Author Archives: williamjcobb

"127 Hours" as Big-Budget "I Shouldn't Be Alive," With a Nod to the Great "Touching the Void"

Posted on September 17, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I finally got around to watching the much-acclaimed/suspect film of Aaron Ralston’s self-amputation, 127 Hours, and actually thought it was pretty good, even if my hotel owner/chef in Green River, Utah held a grudge against Ralston for not paying … Continue reading →

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Climate Change Coverage in the NY Times

Posted on September 8, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I have decidedly mixed feelings about most of our media, no matter how much I read or watch it, as I imagine most of us do. (I make a point to read CNN just to see the latest blather … Continue reading →

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On a Novel Titled "The Bird Saviors"

Posted on September 6, 2011 by williamjcobb

So a few months ago I blogged about finishing my new novel ms., The Bird Saviors, & how the completion occurred by describing a rather simple detail—a man drinking a glass of water—that has greater implications and reverberations than one … Continue reading →

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Review of Justin Torres's novel(la) "We the Animals"

Posted on September 4, 2011 by williamjcobb

So my review of Justin Torres’s debut novel, We the Animals, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here: http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20110902-book-review-we-the-animals-by-justin-torres.ece It’s a good, short book. I point out that it’s closer to a novella than a full-figured novel, but that’s … Continue reading →

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The Know Nothing Party Defies Gravity, Wins Elections?

Posted on September 1, 2011 by williamjcobb

So it’s driving me (slightly) crazy to read the idiocy coming out of Rick Perry’s mouth, echoed by a chorus of other Republican presidential contenders. Paul Krugman in the NY Times sums up their anti-science idiocy well here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/opinion/republicans-against-science.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss What … Continue reading →

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On Tom Perrotta's New Novel, With a Warning About the Last

Posted on August 27, 2011 by williamjcobb

So in today’s New York Times Book Review Stephen King reviews Tom Perrotta’s new novel, The Leftovers, and has this to say: “Perrotta began his exploration of the stress points between religion and secular American life in his previous novel, “The … Continue reading →

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On the Rise of the Fabulous Nothing Class, or As Some Have Phrased It, "Our Royal Wedding"

Posted on August 25, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I see this Kim Kardashian person mentioned (too often) in the news and do my best to ignore her, and see her best as the butt (pun intended) of jokes from the wry Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm … Continue reading →

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On Finishing Tim Flannery's "Here on Earth," in Contrast to Justin Torres's "We the Animals"

Posted on August 18, 2011 by williamjcobb

So last night I reached the end of Tim Flannery’s new excellent book of nonfiction, Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet, which I rate as one of the best books of nonfiction I’ve read since Timothy Egan’s … Continue reading →

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Sing, O Muse, of the Dougherty Gang

Posted on August 13, 2011 by williamjcobb

So there’s something kind of classical about the Dougherty Gang’s story—classically tacky, Florida-style. I probably wouldn’t love their tale as much if they had not been apprehended near my Colorado home base of Custer County. Here’s a good ole-fashioned yellow … Continue reading →

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