Author Archives: williamjcobb

Review of Malcolm Brooks's debut novel "Painted Horses," and What I've Been Up to All This Time

Posted on August 31, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I feel bad for my uncared-for little blog here, languishing away as I rush about in my busy life, never finding time to nurture, as they say. It’s like the freckled orphan in the corner, who you notice now … Continue reading →

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Review of Peter Heller's "The Painter" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on May 19, 2014 by williamjcobb

So here’s my review of Peter Heller’s new novel, The Painter, today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a good book, and I’ll have more to say about it this week, but for now I’ll let this review speak. … Continue reading →

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Melting Ice Caps v. The In-Laws, With a Derisive Sneer at Marco Rubio

Posted on May 13, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I haven’t written much about Climate Change in a while (and in fact haven’t blogged, due to the hectic rush at the end of the term, but that’s over with, thank god) and here comes a batch of bad … Continue reading →

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My Dashcam, My Selfie: On Sherry Turkle's Assertion in "Alone Together" That We're All Cyborgs Now

Posted on March 24, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I enjoyed this insight into the Digital Age in Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (2011): “We are all cyborgs now” (274, ebook edition). She goes on to explain the … Continue reading →

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On Sherry Turkle's "Alone Together" and How I Sleep With Stuffed Animals, Not Furbies, As They Make All That Noise When You Roll Over in the Night

Posted on March 21, 2014 by williamjcobb

So in my (not-yet-ended) quest to get to the bottom of this whole “digital distraction” thing, I’m now reading Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (I mean, with a feel-good title … Continue reading →

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On Mark Bauerlein's "The Dumbest Generation" and Teaching to the Intellectually Challenged

Posted on March 19, 2014 by williamjcobb

So this little gem is priceless, coming from one of our last somewhat-intellectual news outlets, The New York Times: a media writer describing how he doesn’t read anymore, and seems happy (or Post-Shame, at least) to do nothing but watch TV … Continue reading →

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On "The Wolf of Wall Street," the Disappointment Curse of Our Overhyped World, and a New Movement Called "LifeFirst!"

Posted on March 1, 2014 by williamjcobb

So for weeks I’ve been reading about how good Leo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street is (Best Picture nominee!) and a couple weeks ago I finally managed to watch it. I was excited at first, being a Leo … Continue reading →

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On Running the Austin, Texas Marathon at Age 56: a Survivor's Story!

Posted on February 25, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I like how everything has become a “survivor’s story” now, even the most humdrum of accomplishments, like “I stood in line for three hours to get tickets to the Lady Gaga concert, and I survived!” Now running a marathon … Continue reading →

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"American Hustle" Kills SuperDud XLVIII

Posted on February 5, 2014 by williamjcobb

So on Sunday afternoon I went to see American Hustle, which should win the Best Fun Picture category at the Oscars, and after which my wife wryly noted, “I don’t think we saw Amy Adams breasts enough.” (See the film, … Continue reading →

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Review of Chang-rae Lee's "On Such a Full Sea" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on January 26, 2014 by williamjcobb

So my review of Chang-Rae Lee’s new novel, On Such a Full Sea, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a good book, with a soft-spoken, measured narrative voice.  Although some might say, “Not another dystopian novel!” I … Continue reading →

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