I am a huge Walking Dead fan and I was really looking to reading the essays in We’re All Infected: Essays on AMC’s the Walking Dead and the Fate of the Human. I have spent hours debating with friends, discussing the meaning of key points on the show, discussing what zombies have to say about our culture, what causes some supernatural… Read more
Here’s the latest new release to hit my bookshelves, Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles: In the coming centuries the world’s population has exploded. The earth is crowded with cities, animals are nearly all extinct, and drought is so widespread that water is rationed. There are no maps, no borders, no numbered years, and no freedom, except for an elite few.… Read more
The Kill Call by Stephen Booth is the first book I’ve read in the Cooper and Fry series. I’m not sure this is a series I’ll keep reading, for reasons I’ll get to later, but it’s a pretty good mystery. The story starts on a rainy moor – Sean has come up to one of his favorite quiet, deserted spot,… Read more
I have this urge all the time, especially on chilly, rainy days like today. “Woke up this morning with a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read.” – Raymond Carver, American short story writer Read more
He does not look happy to be interrupted – I know the feeling! Read more
Finally, Gutenberg’s Apprentice: An enthralling literary debut that evokes one of the most momentous events in history, the birth of printing in medieval Germany—a story of invention, intrigue, and betrayal, rich in atmosphere and historical detail, told through the lives of the three men who made it possible. Youthful, ambitious Peter Schoeffer is on the verge of professional success as a… Read more
Okay, this is longer than my usual quotes, but I think it’s important. I’ve read a lot of discussions about girls toys v. boys toys, why there aren’t any cool videogames for girls, why for the love of all that is holy does everything have to be pink? Thought-provoking stuff: “The problem that needs to be fixed is not kick… Read more
Next on the new book parade, Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success: Entrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow (Wired, Fast Company, The New Yorker, and cofounder of Contently) analyzes the lives of people and companies that do incredible things in implausibly short time. How do some startups go from zero to billions in mere months? How did Alexander the Great,… Read more
I’ve got 3 new books to tell you about, all from the nice folks at Harper Collins. First up, The Bully of Order: Set in a logging town on the lawless Pacific coast of Washington State at the turn of the twentieth century, a spellbinding novel of fate and redemption—told with a muscular lyricism and filled with a cast of… Read more
I was a Kiss fan as a teenager, so I was really looking forward to reading Nothin’ to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972-1975). Author Ken Sharpe has pulled together an amazing series of interviews with former band members, roadies, industry and media people. In addition, there are a host of more recognizable names: Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Iggy Pop, Ted… Read more