hodgman

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Steve

You probably don’t know John’s name but the role he did for Apple Computers during the mid- to late Aughts. Other times, he is a senior correspondent on The Daily Show when he is in New York. Last night he … Continue reading →

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